How to correctly pronounce "złoty" in Polish? "ł" letter

I have always pronounced it "zwoty" but seen some people pronounce it "zLoty" ??

Even more confusing is that some of my Polish friends even pronounce it as "zLoty" although perhaps they are doing it for my benefit ??

Pronounce it as 'zwoty' (złoty) as this is the right pronounciation.

I remember once in England an Englishman asked me "How do you pronounce 'ł' in Polish?". It was a joke as he could pronounce the Polish " ł " perfectly well. It is the same sound as the sound for 'w' in the English word 'well'.

zwoty - something like that.


Only talking to foreigners. Don't ask me why. Even the English teacher in my school, already quite a few years ago, was telling "zloty", not "złoty", and even creating plural as "zlotys" (for English native speakers: how would you create plural from that? złotys or złoties? or would you just leave the singular, telling e.g. "twenty złoty"?), explaining that "there is no letter ł in English". Well, I understand writing "l" if you don't have "ł" on your keyboard (actually we don't have it as well, we type it using Alt+L), or if your computer is not able to handle it; I understand pronouncing it as "l" when you don't know that it's actually "ł" and it should be pronounced like English "w" - but when you know it, just pronounce it correctly...

The same is with the city Łódź. I understand that many foreigners may know it as Lodz, pronounced "Lotz" or "Loch" (with "ch" like in cheer, not like Loch Ness), and it is so actually, they are often amazed when I tell them it's pronounced "Wooch". But if I know how it should be pronounced - I always tell "Łódź" correctly. Only adding, that is maybe known for the person I talk to as "Lodz", when the person tells he has never heard about this city.

In German there is an adjective from this city name: "lodzer", and this one I would definitely pronounce with L, not Ł, and with DZ, not DŹ. It comes from this incorrect pronounciation - but I have never seen nor heard "łódźer", this looks really awkward in German, while "lodzer" is something I have seen and even heard; there is even a noun from that, used also in Polish: Lodzermensch. Not Łódziermensch, but Lodzermensch.

By the way, is it possible to create an adjective from Łódź/Lodz in English, similarly as it is possible in German? Will it be also Lodzer (analogically to Londoner), or will it look differently?

Also, when talking to students in an English class.

How about: Z£OTY? If I write it this way, do I mean the British pound? :)

Grundi, a funny pun on the word, I must say.

There is no reason to make simple complicated If you can pronounce WELL you can pronounce "złoty" Like Pawian says, Simple

ł L with a line through it is always pronounced as a w.
So, złoty should be pronounced Zwoty.I should know as my surname has an ł in it!

No Milo, ł sounds exactly like double LL in the word WELL

What??? Don`t come close to my students with such crazy pronunciation. WELL pronunced as łeł. Amasing!

Maybe 70 years ago!!!!

Pronouncing ł like an American "dark l" (like ll in 'all') is the old pronunciation, then called 'stage pronunciation' (maintained in some broadcasting/theater until some times in the 1960s) and now usually referred to as 'kresowe' pronunciation (it's still found in some populations in former Soviet places).

But in modern Poland the universal pronunciation of ł is like 'w' in 'water'

ładny = WAHD-nih

miło = MEE-woh

Łódź = WOOTCH

Or 80 even.

I knew someone from a rather posh background in pre-war Wilno who died well into his 90s about 10 or 15 years ago. He always used it and it sounded beautiful.

Thing is, he was a TV and film actor and when acting pronounced it the modern way.

Nowadays it's as close to the BrEng "W" as to be virtually indistinguishable from it.

I concur with most of your points; I remain faithful to the pronunciation from my youth and the Kresowy region. In my view, pronouncing 'ł' as 'w' misrepresents and distorts my language, even though I acknowledge that most Poles today would concur with you. Similarly, 'ch' and 'h' pose a challenge for many young Poles. For me and those from my generation and region, they are distinct and separate, akin to Kielce and Vilnius. Stay down, Pawian; you are only vaguely familiar with Trylogia:::)))

Whose points???

I read Potop 4 times, Mr Wołodyjowski once and By Fire and Sword 3 times. Ha!!!

I differ from your interpretation and agree with your portrayal of the cultured person from pre-war Wilno . There is more to replacing the 'ł sound with the W
even today, saying mały as mawy would sound weird, something with ca'ły and cawy or, in the case of Pawian 'łysy and wysy, so there is a slight difference, might be impossible for you to detect, which is understandable, but for Pawian, Polish borne all I can say using the words Pan Zagłoba ( not Zagwowa)
Jakas gwowa (głowa) kiepska, zapewne z Kielecka. So Jon, traditional 'ł, to a great extent, is being replaced by the W but not wholly; there is a lot of 'ł
remaining, especially in some selected words. When visiting Poland last time, my wife and I were constantly complimented on the beauty of our Polish.

Saying it, you are complimenting yourself now. Clever! :):):)

However, you are wrong coz Mr Zagłoba wouldn`t say z Kielecka but Kieleckiego. He spoke better Polish than you! Ha!!!

Watch and learn how the letter "ł" is supposed to be pronounced in Polish ;-) Pay attention to the word "miłość" (love) and others: