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Pronunciation question - glottal stops


rob_manchester 1 | 2
24 Jun 2010 #1
Can Polish 't' ever become a glottal stop at the end of a word like in English, or is it always released?

So in 'that idea' in English, the 't' becomes a glottal stop for a lot of English speakers. Can the same happen in Polish when word final 't' is followed by a vowel?

What about before a consonant? In English, most people would use a glottal stop for 't' in 'that cat'. But I've heard Polish people use the full released 't' in this context. Does this mean that 't' is always released in Polish, even before a consonant?

Hope this makes sense! Would really appreciate any advice.
alexw68
24 Jun 2010 #2
Not really: it's unusual, if not unheard of, to hear that 'swallowing' of consonant sounds English is so fond of.

Examples (possibly from the 'ę ą' brigade of aspiring lower-middles who may be overdoing it, but still):

wanna (bath), pronounced quite explicitly -> van-na;
Anglia (England) -> An-glia

Anka (short for An[n]a) -> An-ka, not as in English anchor /a ng k e/ (Where's the IPA when you need it :) )

And of course your aspirated final t's.
OP rob_manchester 1 | 2
24 Jun 2010 #3
Interesting, thanks. I think that confirms what I thought about word final /t/ before a vowel (it is always pronounced as [t])

And even when a Polish word ends in /t/ and the next one starts with a consonant, the first /t/ will still be released? What about if the next word starts with another /t/ or /d/, does it then just sound like a kind of long /t/, or is there a release in between?

Much appreciated
cinek 2 | 347
24 Jun 2010 #4
or is there a release in between?

yes

Cinek
alexw68
24 Jun 2010 #5
Example (within a word, but same principle applies):

odtwarzac (to play back) d is aspirated/separated before the t


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