THE POLISH ALPHABET AND SOUNDS

Here is the Polish alphabet: a, , b, c, , d, e, , f, g, h, I, j, k, l, , m, n, , o, , p, r, s, , t, u, w, y, z, , . SOUND VALUES OF THE LETTERS LETTER APPROXIMATE ENGLISH SOUND EXAMPLE

a father tak thus, so, yes, raz once dome s they are, w snake The sound is pronounced like om, except that the lips or tongue are not completely closed to pronounce the m, leaving a nasal resonance instead. b big bok side, aby so that bibeautiful bieg course, run, race, tobie to you c fits co what, noc night, taca tray ch hall chata cottage, ucho ear, dach roof The sound of ch is much raspier and noisier than English h. cicheek ciasto cake, cicho quiet cz chalk czas time, gracz player, tcza rainbow cheek cho although, nimi thread (Inst. pl.) The letters and ci- are pronounced the same. The combination ci- is used before a vowel. The letter c before i is pronounced like /ci-. The sound of /ci-, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English )y), is different from that of cz, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "r". d do data date, lada counter dz odds cudzy foreign, wodze reins dzijeans dziadek grandfather, ludzie people d jeans wiedma witch. ludmi people-Instr.pl. d jaw dez jazz, rada rajah The letters d and dzi- are pronounced the same. The combination dzi- is used before a vowel. The letters dz before i are pronounced like d/dzi-. The sound of d/dzi-, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "y", is different from that of d, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "r". e ever ten this (masc.), ale but, Edek Eddie sense g goose, tskni long for The sound is pronounced like em, except that the lips or tongue are not completely closed to pronounce the m, leaving a nasal resonance instead. At the end of a word, the letter is normally pronounced the same as e: naprawd "naprawde". f felt farba paint, lufa rifle-barrel, blef bluff g get guma rubber, noga leg, foot gibug you gieda stock-market, magiel mangle h hall hak hook, aha aha!

Pronounced the same as ch (see above), the letter h appears mainly in words of foreign origin. i cheek list letter, iga needle j you, boy jak as, raj paradise, zajc hare k keg kot cat, rok year, oko eye kilike you kiedy when, takie such (neut.) l love las forest, dal distance, fala wave wag, bow eb animal head, by he was, owek pencil miharm you miara measure, ziemia earth m moth mama mama, tom volume n not noc night, pan sir, ono it nicanyon nie no, not, nigdy never canyon ko horse, haba disgrace The letters and ni- are pronounced the same. The combination ni- is used before a vowel. The letter n before i is pronounced like /ni-. o poke pot sweat, osa wasp, okno window toot bl pain, owek pencil The letter is pronounced the same as u. p pup pas belt, strap, apa paw, cap billy-goat pistop you piana foam, apie he catches r arriba (Span.) rada advic, kara punishment, dar gift The sound r is pronounced by trilling the tip of the tongue, as in Spanish or Italian. rz pleasure rzeka river, morze sea The letter-combination rz is pronounced the same as ; see below. s sad sam the same (masc.), pas belt, rasa breed sisheep siano hay, sito sieve sz shark szal frenzy, dusza sou, sheep o axle, kwany sour, pi he sleeps The letters and si- are pronounced the same. The combination si- is used before a vowel. The letter s before i is pronounced like /si-. The sound of /si-, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "y", is different from that of sz, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "r". t top tam there, data date, kot cat u toot but shoe, tu here, ucho ear w vat wata cotton wadding, kawa coffee y ill dym smoke, ty you (sg.) z zoo zupa soup, faza phase ziazure ziarno grain, zima winter azure wyrany distinct, le badly pleasure aba frog, plaa beach The letters and zi- are pronounced the same. The combination zi- is used before a vowel. The letter z before i is pronounced like /zi-. The sound of /zi-, pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "y", is different from that of , pronounced with the mouth in the position of English "r". Polish sounds

NOTES ON SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION 1. The Polish alphabet has no Q, V or X, although these letters may be found in transcriptions of foreign names, and in a few borrowed words, e.g. video, pan X Mr. X.. 2. Polish vowels a, e, i, y, o, u () are all pronounced with exactly the same short length, achieved by not moving the tongue or the lips after the onset of the vowel, as happens, for example, in English vowel-sounds ee (knee), oe (toe), oo (boot). Only the nasal vowels are pronounced long, the length being due to rounding the lips and pronouncing the glide "w" at the end: s. 3. Polish consonant sounds may be pronounced slightly differently according to position in a word. Most importantly, voiced consonant sounds b, d, dz, g, rz, w, z, , are pronounced as unvoiced sounds (p, t, c, k, sz, f, s, , sz, respectively) in final position. For example, paw is pronounced "paf"; chod is pronounced "cho". voiced voiceless b p d t dz c g k rz sz w f z s sz

4. The letters and are usually pronounced like on/om or en/em, respectively, before consonants. For example, ld is pronounced "lont"; db is pronounced "domp"; tpy is pronounced "tempy"; dty is pronounced "denty"; and so on. Before and d, and are pronounced e/o: ch "che", ldzie "lodzie". Before k and g, and may be pronounced as o or e plus the English ng sound: mka, potga. The vowels and are usually denasalized before l or : zdjli "zdjeli", zdj "zdjo". 5. The stress in a Polish word falls on the next-to-last syllable: sprawa SPRA-wa, Warszawa War-SZA-wa, gospodarka go-spo-DAR-ka, zadowolony za-do-wo-LO-ny. As these examples show, Polish syllables tend to divide after a vowel. Words in -yka take stress on the preceding syllable: mateMAtyka, MU-zyka. The past-tense endings -ymy/imy, ycie/-icie do not cause a shift in place of stress: BY-y-my. 6. SPELLING RULES: a. So-called kreska consonants (, d, , , ) are spelled with an acute mark only at word-end and before consonants; otherwise, they are spelled as c, dz, s, z, n plus a following i: dzie "de", nie "e". Before the vowel i itself, no extra i is needed: ci "i" to you. b. Certain instances of b, p, w, f, m are latently soft, meaning that they will be treated as soft (in effect, as if kreska consonants) before vowels. In the spelling, they will be followed by i. Compare paw peacock, plural pawie (paw'-e) peacocks.

c. The letter y can be written only after a hard consonant (see below) or after c, cz, dz, rz, sz, . The letter i after the consonants c, dz, n, s, z always indicates the pronunciations , d, , , , respectively. Only i, never y, may be written after l or j. d. The letter e is usually separated from a preceding k or g by i, indicating a change before e of k, g to k', g': jakie, drogie. e. The letter j is dropped after a vowel before i: stoj I stand but stoisz you stand. SOUND CHANGES 1. When describing word formation, some consonants are counted as hard (H) and others as soft (S): H S1 S2 p p' b b' f f' w w' m m' t d s z n d l r k g rz c dz cz ch sz j

Hard consonants can soften before certain endings. For example, r goes to rz before the Locative singular ending -'e, as in biur-'e: biurze office (from biuro). As noted, the consonants p, b, f, m, w at the end of a word may turn out to be soft (p', b', f', m', w', spelled pi-, bi-, fi-, mi-, wi-), when not at the end of a word; cf. paw peacock, pl. pawie. 2. One often observes vowel changes within Polish words depending on whether endings are added to them. The most important such changes involve an alternation between o and , and , io/ia and ie, and between e and nothing (fleeting or mobile e). These changes may be observed in the singular and plural forms of the following nouns: st stoy table-tables, zb zby tooth-teeth, ssiad ssiedzi neighbor-neighbors, chopiec chopcy boy-boys, pies psy dog-dogs. PRACTICE WITH POLISH SOUNDS Here is a corpus of one- and two-syllable words on which to practice Polish sounds. a akta, bak, dal, dama, las, mak, mam, mapa, nas, pan, pas, rak, sam, tak, tam. e czek, flet, krem, lecz, lek, mech, mie, nerw, nie, sen, ser, skecz, ster, ten, test, ulice. i bi, bis, film, kino, klin, lis, mi, mit, nitka, pi, pisk, wilk. y byy, byt, cyrk, yk, miy, my, pysk, py, ryk, stoy, styk, syn, typ, wy, wy. o blok, bok, koc, koo, kot, lok, los, lot, molo, rok, sok, to, tom.

u/ bl, bruk, buk, but, d, druk, duch, krl, kruk, mu, mus, n, ruch, tum, trup, tu, w, wr. a, e, i, y, o, u/ ds, pi, gszcz, j, ksek, m, pls, si, s, ssiad, lsk, wcha, wski, w. =om db, gbka, gob, gb, kpa, kb, rba, skpy, trba, zb, zrb. =on bd, chccy, kt, ld, mdry, prd, rzd, sd, std, wtpi, zajc, dza. =o bd, bdzi, d, mci, trci. =oh bk, cig, cigle, krg, ka, mka, pajk, pk, pocig, przecig, pstrg, wcha. ciki, cz, czsto, g, gsty, jzyk, ks, miso, mski, pi, wch, wze, wizie, wi. =em bben, dby, gbia, krpy, postp, sp, tpy, wstp, wystp. =en bdny, kolda, mtny, ndza, okrt, pd, pdzel, rce, tcza, tdy, ttno, wic. =e ch, pdzi, pi, sdzia, zi, wdzi. =eh brzk, bkit, krgi, lk, mka, nka, potga, prga, rka, sk, tgi, wgiel. =e (optionally, in final position) chc, drog, pi, gr, id, imi, kr, kupi, mog, musz, rami, da si, t. , p kupa, mapa, pal, pan, pas, pd, pole, ptak, py, spa, wyspa, zupa. p'/pj kupi, pia, piana, piasek, pity, pi, pieg, pies, pion, piew. b bal, bas bl, buk, by, gbur, gleba, gruby, ryba, aba, eby. b'/bj biay, bi, biel, biodro, biust, gbia, nabia. b=p Arab, babcia, chleb, drab, gbka, grb, grzyb, klub, obcy, rb, rybka, szyb, szybki, szybszy, zb. f bufon, fabryka, fakt, fala, faza, film, fina, frant, graf, kefir, lufa, sofa, torf, traf. f'/fj fiku, fioek, fiakr, lufie. w gowa, dwa, kawa, krowa, awa, mewa, suwak, ws, wa, w, wbi, wdl, wiza, wr. w=f chwast, chwila, czwarty, krwka, kwas, lew, awka, nerw, paw, rw, szwagier, szwy, wkoo, wpis, wsyp, wszelki, wszy, wszyscy, zawsze. w'=wj dwie, kawior, wiadro, wiara, wie, wiedza, wiek, wielki, wizie, wioska, wiotki, wic.

w'=f' wiek, wier, kwiat, kwit, wiadom, wiat, wierk. p, b, f, w t data, kot, kto, lot, nuta, pot, ptak, sto, tak, tam, ten, test, to, tu, tdy, tom, torf. d db, d , dar, deska, dmucha, dom, dym, dysk, dug, duto, moda, nuda, pudel, udo. d=t brd, brud, gwizd, kdka, ld, dka, lud, ogrd, opad, prd, radca, sad, trud, wdka, wdka. s kos, kusy, las, list, los, masa, nos, osa, sen, seks, serek, sk, sl, st, sus, sup, wosk. z Azja, faza, gazda, glizda, kaza, koza, kuzyn, poza, waza, wiza, zebra, zefir, zenit, zero, zodiak. z=s bezcen, gaz, gruz, guz, gwizd, guz, mrz, obraz, okaz, raz, rozkaz, rozkad, wzki, wz. t, d, s, z k bok, buk, jak, kapa, klon, kmin, kolarz, kosy, kret, kto, kuma, kura, kos, okno, oko, sok. k' bukiet, kiedy, kie, kier, kiermasz, kiesze, kiosk, likier, loki, okien, rokiem, pakiet. g gaz, gbur, gos, gol, goy, gra, guma, guz, gba, g, gadki, gmina, ga, Magda, noga, toga, waga. g=k bg, cug, ug, ng, dog, mig, pug, prg, rg, stg. g' gieda, gilza, gitki, magia, magiel, nagi, nogi, ogier, ogie, szwagier. ch/h cham, chata, chop, chd, dach, hak, handel, herb, huk, jacht, kuchta, pcha, suchy, tchrz. k, g, ch c baca, caus, cay, cel, cena, co, crka, Cygan, dziecko, heca, koc, miesic, nacja, noc, ocet, racja, taca, wicej, zajc. dz cudzy, drodzy, dzban, dzwon, miedza, midzy, nadzy, nodze, sadza, wadze, wodze. dz=c jedz, jedzcie, jedzmy, ksidz, posadzka, rydz, widz, wdz. cz becze, czapka, czart, czas, czek, czosnek, czu, czynsz, lecz, mecz, mocz, oczy, tkacz, toczy, uczy, wstecz. d dem, dez, jed, miady, mdek, rada.

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/ci- ciasno, ciasto, cicho, ciebie, cie, ciocia, cho, ma, wier, kry, ka, la, rt, sie. =d choby d/dzi- wiedma, dziso, dzie, dzib, dzik, dziadek, Jadzia, jedzie, jedzi. d= chod, chodmy, Jadka, id, idmy, kad. c, dz, cz, d, , d sz daszek, dusza, kruszy, muszka, rzesza, susza, szafa, szaszyk, sza, szaas, szum, szyk, szyszka, tusz, uszy, wasz. szcz bluszcz, Bydgoszcz, jeszcze, niszczy, paszcz, puszcza, szczaw, szczery, szczk, szczscie, zwaszcza. rz/ drzazga, oe, morze, moe, ra, rzd, rzeka, rzepa, rzesza, rzsa, rysko, szerzy, suy, tec, wierzba, aba, art, eby, ona, upan, utki, wawy, ycie. /rz=sz chrzan, chrzszcz, krzak, krzeso, ko, upie, n, przez, str, trzy. /si- oso, o, mi, no, pro, nasion, siatka, siano, siatka, miga, nieg, roda, wiato, wir, siebie, stru, Zosia. = koba, proba. /zi- kol, rzeba, trzewy, ziarno, ziemia, zima, ziel, ziba, dzicze, dbo, rebak, rdo. = buka, grb, le, pa, rze, wie, znale. sz, /rz, , m dama, dom, duma, jama, lampa, mdry, mapa, mleko, mot, moda, mtny, tam, tom, wiedma. m'/mj chmiel, imi, miara, miasto, miaki, miejsce, mig, mid, miska, plemi, ziemia. n ano, bon, czyn, knot, nagi, nos, nu, nuta, ndza, pan, rana, sen, ten, ton, wnet. /ni- ani, bania, bonie, haba, kania, kiesze, ko, le, nie, niucha, pani, skro, to, ucze, wo. r akr, bbr, br, bra, dar, gra, kret, nora, pora, rada, ratusz, rondo, rwa, ryba, rka, skra, wr. j bj, boja, czajka, czyj, daj, dzisiaj, hojny, ja, jajko, jak, jeszcze, joda, ju, maj, mija, raj, rj, sj, strj, szyja, wojna. boto, byy, da, jabko, ka, koda, ad, eb, oso, ut, yk, ysy, mg, pyta, py, st, suse, ty, w. m, n, , r, j,

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CONTRASTING HARD AND SOFT 'HUSHING' CONSONANTS : cz ci : czy. leci : leczy. le : lecz. zajci : zajczy. ciesz : czesz : sz siny : szyny. prosi : prosz. ko : kosz. : /rz ziarna : arna. buzia : burza. wiezie : wiee. : cz, : sz, : /rz

CLASSROOM EXPRESSIONS dobrze dzikuj goniej gono jeszcze raz lepiej moim zdaniem na pami na przykad nastpny nie niedobrze niewyranie pisemnie po angielsku po polsku prawie dobrze prosz wietnie tak teraz dobrze to nic to prawda ustnie w porzdku wedug mnie wyranie z pamici zadanie na jutro zupenie dobrze fine thank you more loudly, louder loud(ly) one more time better in my opinion by heart for example next (person) no not right indistinctly in writing in English in Polish almost right please, you're welcome, here great yes now it's right that's nothing that's right orally O.K., all right according to me clearly, distinctly from memory tomorow's assignment completely fine

wyraenia

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INSTRUCTIONS, QUESTIONS, RESPONSES Co to znaczy? Czy s jakie pytania? Czy wszystko jest jasne? Ile jeszcze mamy czasu? Jak to bdzie po polsku (po angielsku)? Jak to si pisze (mwi)? Ju koczymy. Kto jest nastpny? Kto moe to powiedzie po polsku? Kto teraz chce czyta? Ktra godzina? Mam pytanie. Mamy jeszcze duo czasu. Nie mamy zbyt duo czasu. Nie rozumiem. Nie wiem. Nie zgadzam si. Prosz nie otwiera ksiek. Prosz nie zamyka ksiek. Prosz o uwag. Prosz odpowiedzie na pytanie. Prosz otworzy ksiki. Prosz pomyle. Prosz posucha. Prosz powtrzy. Prosz to lepiej przytogowa. Prosz to powiedzie po polsku. Prosz to zapisa w zeszytach. Prosz tumaczy. Prosz zamkn ksiki. Prosz? Rozumiem. To jest dobre pytanie. To nie nie wane. Wiem. Zgadzam si What does that mean? Are there any questions? Is everything clear? How much time do we have left? How will that be in Polish (in English)? How does one write (say) that? We're almost finished. Who is next? Who can say that in Polish? Who wants to read now? What time is it? I have a question. We still have a lot of time. We don't have too much time . I don't understand. I don't know. I agree. Please don't open your books. Please don't close your books. May I please have your attention. Please answer the question. Please open your books. Please think for a moment. Please give a listen. Please repeat. Please prepare this better. Please say that in Polish. Please take this down in your notebooks. Please translate. Please close your books. I beg your pardon? What? I understand, I see. That's a good question. That's not important. I know. I agree.

instrukcje

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