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Post by jeanne on Apr 12, 2008 0:17:42 GMT 1
I've been trying to teach myself the phonetics of the Polish Language. I like to try pronouncing names and words correctly for fun, even if I don't know what most of the words mean. I think it's an important first step in learning the language.
One thing I have trouble with, however, is the combination of letters "ch". Is it sometimes pronounced like the English "h" and sometimes like the English "k"? For instance, in the thread on old banknotes, I saw the name Boleslaw CHROBRY. How would 'Chrobry' be pronouced? and is 'Czestochowa' pronounced like it would be in the English: Ches to Hova? What's the real story here, and is there some kind of rule I could apply?
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 12, 2008 5:43:05 GMT 1
I've been trying to teach myself the phonetics of the Polish Language. I like to try pronouncing names and words correctly for fun, even if I don't know what most of the words mean. I think it's an important first step in learning the language. One thing I have trouble with, however, is the combination of letters "ch". Is it sometimes pronounced like the English "h" and sometimes like the English "k"? For instance, in the thread on old banknotes, I saw the name Boleslaw CHROBRY. How would 'Chrobry' be pronouced? and is 'Czestochowa' pronounced like it would be in the English: Ches to Hova? What's the real story here, and is there some kind of rule I could apply? H and Ch are always pronounced the same: h. Never k. Polish [h] is stronger and more distinctive than English one. It reminds wind blowing, while the English h is like a soft gasp. |
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Post by falkenberg on Apr 12, 2008 12:57:55 GMT 1
Historically, Polish h and ch used to designate the different sounds. This is the reason of the various graphic forms. However, today they sound the same and I've never meet anyone making difference in pronunciation during my entire life  |
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Post by jeanne on Apr 12, 2008 12:58:27 GMT 1
H and Ch are always pronounced the same: h. Never k. Polish [h] is stronger and more distinctive than English one. It reminds wind blowing, while the English h is like a soft gasp. Thanks, Bonobo! |
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Post by jeanne on Apr 12, 2008 13:01:05 GMT 1
Historically, Polish h and ch used to designate the different sounds. This is the reason of the various graphic forms. However, today they sound the same and I've never meet anyone making difference in pronunciation during my entire life Interesting! Thanks for your input, Falkenberg. |
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 12, 2008 21:14:07 GMT 1
Historically, Polish h and ch used to designate the different sounds. This is the reason of the various graphic forms. However, today they sound the same and I've never meet anyone making difference in pronunciation during my entire life Interesting! Thanks for your input, Falkenberg. Yes, indeed. I didn`t know it. |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on May 7, 2008 21:40:42 GMT 1
I've been trying to teach myself the phonetics of the Polish Language. I like to try pronouncing names and words correctly for fun, even if I don't know what most of the words mean. I think it's an important first step in learning the language. One thing I have trouble with, however, is the combination of letters "ch". Is it sometimes pronounced like the English "h" and sometimes like the English "k"? For instance, in the thread on old banknotes, I saw the name Boleslaw CHROBRY. How would 'Chrobry' be pronouced? and is 'Czestochowa' pronounced like it would be in the English: Ches to Hova? What's the real story here, and is there some kind of rule I could apply? Hi Jeanne, If you want to hear Polish being spoken online, I found this really cool website where you can enter Polish text and hear the correct pronunciation. You can also type text in English and the Polish speaker will speak the translated text (voice only, not a written translation). I'm not quite sure how to link the site so I'll just list it: say.expressivo.com/Have fun! gigi |
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Post by jeanne on May 8, 2008 1:51:45 GMT 1
Hi Jeanne, If you want to hear Polish being spoken online, I found this really cool website where you can enter Polish text and hear the correct pronunciation. You can also type text in English and the Polish speaker will speak the translated text (voice only, not a written translation). I'm not quite sure how to link the site so I'll just list it: say.expressivo.com/Have fun! gigi gigi, Thanks for the website. I will definitely try it! (and hope that my ancient computer with dial-up won't crash :  |
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Post by Bonobo on May 8, 2008 21:10:56 GMT 1
gigi, Thanks for the website. I will definitely try it! (and hope that my ancient computer with dial-up won't crash : Oops, you still have dial-up? I am so sorry, you must wait terribly long to open the pictures... I can`t help right now...  |
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Post by jeanne on May 9, 2008 1:55:23 GMT 1
gigi, Thanks for the website. I will definitely try it! (and hope that my ancient computer with dial-up won't crash : Oops, you still have dial-up? I am so sorry, you must wait terribly long to open the pictures... I can`t help right now... Yes, I do still have dial-up, but I deal with it. It does take long for the photos to open, but I just click, then instead of sitting and waiting, I do something productive around the house and check back in periodically. Afterall, Bonobo, the photos are worth waiting for! |
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Post by Bonobo on May 9, 2008 12:18:59 GMT 1
It does take long for the photos to open, but I just click, then instead of sitting and waiting, I do something productive around the house and check back in periodically. Afterall, Bonobo, the photos are worth waiting for! I guessed so. It explains why you vanish and reappear frequently within short time. |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on May 9, 2008 17:23:19 GMT 1
Me too! I am finding Polish a challenge to pronounce, though. The online pronunciation site is helping. Jacek is most pleasant to listen to.  Which leads me to a new question...is it pleasant or painful for others to listen to foreigners attempt to speak their language? |
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Post by Bonobo on May 9, 2008 21:25:38 GMT 1
Which leads me to a new question...is it pleasant or painful for others to listen to foreigners attempt to speak their language? Never painful. Always amusing. I believe most Poles think so. Polish is difficult so any attempts by foreigners to speak it should be treated with indulgence. |
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Post by jeanne on May 10, 2008 1:56:43 GMT 1
Me too! I am finding Polish a challenge to pronounce, though. The online pronunciation site is helping. Jacek is most pleasant to listen to. Which leads me to a new question...is it pleasant or painful for others to listen to foreigners attempt to speak their language? A few years back my daughter had a Polish boyfriend. I loved to listen to him speak English, because the way he pronounced the different letters helped me to figure out how they should be pronounced in Polish! So by speaking English he was inadvertently teaching me Polish! ;D |
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monka
Just born
Posts: 20
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Post by monka on Jun 1, 2008 15:54:15 GMT 1
Which leads me to a new question...is it pleasant or painful for others to listen to foreigners attempt to speak their language? Never painful. Always amusing. I believe most Poles think so. Polish is difficult so any attempts by foreigners to speak it should be treated with indulgence. I agree  it's always funny but I respect every attempt !!! Polish is one of the most difficult languages to pronounce btw I have reverse question to you Is it painful or funny to listen Poles speaking in English? |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Jun 1, 2008 19:53:40 GMT 1
I agree it's always funny but I respect every attempt !!! Polish is one of the most difficult languages to pronounce btw I have reverse question to you Is it painful or funny to listen Poles speaking in English? No, not painful. I know how challenging it is to learn a foreign language, so I have a lot of respect for anyone who tries. Sometimes it can be a bit amusing, but in a very charming way. |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Aug 13, 2008 13:56:50 GMT 1
Polish language "trick" I found: Like most European languages, Polish assimilated words from all kinds of foreign sources, including Latin. Luckily, the same Latin words also migrated into other languages, including English. So, what’s the trick? Those Latin loan-words end in –tion in English. In Polish, the ending is –cja (pronunciation “tsya”). So to change one of these words from English to Polish, change the -tion to -cja. For example: * station – stacja * information – informacja * education – edukacja And voilà! You just learned a whole bunch of words in one of the most difficult languages in the world. Of course, there are exceptions to this method: * pronunciation – wymowa I thought this was an interesting trick (except for the exceptions). Hopefully there are not too many of those. |
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Post by jeanne on Aug 16, 2008 2:01:59 GMT 1
Polish language "trick" I found: Like most European languages, Polish assimilated words from all kinds of foreign sources, including Latin. Luckily, the same Latin words also migrated into other languages, including English. So, what’s the trick? Those Latin loan-words end in –tion in English. In Polish, the ending is –cja (pronunciation “tsya”). So to change one of these words from English to Polish, change the -tion to -cja. For example: * station – stacja * information – informacja * education – edukacja And voilà! You just learned a whole bunch of words in one of the most difficult languages in the world. Of course, there are exceptions to this method: * pronunciation – wymowa I thought this was an interesting trick (except for the exceptions). Hopefully there are not too many of those. gigi, That seems like a great trick! Of course, it's probably not as easy as it seems to us, but anything that makes Polish easier for me is appreciated! |
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it's always funny