Polish Accents

People working to learn English as a second language often find grammar and pronunciation quite difficult. Polish grammar and pronunciation are somewhat easier to learn. Most Polish words

are pronounced phonetically. Words not pronounced phonetically will include Polish accents, which serve as a guide to proper Polish pronunciation.

When reading Polish words, you will find it easy to sound them out; you might be surprised to find you can pronounce words in Polish well. Phonology, which is the way you speak the words of a language out loud, is a bit more difficult to learn. When you are learning the Polish language, the most difficult part is knowing which syllable to stress.

Several Polish words contain letters with accents above or below them. There are 32 letters in the Polish alphabet, and many of those can be used with or without an accent.

Here are some examples for pronouncing Polish accents.

ć - a soft “tch” sound as heard in the word “itch”

ń - s soft “ny” sound as heard in the word “onion”

ó - u or oo as in the word “spool”

ś - a soft “sh” sound as in the word “shush”

These are only a few of the many Polish accents you’ll find used in many common words.

In writing, Polish words always contain needed accents, and students writing words that contain accents are encouraged to use them properly. This makes learning how to speak Polish easier since it ensures you use the correct Polish pronunciation. You should know that there are a handful of Polish words in which the accent can change the meaning of the word.

For native English speakers, mastering the sound of Polish words can be challenging at first, but once you master these sounds you will discover that developing an authentic sounding Polish accent is easy.

When learning Polish, your phonology and pronunciation can be aided by watching Polish movies or listening to radio shows, especially if you can’t travel to Poland right now. An outstanding way to ensure you develop proper pronunciation is to learn Polish by subscribing to a podcast. Polishpod101 subscribers have access to several useful tools, including a huge variety of podcasts in which you can listen to native speakers and learn to speak Polish just like a native.