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 Learning: Polish Language POLISH ALPHABET..... |
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Polish Alphabet:
This is a simple introduction to the Polish alphabet. To the right is a table of the alphabet. As you look it over you will notice that it has is similar to the English alphabet except some of the characters include an accent or graphical marked called a diacritic. There is no " Q ", " V " or " X " in the Polish alphabet. In this table are rough (examples) of how a Polish letter sounds where it is different than the English sound of that letter. To the far right of the Polish alphabet table is another table that is helpful to hear some of these sounds. This table has words/phrases and an audio for sample for each. Look at the Polish spelling then hit the audio and listen closely for the sounds of the alphabet for each word. This is a very basic introduction to the Polish alphabet. If you are interested in learning how to write and speak Polish, it is best to find a sources such as a formal class, books, or even other internet sites devoted to this subject.
Polish Consonants:
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| Consonant Sounds | |
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l~ / same as w in woman
Z~ / same as s in street ch / same as h in happy cz / same as ch in church |
dz / same as d followed by z
dz~ / same as d followed by z~ rz / same as s in treasure sz / same as sh in share |
Polish Diacritics: 
How Polish diacritics (accented) letters are typical represented in type:
Use of the tilde " ~ " is the accepted practice for typing Polish diacritic letters. (Pronunciation examples from "Fred" Hoffman.)
| Type | Accent located | Pronounced "sound" |
| A~ a~ | below | nasal, pronounced "on" (or as "om" when following a B or P, Da~browski = Dombrowski) |
| C~ c~ | above | pronounced roughly "ch" |
| E~ e~ | below | nasal, generally pronounced "en" (or "em" when following a B or P, [De~bin~ski = Dembin~ski]) |
| L~ l~ | angled slash | pronounced much like English W |
| N~ n~ | above | kind of like "ni" in "onion" |
| O~ o~ | above | sounding much like "oo" in "book". |
| S~ s~ | above | kind of like "sh" in "sheep" |
| Z~ z~ | above | a soft, hissing "zh" sound |
| Z* z* | dot above | a chunkier "zh" sound |
"The materials on this page represent a very basic introduction to the Polish language that is primarily focused on giving you enough understanding for researching your Polish ancestry. We encourage you to utilized the links resources below that provide a great deal more than what is available here.
