Kilpatrick pisarzem, PD w PL

Dzisiaj w Polskim Detroit m.in.: Kwame Kilpatrick pisarzem, kolejna edycja Target Fireworks, kurs języka fińskiego, język polski dla obcokrajowców, PD w Polsce. Zapraszam do słuchania.

Polskie Detroit 297 | 14:15 | 13.7MB

[podcast]http://traffic.libsyn.com/polskiedetroit/PD297-2011-06-27.mp3[/podcast]

Linki do tematów poruszanych w dzisiejszym odcinku podcastu:

Książka Kwame’go Kilpatrick’a

Kurs fińskiego od podcastu Losiowisko

Język polski dla obcokrajowców:

First learn the alphabet in Polish. Learn to spell words, especially your name, in the Polish alphabet.  Have people spell Polish names and words for you using the Polish alphabet.  (Note:  Polish is so phonetic, that instead of spelling a name or a word, Poles often simply say it very clearly.)

ah     beh    tseh    deh

eh    eff   gheh

hah   eee   jot    kah

ell   emm    enn    oh   peh

koo    err    ess

teh    oo    fau

wooh    iks    ee-grek    zet

Polish never uses the letters „Q”, „V” and „X”, except in foreign words.

From this, some differences should be clear. (Note:  When my son learned the POLISH alphabet, he could immediately read Polish words.  Always he had to ask about the pronunciation of English words.)

The vowels are always just as when you recite the Polish alphabet, as above.

„C” is „ts”

„H” is a little more open, like the „ch” in the German „ich” or the Scottish „loch”.

„J” is like our „Y” when used as a consonant, „year”, „you”.

„R” is „trilled”.  Poles have a hard time hearing our American „R – and they have an even WORSE time hearing a British „R”.

„W” is always our „V” sound

„Y” is our short „I”, as „hit” „win”.

Polish has six extra letters,

ą – „A” with a hook underneath, pronounced with a nasal twist, „awnh”

ć – „C” with an accent mark.  Pronounced „ch”

ę – „E” with a hook underneath, pronounced with a nasal twist: „enh”

ł – crossed „L”, pronounced like our „W”.  Eastern Poles and trained actors have a slightly different „dark Slavic L”

ń – „N” with an accent mark.  Like the „Ny” in „canyon”

ó – „O” with an accent mark.  „ooo!”  Exactly the same sound as the Polish „U”.  When they need to spell, they talk about this as „OOO closed”, and „U” as „ooo open”.

Ś – „S” with an accent mark.  Like our „sh”

Ź – „Z” with an accent mark.  Like the „S” in „pleasure” or „treasure”.  When writing phonetics in English we often write „zh”.  We can’t really hear the difference between this „zh” and the next one, but there is a slight difference.

Ż – „Z” with an dot above it.  Also like the „S” in „pleasure” or „treasure”.  When writing phonetics in English we often write „zh”.  We can’t really hear the difference between this „zh” and the last one, but there is a slight difference.

Two letters together:

ch = the Polish h, like the „ch” in the German „ich” or the Scottish „loch” .

ci = ć, („c” with an accent mark) that is our „ch”

si = ś, („s” with an accent mark) that is our „sh”

rz = ż, („z” with a dot over it) that is „zh”, like the „s” in „treasure” or „pleasure”.  Whether the sound is written „ż” or „rz” in Polish depends on linguistic history.

cz is our „ch”.  There is a slight difference, which we can’t hear, between „cz” and „ć”-„ci”

sz is our „sh”.  There is a slight difference, which we can’t hear, between „sz” and „ś”-„si”

So now you should be ready to read something in Polish.  But, to make it easier, here is a passage written in English but with Polish phonetics.  Read it putting on a Polish accent, that is, all „th”s here are either „t” or „d”.  Poles don’t have our „short A” sound, as in „hat”, „man” (or „Gamble”) so read them with a long-A sound: „haht” „mahn”, like the „a” in „father”.  „R” followed by „Z” would be read by a Pole as „zh”, and „S” followed by „I” would turn into an „Sh” sound for Poles, so I separate them with a colon. In English, short vowels before our American „R” go into a sound like the German „ö”, a sound not in Polish phonetics, so here „birth” is written „bört”.

Have a Pole read this to you.

If you get confused, the regular English text is on the next page.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,

in Polish phonetics.

Forskor end sewen jir:z agou, ar fader:z brot fort on dys kontynent, a nu nejszan, kons:iwd yn lyberti, end dedykejted tu di prapozyszun dat ol men ar krijejted ikłel.

Nau łi ar engejdżd yn a grejt sywyl łor, testyng hłeder dat nejszun, or eni nejszun sou kons:ivd end sou dedykejted, kan long endjór.  Ły are met on a grejt batel-fild ow dat łor. Łi haw kom tu dedykejt a porszun ow dat fild az a fajnal restyng plejs for douz hu gejw der lajwz dat di nejszan majt lyw.  Yt yz oltugeder fytyng end praper dat łi szud du dys.

Bat, yn a lardzier sens, łi kan nat dedykejt – łi kan nat konsykrejt – łi kan nat halou – dys graund.  Di brejw men, lywyng end ded, hu stragold hir, haw konsykrejted yt, far abow aur paułer tu ad or dytrakt.

Di łörld łyl lytel nout, nor long rimember hłat łi sej hir, bat yt kan newer forget hłat dej dyd hir.  Yt yz for as di lywyng, rader, tu bi dedykejted tu di grejt task rimejnyng bifor as — dat from diz anord ded łi tejk ynkrist diwouszun tu dat kauz for hłycz dej gejw di last fól meżur ow diwouszan – dat dys nejszan, ander Gad, sial haw ej nu bört aw fridom – end dat gowernment aw di pipol, baj di pipol, for di pipol, sial nat perysz fram di öt.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

For more advanced learners of Polish:

The great problem for us is CASE ENDINGS.  In English, we do most things by WORD ORDER.  In Polish, it’s case endings.

To work on this, I tried to figure out an exercise which would let me run a noun through all seven cases, and expressions which could apply to either an object or an abstract.  Here is my suggestion:

Nominative – Mianownik

„Here is …”

„Oto …”

Genative – Dopelniacz

„There isn’t …”

„Nie ma … ”

Dative – Celownik

„I’m looking over …”

„Pryzglądam się … ”

Accusative – Biernik

„I see … ”

„Widzę … ”

Instrumental – Narzędnik

„I am interested in … ”

„Interesuję się … ”

Locative – Miejscownik

„We are talking about … ”

„Mówimy o … ”

Vocative – Wołacz

„Hi there … ”

„Cześć, … !”

So, to exercise I take something like a glass (szklanka):

Singular

Oto szklanka.

Nie ma szklanki.  (Hiding it behind my back.)

Przyglądam się szklance.

Widzę szklankę.

Interesuję się szklanką.

Mówimy o szklance.

Cześć, szklanko!

Plural

Oto szklanki.

Nie ma szklanek.  (Hiding them behind my back.)

Przyglądam się szklankom.

Widzę szklanki.

Interesuję się szklankąmi.

Mówimy o szklankach.

Cześć, szklanki!

—

Transliteration note:  every „y” here should be pronounced as a consonant, as in „yes”, not a vowel as in „cry”.

Yes

Tak = Tahk

No

Nie = Nyeh

Please

Prosze’ = PROH-shenh

(also used as „Here you are!” meaning „Please be so good as to take what I’m offering you.”

Thank you:

Dzie’kuje’ = jen-KUH-jenh

Note:  If you’re offered something and you say „Thank you” – „Dzie’kuje'” for Poles that means „Thank you NO”, you DON’T want it.  One needs to say „Yes, please” „Prosze'”.

You’re welcome

Prosze’ bardzo = PRO-shenh BARD-zoh

(literally „Please very” = please be so good as to accept what I’ve given you.”

Good day

Dzien dobry = Jenn DOH-brih

(literally „Day good”)

Good evening

Dobry wieczor = DOH-brih  WYEH-chor

Good night

Dobranoc = Doh-BRAH-nohts

Excuse me

Przepraszam = Psheh-PRAH-sham

*     *     *

No matter how well they speak, every once in a while Poles will mistakenly use „she” for „he”.  It helps to be ready for this possible confusion.

A Polish superstition is that it’s bad luck to shake hands over the threshold.  It’s best to go all the way through the door before shaking hands, or else back up so the person comes to you.  I still find it awkward, and you don’t need to worry about it too much.