By Magdalena Glinicka
Polish belongs to the Slavonic group of languages, which is the 2nd biggest language group in Europe. It’s the official language in Poland and is also spoken by numerous big communities of Polish people living around the world.
When it comes to learning it, it is considered fairly difficult. The US Foreign Service Institute has a widely-quoted system for ranking languages according to the amount of time English native speakers need to become ‘proficient’, and places Polish in category 4 (out of 5).
If you’re looking to learn Polish for business, pleasure or if you just have a particular interest in this fascintating language, we will be able to help by offering learning choices to suit your ability and schedule.
Polish spelling is phonetic and learning the alphabet is a good start to recognize the sounds. Polish is also known for its challenging consonant clusters (e.g. ch, cz, rz, sz, szcz) and diacritics (such as ą, ę, ć, ł, ń, ś, ż, ź). This combined with various spelling rules poses a difficulty itself (for instance, h and ch – pronounced as ‘h’ but some words are spelled with ‘h’ and others with ‘ch’ and they are not interchangeable). For instance, mucha (a fly) – never muha˟ or herbata (tea) – never cherbata˟.
i.e. rustling, hissing and hushing sounds heard in the nation of Poland 😊
Different letter combinations are used to indicate familiar sounds. Also, the way sounds are combined can often leave learners in a tailspin as they shush and hush their way through phrases, grasping for familiar vowels. So, mastering new sounds right from the get go will certainly make your life much easier. For example, “sz” is sh and “cz” is tsh. “E” with a tail (ę) is a nasal e and sounding like French vin. Ś – again, this is like ’sh’ in ‘shore’ only much softer.
Szczęście [sh-ch-ayn-sh-ch-e] is the feeling when you pronounce it right (happiness).
Mastering the above can only be compared to developing superpowers beyond understanding and will certainly make you discover yourself as a linguistic hero! 😊
Complicated grammar, tongue-twistingly ‘hissy’ pronunciation, and elaborate spelling rules. Why is Polish good for you then?
Written in the Latin script, Polish is often far more approachable than other Slavic languages, especially those which use the Cyrillic script (e.g. Russian). So, no need to study a whole new alphabet, but just become familiar with a few specific diacritic signs and digraphs
It can be a perfect gateway to the fascinating wider realm of Slavic languages, a community which geographically makes up a large part of Europe and Asia, and includes over 300 million speakers worldwide. For example, being able to speak Polish gives you access to Czech and Slovak. While not mutually understandable they share many similarities and so should be easily within your grasp
Poland itself has around 39 million inhabitants, with millions of Poles living abroad (about ~50 million people altogether). Consequently, it is the second most widely spoken Slavic language. It’s among the top 10 languages spoken in the EU and according to 2011 census data by the Office for National Statistics it is now the main language spoken in England after English. This alone is the perfect reason for savvy business people to bite the bullet and start learning Polish!
Polish offers both familiarity and exoticism. Some words and structures will strike you as familiar (due to the Latin and German influence) but others may seem mysterious – parts of Polish reflect the alternative path of Indo-European development, and show influences from Turkey and Iran. But even some of the most confusing and obscure moments can unfold into real linguistic revelations drawing surprising connections, like that between Polish ‘twaróg’ and the quarks of quantum physics!
The history of Poland is one of the most absorbing and turbulent histories in Europe. Poland was baptised into existence in the late 10th century, and, as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, became one of the first confederated countries in Europe – an empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. With its tolerant religious policy, Poland became an early instance of a cultural melting pot, where minorities like Jews, Tatars and Armenians prospered for a long time.
Poles also became one of the few nations to have their country erased from the map of Europe for 123 years. It was also ravaged during WWII by Germany and Russia, and then had communism imposed on it afterwards – the only Allied country this happened to.
Because of its rather dramatic history, Polish has been heavily influenced by other languages, such as German, Czech, Italian, Latin, Yiddish and now English. Most of the English words get adapted to the Polish spelling (menadżer – manager) and will be subjected to declension like every other Polish word.
It certainly deserves a place alongside the greatest, but it has remained significantly less known than its Russian or French counterparts. That might be because of the language barrier. Mastering Polish will open the doors to one of the most fascinating libraries worldwide, rich and diverse.
Polish is highly standardised, i.e. the conventional forms that you will learn, are in common use. Travelling from place to place across the country, you won’t notice people speaking in a strikingly different way. You will notice some differences for sure, but you are unlikely to find yourself in a situation where you don’t understand anything, as if it was another language.
Although Polish might appear intimidating at first, it is possible to learn it and many people have succeeded with flying colours. Attitude is key. If you are a native English speaker, there will be some things you will struggle with and new concepts you are not familiar with. However, if you are learning a language because it is easy or is the easiest out of the bunch, are you really going to be motivated to stick with it? Whether or not a language is easy should have no bearing on whether you want to learn it or not. If you have interest, pursue it! You don’t need justification.
Magdalena joined Language Services Direct in 2015 and works in the MoD team as General Administrator. Her role is primarily a combination of financial responsibilities (invoicing) and database management. Magdalena has a strong background in academic administration. This includes positions of PA to a College Principal and central secretary to various committees and boards. She has strong experience in timetabling; international student screening and recruitment; and student probation and support services including acting as the main point of contact for international students. She has also worked in business administration and as a Polish-English translator.
Magdalena is both an accomplished administrator and a fully qualified teacher. She holds BA and MA degrees in English language teaching and taught English for 12 years both in Poland and in the UK in the private and state sectors.
At Language Services Direct, Magdalena has been able to combine her language-teaching background with her experience in administration and contributes to the monitoring of teaching delivered for both the Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Magdalena on Linkedin.
| http://www.polishpod101.com | ||||
| https://eal.britishcouncil.org | ||||
| http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com | ||||
| http://www.europeanmama.com | ||||
| https://www.xperiencepoland.com | ||||
| http://culture.pl/en | ||||
| https://www.acsh.org/news | ||||
| http://culture.pl | ||||
| http://culture.pl/en | ||||
http://www.thepolyglotdream.com
|
Spotlight on Spanish for business
Spotlight on German for business
Spotlight on French for business
Find out more about the services we offer by downloading our latest brochure here.
Copyright 2021 Language Services Direct Ltd.
Main Office - Trident House, 46 - 48 Webber Street, London SE1 8QW
Branch - Broadwall House, 21 Broadwall, London SE1 9PL
All rights reserved.
Site built by Code
