Please call Stella — Polish edition

[Pole, the]

(This is a sample of vernacular Polish, adjusted to contain some less frequent sequences of phonemes. For the phonological transcription, I used a slightly modified analysis — for a traditional convention, replace /i iɛ ia iɔ iu/ with /ʲi ʲɛ ʲa ʲɔ ʲu/.)

*
Kiedy się do nas wybierasz?
Potrzeby w sumie nie ma, bo jest dość ludzi, chyba że mógłbyś zostać do poniedziałku.
Mają przyjechać we wtorek i w środę rano zaczynamy hieroglify.
Siódmego Łucja wyjeżdża, ale od piątku do niedzieli będą Szymon i jego przyjaciółka.
Wyślij mejla, bo musiałbym zadzwonić za noclegiem.
*


*
/kiɛdɨ ɕɛ dɔ nas vɨbiɛras̠ (↗)
|| pɔts̠s̠ɛbɨ f sumiɛ ɲɛ ma | bɔ jɛst dɔɕtɕ ludʑi | xɨba z̠ɛ muɡwbɨɕ zɔstatɕ dɔ pɔɲɛdʑawku
|| majɔw̃ ps̠ɨjɛxatɕ vɛ ftɔrɛk i f ɕrɔdɛ ranɔ zats̠ɨnamɨ xiɛrɔɡlifɨ
|| ɕudmɛɡɔ wutsja vɨjɛz̠dz̠a | alɛ ɔt piɔntku dɔ ɲɛdʑɛli bɛndɔw̃ s̠ɨmɔn i jɛɡɔ ps̠ɨjatɕuwka
|| vɨɕlij mɛjla | bɔ muɕawbɨm zadzvɔɲitɕ za nɔtslɛɡiɛm/
*



*
When are you visiting us?
There is no urgent need because there is enough people, unless you could stay until Monday.
They should arrive on Tuesday and we are starting on Wednesday morning with hieroglyphs.
Łucja is leaving on the seventh of this month, but from Friday to Sunday there will be Szymon and his friend.
Send me an e-mail so I can call somebody for the accommodation.
*

Recording of me (native Pole) pronouncing it.

[Boşkoventi]

y u talk so fast

[Pole, the]

Actually, I speak unnaturally slow in this recording.

[Boşkoventi]

http://lescordesnoires.com/amtanehsa/so ... edySie.mp3

I probably sound a little bit ... uncertain / hesitant ...

I've long suspected that Polish should be spoken while (mildly) drunk. I'll try to make another recording soon, while sober.

[Pole, the]

Too sober for me.

Ok, now seriously. You sound quite good for a foreigner, but there is a couple of things I noticed:
· the wrong pronunciation of /ɕ ʑ tɕ dʑ/; it is, I think, the most common giveaway of foreigners speaking Polish; they should be pronounced more to the front (i.e. closer to [sʲ zʲ tsʲ dzʲ];
· when you pronounce «we wtorek», the first try sounds better than the second one;
· the pronunciation of /u/ is too much fronted, it sounds like [ʉ] in your sample; it should be a clearly back vowel; in general, when not following palatalized consonants, Polish vowel tend to be more back;
· /w j/, especially in a syllable-final positions, are much more marked.

[gestaltist]

I wish you provided a gloss, as the most interesting thing in your sample is its demonstration of the relative non-configurationality of Polish.

What also stood out to me in your sample (Pole, the), is that you pronounce <musiałbym> as [muˈɕawbɨm]. For me, the stress is on the first syllable here: [ˈmuɕawbɨm]. I think the „prescriptivist Polish“ goes by my version but I am not sure.

[Pole, the]

Just for comparison, here's me pronouncing it in a more natural speed (the intonation is still not right, though).

* * *

Here is a rough gloss, but I don't think there is much non-configurability in the sample. I think it is a phenomenon that happens more commonly in the literary language („wpłynąłem na suchego przestwór oceanu” &c.).

Kiedy

when

się

REFL

do

to

nas

1pl.GEN

wybierasz?

plan.to.go.2SG

When are you visiting us?

Potrzeby

need.GEN

w sumie

after all

nie ma,

be.not

bo

because

jest

be.3SG

dość

enough

ludzi,

people.GEN

chyba że

unless

mógłbyś

can.COND.2SG.M

zostać

stay.INF

do

to

poniedziałku.

Monday.GEN

There is no urgent need because there is enough people, unless you could stay until Monday.

Mają

have.3PL

przyjechać

arrive.INF

we

in

wtorek

Tuesday.ACC

i

and

w

in

środę

Wednesday.ACC

rano

in.the.morning

zaczynamy

begin.1PL

hieroglify.

hieroglyph.PL

They should arrive on Tuesday and we are starting on Wednesday morning with hieroglyphs.

Siódmego

seventh.GEN

Łucja

Lucja

wyjeżdża,

depart.3SG

ale

but

od

from

piątku

Friday.GEN

do

to

niedzieli

Sunday.GEN

będą

be.FUT.3PL

Szymon

Szymon

i

and

jego

3SG.GEN

przyjaciółka.

female.friend

Łucja is leaving on the seventh of this month, but from Friday to Sunday there will be Szymon and his friend.

Wyślij

send.IMP

mejla,

e-mail.ACC

bo

because

musiałbym

must.COND.1SG.M

zadzwonić

phone.INF

za

after

noclegiem.

lodging.INS

Send me an e-mail so I can call somebody for the accommodation.

[CatDoom]

Well, I'm the one who suggested this exercise, so I figure it's high time I make an attempt. Sooo... Here you go.

Sorry for my miscellaneous grunts of exasperation; I assure you that all my frustration is directed at my own disobedient tongue, not Pole's perfectly lovely language. Speaking of which, I'd also like to apologize to Pole and any other Poles who might have the misfortune to hear me butchering said language. If it's any consolation, I sometimes have trouble pronouncing English, too, and I've had a lifetime to practice that.

Note that this is actually after many aborted attempts; for a while I kept getting stuck around "zostać," and then breaking down around "przyjechać" if I got that far. Once I finally managed to get as far as "hieroglify" without a major stop, I just sort of powered through to the end.

[Pole, the]

Well, I'm the one who suggested this exercise, so I figure it's high time I make an attempt. Sooo... Here you go.

Sorry for my miscellaneous grunts of exasperation; I assure you that all my frustration is directed at my own disobedient tongue, not Pole's perfectly lovely language. Speaking of which, I'd also like to apologize to Pole and any other Poles who might have the misfortune to hear me butchering said language. If it's any consolation, I sometimes have trouble pronouncing English, too, and I've had a lifetime to practice that.

Note that this is actually after many aborted attempts; for a while I kept getting stuck around "zostać," and then breaking down around "przyjechać" if I got that far. Once I finally managed to get as far as "hieroglify" without a major stop, I just sort of powered through to the end.

Hurray!

[Mike Yams]

I wish you provided a gloss, as the most interesting thing in your sample is its demonstration of the relative non-configurationality of Polish.

What also stood out to me in your sample (Pole, the), is that you pronounce <musiałbym> as [muˈɕawbɨm]. For me, the stress is on the first syllable here: [ˈmuɕawbɨm]. I think the „prescriptivist Polish“ goes by my version but I am not sure.

Stress on the first syllable sounds more natural to me. (I am a native speaker.)