I have been thinking about this for a week now. I speak Polish well, and I live in the U.S and go go many Polish resutrants, stores, delis, etc.
I went to one other day and we are speaking in Polish. She asks me “Pochodzisz z Ukrainy?” (I do not), I say “Nie, nie jestem ukraińską”. She says “Jaki jest Twój pierwszy język?” and I say “Anglelski” (it is). She says and gives me a look and says something along the lines of “Yeah, Okej”. She is very nice and fun so I know it wasn’t mean-spirited but I’ve been thinking of it ever since. Is my accent weird?
I know I must have an American accent but maybe someone can give me insight in what my speech is like? (Przeprasam, jestem tylko trochę pojebana)
The thing I’m reading is a short story from a childrens book my babcia had. I just didn’t know what to use for reference aahaha.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sk51jldxeao91hk/20220913_010701.mp4?dl=0
14 comments
Interestingly enough I also wouldn’t bet your native language was English judging by your accent in Polish. I feel like the main thing impacting your pronunciation is sometimes skipping some sounds in words or maybe just not pronouncing them entirely as clearly. But you’re doing great
Uh, you sound eastern but i’d not be able to pick from what part of the world by that. I’ve heard that kind of skipping in people from Far East, as well as in some that came from Eastern Europe.
1.Indeed you have a very strong accent.
2.Your accent doesn’t sound like accents of native English speakers who learn Polish but suggest that your native language is one of East Slavic languages due the unnatural in Polish stress pattern.
3.It was difficult to understand a text you’re read– try to speak slower.
> pojebana
I think it’s a little bit too vulgar expression in this context– be very aware that swearing in your second language is much easier as you aren’t emotionally attached to the words.
Some sentences you speak with Polish accent others with more east, Russian or Ukrainian. It’s almost like you have been learning Polish years ago, stopped and now, when you got back to it, you are mixing your old school with new learned words.
Oh, native Ukrainian(and Russian as well) speaker here.
It is not a secret that a) all three are Slavic languages and b) due to a historical circumstances Ukrainian and Polish languages share up to 30% of vocabulary – and the main difference in those 30% is pronunciation. Let’s leave alone obvious things like constant use of hushing sounds where in Ukrainian(and in Russian as well) alveolar thrilling sounds are used.
First difference (which I hear in your example as well) – how sound “L” is pronounced.
Polish “L” sound “softly” almost always, while in Ukrainian (and Russian as well) in most cases it sounds “solid”. Of course, there is “Ł” which according to the rules must be read as English sound “W” (however up to mid XX century it has been pronounced as solid L in other languages – now it is called ł-aktorskie or so, dunno why).
Second – is stress applied. Compared to Ukrainian (and you know which language must be here) in Polish stress putted more to the end of the word (for me it sounds like speaker tries to ask me constantly).
Third – are conjugation and declension. Your is definitely not Polish enough. Ukrainian and Russian has significantly more differents comparing to Polish, and it takes some time and practice to learn Polish ones. Of course, it is understandable if English is your first language – it has no declension compared to any Slavic language. To summarize, for that particular person all of those factors could be recognized as a signs that she sees a Ukrainian.
You do have this cadence, rhythm that has a bit of an east Slavic feeling to it. Polish generally sounds very flat, you have a bit of a melody to your speech, which people will often associate with Ukrainian or Russian.
About your pronunciation: slow down a little! It’s not bad in general, but sometimes it was a bit difficult to follow as it seemed you were trying to speak faster than your tongue allowed you to.
Sorry to say but despite that your polish is verry good on that recording, Your accent / pronunciation sounds like you were from Ukraine / Russia or other far east When you speak you say a lot of ‘sz/cz’ sounds which are typical for east side foreigners when they speak Polish language
Ur accent is so strong that there are moments when it is hard to understand. U might know huge amount of words, but pronunciation is kinda weird.
You have very strong east slavic accent.
American accent sounds like this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfdyIA5d9Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfdyIA5d9Q) , many poles says it sounds like you have dumpling in your mouth.
And it’s very hard to understand you, i think you’re going bit too fast, and you should focus more on the diction instead of speed. I think it would be impossible to understand you for non natives.
One thing you really have accent which isn’t american but like russian. The second I am not sure about it but I think you are accenting wrong (in a meaning like you learn in polish schools – which letters in a word you have to accent in polish). To be honest you are very hard to understand and if you will visit poland someday for example – this may be a big problem
You sound like many Ukrainian immigrants living in Poland today. It sounds cute to me, I like it very much because I think it’s adorable. 😛
Your accent has a kind of “sing-song” quality we tend to see in native speakers of Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian languages. This said, it’s also not dissimilar from the one used by Japanese speakers (look up Japolka and Japonka Ai on YouTube). The pitch of your voice amplifies the effect somewhat too.
You sounds like an Ukrainian. But Ukrainians speak better polish. It is hard to understand you.
Your accent indeed sounds russian, it’s quite strong, but I can tell it’s american from which letters you stress. The rthym though, is what is throwing everyone off. Nothing bad about it, just the accent is thick. Good for you for learning Polish though!