Polish For Dummies

Daria Gabryanczyk

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781119979593
• eBook ISBN: 9781119951216
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The ultimate quick and easy guide to learning Polish

Polish can be a difficult language to master. It is pronounced phonetically and has several unique characters in its alphabet, but with Polish For Dummies in hand, you'll find yourself speaking like a local in no time. Packed with practical lessons, handy cultural facts, and essential references (including a Polish-English mini-dictionary and lists of common verbs), this guide is specially designed to get you speaking Polish with confidence. With advice on speaking Polish within the construction, teaching, and public sector industries, this book is a truly practical tool for anyone wanting to speak the language either professionally or socially.

• Includes sections dedicated to Polish in action, Polish on the go, and Polish in the workplace
• A companion audio CD contains Polish conversations spoken by native Polish speakers in a variety of everyday contexts, perfect for learning Polish on the go
• A Polish-English dictionary is included to provide quick access to the most common words

With easy-to-follow instruction and exercises that give you the language to communicate during day-to-day experiences, readers of Polish For Dummies will learn the words and verbal constructions they need to communicate with friends and colleagues at home, find directions on holiday, and more.

Note - CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.

Part I

Getting Started

In this part . . .

Here you can jump right into the Polish language – I start by showing you Polish words whose meaning you can work out without consulting a dictionary; then you discover how to make Polish sounds and how to crack the Polish ‘grammar code’. I also give you a few quickie phrases to impress your Polish friends!

Chapter 1

Introducing Polish

In This Chapter

Identifying some familiar-looking Polish words

Pronouncing the alphabet and all its vowels and consonants

Stressing the right syllable

Using basic expressions

Being able to produce sounds that native speakers can recognise and understand is vital for successful communication. This chapter discusses Polish pronunciation and some of the conventions used in this book.

Spotting the Polish You Already Know

Polish borrows a number of words from English in many different areas, such as computer science, politics, technology, sport, economics and business. The borrowed words have either retained their original spelling or been adapted to the Polish spelling, but they’re still easy to recognise (and to remember!) for native English speakers. You won’t have much trouble working out the meaning of these words:

adres (a-dres) (address)

biznes (bee-znes) (business)

budżet (bood-zhet) (budget)

establishment (e-sta-blee-shment) (establishment)

hotel (ho-tel) (hotel)

interfejs (een-ter-feys) (interface)

kawa (ka-va) (coffee)

komputer (kom-poo-ter) (computer)

kultura (kool-too-ra) (culture)

marketing (mar-ke-teenk) (marketing)

mecz (mech) ( [football] match)

menadżer (me-na-djer) (manager)

park (park) (park)

telefon (te-le-fon) (telephone)

Of course, you can get into trouble when you’re dealing with so-called false friends – words that look similar in English and Polish, yet have completely different meanings:

Aktualnie (a-ktoo-al-n’ye) means currently or presently rather tha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started
• Part II : Polish in Action
• Part III : Polish on the Go
• Part IV: Polish in the Workplace
• Part V : The Part of Tens
• Part VI : Appendixes
• Cheat Sheet
• Download CD/DVD Content