Polish pronunciation guide

This article is meant to express Polish pronunciation to English speakers (not necessarily native) by simple means, using comparison and logical relations while not using SAMPA or IPA.

Letter i

Pronunciation of i depends on its position.

If i is:
* between consonants, like kino (cinema)
* at the beginning of a word, like iskra (spark)
* at the end of a word, like wydatki (expenses, plural)then it is pronounced like English ee, but not necessarily so long. Additionally, if i is before c, n, s or z, the consonant it becomes softened (c becomes ć, n becomes ń and so on).

If i is before vowel, then certainly it is after a consonant, and then its pronunciation depends on this consonant.
* If this consonant is c, n, s or z, the consonant it becomes softened (c becomes ć, n becomes ń and so on) and i is dropped (becomes silent).
* If this consonant is not c, n, s or z, the consonant remains as is and the i blends with the following vowel forming a diphthong.

Random notes

* The only diphthongs in Polish are: these beginning with i and these ending with u. All other vowel clusters (like aorta, koercja, meteor) are pronounced vowel-by-vowel.

* Length of vowels has no meaning.

* h/ch, u/ó, rz/ż are pronounced the same in modern Polish.

* With a few excpetions, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable. However, stress in Polish is irrelevant; misplaced stress never changes the meaning of a word, and is merely a stylistic error.

Dictionaries

* [http://www.dict.pl Polish Dictionary] by [http://www.astec.com.pl ASTEC]
* [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/Polish/ Polish Dictionary] from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Dictionary]
* [http://www.nevinkellygallery.com/essays/essay-guide.htm GUIDE TO POLISH PRONUNCIATION] from [http://www.nevinkellygallery.com Polish Art Gallery]