Your perception of the Polish accent

Arkady

Aug 26, 07, 17:45 #1

Hi,

I'm a polish person that speaks english and I would like to ask you a question. What is your perception of polish accent in english? I personally believe that my command of english is fairly good and I have a rather moderate accent as for a polish person.

Is polish accent attractive, charming, indifferent, irritating, confusing, ugly?

PS. I failed to find a topic that would deal with this subject so I'm starting a new one. Hopefully, in the appropriate subforum. Thanks in advance for your comments.

szkotja2007Threads: 38 Posts: 2,544 Joined: Dec 29, 06 ♂	Aug 26, 07, 17:53 #2
Hi Arkady - I would say "indifferent" but then I have heard it often.

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Aug 26, 07, 18:49 #3
I have found that there are three accents. 1. Taught by a Polish English teacher. 2. Taught be a British English teacher. 3. Those that have spent a lot of time in the UK.

Wyspianska	Aug 26, 07, 18:50 #4
Hey Arkady! Im not really worried about my accent. Boys are telling me its sexy oO All which i met and which arent Poles love polish accent in english. U know, 'not correctly' doesnt have to mean 'bad' :)

BubbaWooThreads: 46 Posts: 4,438 Joined: Sep 26, 06 ♂	Aug 26, 07, 18:51 #5
4. Taught be a American English teacher. 5. Those that have spent a lot of time in the US.

EurolaThreads: 6 Posts: 2,647 Joined: Dec 2, 06 ♀	Aug 26, 07, 22:17 #6
6. Taught by a Polish English teacher in the US.

Arkady

Aug 26, 07, 23:09 #7

Quoting: Wyspianska

Hey Arkady! Im not really worried about my accent. Boys are telling me its sexy oO
All which i met and which arent Poles love polish accent in english. U know, 'not correctly' doesnt have to mean 'bad' :)

I think that it is common for women to sound sexy when speaking with an accent because it makes them appear sweet and thus attractive. Foreign accent is a lot like baby speech. On the other hand, in case of men it makes them look not very serious and therefore not too sexy. Besides that, it is always better to learn people's opinion when they express them anonymously. ;)

HuegThreads: 1 Posts: 428 Joined: Apr 16, 07 ♂	Aug 26, 07, 23:09 #8
7. Those who have <bong> listened to too much Linguaphone

Arkady	Aug 26, 07, 23:10 #9
Quoting: BubbaWoo 4. Taught be a American English teacher. 5. Those that have spent a lot of time in the US. Maybe according to Wroclaw those speak without accent. Who knows!? ;)

♀

Aug 27, 07, 00:05 #10

Quoting: Arkady

I think that it is common for women to sound sexy when speaking with an accent because it makes them appear sweet and thus attractive. Foreign accent is a lot like baby speech. On the other hand, in case of men it makes them look not very serious and therefore not too sexy.

This kind of sexist attitude makes me sick - nothing personal Arkady - just in general. Women are "sexy" when they seem stupid and immature, while men are "sexy" when they are in control and deal with serious stuff. Anyways, thanks for your honest opinion. Now I know that I need to try to speak with less accent.

shewolfThreads: 5 Posts: 1,835 Joined: Dec 23, 06 ♀	Aug 27, 07, 01:29 #11
I love the accent. It's very attractive.

Sc0ttThreads: 7 Posts: 32 Joined: May 1, 07 ♂	Aug 27, 07, 02:44 #12
Quoting: shewolf I love the accent. It's very attractive. agreed :)

SunflowerThreads: 15 Posts: 102 Joined: Jun 29, 07 ♀	Aug 27, 07, 02:54 #13
I speak French and I always remember a French guy telling me my English accent was cute, which I found most amusing. I do find accents attractive, but then I absolutely love languages and linguistics :0) But yeah, the Polish accent is certainly attractive...

loulou	Oct 14, 07, 14:06 #14
i love it when my male friends talk i find it so interesting and sometimes sexy

loulou	Oct 14, 07, 14:08 #15
i speak french 2 just started talking to a great polish guy but when i try to speak polish he just laughs

♂

Edited by: osiol Oct 14, 07, 14:17 #16

Quoting: Arkady

speak without accent

A contradiction.
Anyone who talks has some sort of accent.

I think that Polish ways of speaking English don't sound bad. It can sound quite nice.

From an English (you know - like we speak in England) perspective:
Ways of pronouncing the English 'o' sound (as you might find in hotel)
sometimes it is rendered as the monopthong as it is pronounced in Polish,
sometimes, more like the American version - like you might spell in Polish as 'oł',
but the one I don't like is where it is pronounced with a kind of 'e' (as in 'shed) sound - like 'eł'. This one is also common with Russians speaking English.

_Sofi_

Oct 14, 07, 16:24 #17

Quoting: Arkady

What is your perception of polish accent in english?

I like it. I have to say, when a polish (most often) guy speaks to me, I normally have to take a minute or two before I begin to understand what he is saying. The first time I spoke to my friend, he began chatting and I had to say 'sorry, what?' a few times, despite the fact I knew he was speaking English really well. Once I got used to the accent, after a few minutes we were in deep conversation and I understood perfectly - I just had to adjust I think (if that makes sense!).

Even more, I (since I am Scottish) like when he (or others) will say things in scottish dialect to me :)

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07 ♂	Oct 14, 07, 16:36 #18
I shall briefly turn the question around. What do Polish people think of the way English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, American, Australian, Jamaican people learning Polish sound? I sound quite good actually. Very slow, but good. Although actually, probably not. Quoting: _Sofi_ say things in scottish dialect to me Bonnie lass.

_Sofi_	Oct 14, 07, 16:43 #19
Quoting: osiol Bonnie lass :) [<--see, I am easily pleased lol. Even if I've never used the word 'bonnie' outside reference to Bonnie Prince C in all my life lol]] lol more words like the simple "nae bother at aw," "Aye," "You want [the 'a' pronounced as the a in apple] etc but that's a start lol more commonly attempted, it seems, is our profanities in dialect. hehe

osiolThreads: 59 Posts: 4,714 Joined: Jul 25, 07 ♂	Oct 14, 07, 16:58 #20
Is this a pie or a meringue?

AniaGThreads: - Posts: 2 Joined: Mar 28, 08 ♀	Mar 29, 08, 23:34 #21
my boyfriend is polish and i love his accent which is very thick.. i think he sounds sexy both in english and in polish. although i dont understand him in polish i love to listen to him and his friends talk in polish and it helps with my learning,.

♂

Mar 29, 08, 23:48 #22

osiol wrote:

I shall briefly turn the question around.
What do Polish people think of the way English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, American, Australian, Jamaican people learning Polish sound?

English - high brow when RP is used, or most Souther areas such as Conrwales, choppy, almost choking sounds in other dialects
Scottish - I have to listen in for a few seconds to decide whether I'm supposed to answer in English or in German.
American - South States -lazy, somewhat primitive, North intelligible, something I'm used to (Baltimore sounds pretty UK-ish, NYC sounds hilarious to me, kinda like Czech to Polish speakers)
Australian - simple, good hearted :)
Jamaican - that one is a very easy accent since they only use two words; ya man.

GoonieThreads: 10 Posts: 297 Joined: Mar 6, 07 ♂	Mar 30, 08, 00:48 #23
I'm such a self loathing pole Don't like the accent in English. I really like italian and uk accents lol Bloody bollocks :D

irishdeanoThreads: 11 Posts: 492 Joined: Oct 23, 07 ♂	Mar 30, 08, 05:02 #24
i like my gfs accent its so nice. i could listen to it all the time.....tho shes not a fan of my accent sometimes lol but she said it sounds nice when i talk in polish lol :P :P :P

miranda

Mar 30, 08, 06:59 #25

accents are great in personal relationsips. Try to find them amusing when you actually have to work or do bussiness - they often cause misunderstandings.

Marzena wrote:

This kind of sexist attitude makes me sick - nothing personal Arkady - just in general. Women are "sexy" when they seem stupid and immature, while men are "sexy" when they are in control and deal with serious stuff. Anyways, thanks for your honest opinion. Now I know that I need to try to speak with less accent.

agree with you.

♀

Mar 30, 08, 07:39 #26

Arkady wrote:

Is polish accent attractive, charming, indifferent, irritating, confusing, ugly?

I'm Polish, but brought up in in the UK, so I speak English with an English accent. I love hearing Polish spoken, but don't like hearing Polish people speak English - I think it sounds horrible! Maybe I am alone, who knows. I expect that English people who can't speak Polish may feel differently though. Like most Britons seem to hate white South African accents, but I love them! :)

miranda wrote:

Women are "sexy" when they seem stupid and immature

No, women are "sexy" when they sound intelligent and funny, but not stuck-up :)

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Mar 30, 08, 09:16 #27
I prefer the Russian accent but the Polish accent is nice enough, provided the woman doesn't whine (super high pitch), that irritates me

miranda	Edited by: miranda Mar 30, 08, 09:19 #28
SouthOfDaThames wrote: No, women are "sexy" when they sound intelligent and funny, but not stuck-up :) that comment is way off topic. I was remarking on accents in general and from my observation on this forum I came to conclusion that there is singnificant number of men who thinks or finds an accent attractive or sexy. I personally don't find accents sexy, but this is another dscussion.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Mar 30, 08, 09:22 #29
The vowel pronunciation is comical in a nice way. U may hear, 'I like white or brown sheet', for example. Golden rule, don't laugh at the students, laugh with them

♂

Mar 30, 08, 15:32 #30

Hi everyone!

Wow. I`m surprised that you actually like polish accent when speak English. I always thought It sounds really crap. I`m polish, but I know english at good level (well, I hope soo) - but the one thing I never understood was: how to say this English accent. Tried to learn, but without success.

People who know me say I have American accent, which I hate. I always wanted to learn "London accent" if you know what I mean (the one from FOOTBALL FACTORY movie - Gregory Donaldson, Frank Harper, Roland Manookian, Tamer Hassan <-- they got outstanding accent, I wish speak like that.

Anyway, Polish accent isn`t as bad as I thought. Is it?

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