The letter W in Polish

I have just started learning Polish and was just curious. Is it a rule of thumb that in every word the W is pronounced phonetically as V (vee)? Eg Wisla (veesla) or piwo (peevo)? Thanks in advance for your help :)

It can also take on the "F" sound.

Thats the general rule. As lowfunk said, it can take on the 'f' sound, however it is the 'V' most of the time.

My name is Wojtek but it's pronounced Voytek :)

yes v unless it's in a cluster of other constinants then it may sound like an "f" although it still ought to be pronounced like a 'v' but isn't always done in everyday speak.

It's unvoiced (like an F) if it is followed by another unvoiced consonant, ie.
C, Ć, CZ, K, P, S, Ś, SZ, T.

That is why names ending in -owski are pronounced as if it is -ofski.

Or so says the donkey who risks trying to teach his grandmother to suck eggs.

that's correct, osiol but in reality it should still be pronounced -ovski

You're the only person I've ever seen saying that. Shall we go back to speaking some sort of proto Indo-European?

nah, just ingnore what i say.. everyone else does. :)

Thanks for all your answers. Ordering 3 different learning materials on payday at the end of the month so just trying to get a basic(ish) grasp of the language.

W is always like the hard English V as in vinegar except before a sort consonant so ja jestem w Warszawie will be hard like an English 'v' sound but ja jestem w Częstochowie the 'v' will become an 'f' sound to make the joining process easier. Try saying v Częstochowie. This linguistic process happens and takes place in all Slovanic languages, even the Russians accept this practice.

I think you made a very confusing explanation Michal, and it could be misunderstood.

Now, w Warszawie ,the single "w" always sound like "f" ,it also sounds like "f" in endings like -ów (like in Kraków). All W in "Warszawie" and "Częstochowie" sound like "v".

I was not talking about the 'w' in Częstochowa but the in-the w word, which procedes it i.e. w Częstochowie sounds like fczęstochowie.

yup


not really but yes, for the most part
that's not really right. w preceeeding a word is hard v.

If you are looking at Wisla in an English alphabet, then you are not seeing the Ł letter is WisŁa. It is really prounounced Viswa. And now I can't see the word without memories too. Walking along the river is Kazimierz Dolny, the view from the top of library at Warsaw University, or going over it on one of the beautiful new bridges in Warsaw!

Agreed, I've never really thought of it like this, but I can see how some people might think it sounds like an "f". Like some people say ni ma instead of nie ma, or others who say Gůrny Ślůnsk instead of Górny Śląsk... though actually I'm going a little off-topic now aren't I, haha. bedtime I think :)

Because it does sound like an "f" sometimes, and this time Michal is right.
"w Czestochowie" will be pronounced as "fczestochowie".

This is a classical case of desonorization in the Polish language (ubezdzwiecznienie wsteczne)