Lodz, zloty - Pronunciation help

1. Lodz - I'm moving there at the end of the summer and don't even know how to pronounce it! I thought it was pronounced as it looks, L-o-d-z, but then heard someone pronounce it like the word "wood" but with a 'ch' at the end...."Wooch." Is that correct?

2. zloty - Hopefully I've spelled that correctly? Is the "L" pronounced with a "w" sound? And if zloty is like dollars in the U.S., and pounds in the U.K.....then what is the Polish word for cents (US)/pence (UK)?

3. I think the letter "L" has a "W" sound. Are there other letters of the alphabet that have similar variations?

4. I know a little German (ein bischen Deutsch). Will that be at all useful to me in Poland?

5. Electronic translators....has anyone used one of these? I'm thinking of getting one for my year there. At my age I think I might need any extra help I could get since I want to be out and amongst the local people.

Thank you!

łódź is pronounced woodge h t t p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodz take the spaces out this tells you about the area etc

złoty no the currency in poland in nothing like the UK or US bev07 its completely different
h t t p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C5%82oty

i would go to wikipedia and research more about the country and the currency prior to obviously moving there be a good idea otherwise you will get a bit confused and puzzled by things
h t t p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland

i would suggest you learn polish to be honest if you intend on living there .. by my accounts german is hardly spoken .. english is amongst the younger generation but polish is the national language and it would be advised to learn it.

i would invest in a good polish phrasebook like the lonely planets one that has pronouncation in and things be better than having an electronic thing in your hand

Why are you moving to Lodz?

The town is full of old grey communist style apartment buildings and it is very ugly.

bloki.jpg

Telefonitika...thanks for the helpful website links. I'm enjoying reading them and I feel they will be helpful in preparing us for our stay there. I'll try to learn to speak some Polish. It looks quite difficult but I think local people appreciate it when one makes a effort to communicate in their language.

Witek....we're moving to Lodz because that's where my husband's current project will be located for a year.

I haven't heard many exciting things said about Lodz, but that's okay. We're looking forward to the experience of getting acquainted with local people, learning about the culture, and the opportunity to visit various places in Poland.

telefonitika..
what's so completely different about zloty? Exchange rate? But that's understandable.

1 zloty (PLN) similar as in USA : 1 dollar ($USD)

1 zloty= 100 groszy like: 1 dollar =100 cents

It's very clear:
zloty and grosz / dollar and cent

i hope you enjoy the experience hunnie and you were welcome on the links plus best thing about wiki is you click on something and it will take you to more interesting finds and information related.

i am already building up excitment for when i am in poland on holiday in summer this year


Thats why i gave the link to show the differences in styles you generally can get more to the british pound sterling for zloty than that of the us dollar.