how do you pronounce "Dzerzhinsky"? im having trouble with the polish IPA.?

Dec 10, 2009 by Nicholas | Posted in Languages

how do you pronounce "Dzerzhinsky" im having trouble with the polish IPA

I'm not sure exactly what last name you're talking about, as it seems like one of: a) Dzierżyński or b) Dzierziński or c) Dzierzyński.

I'll try and explain how to pronounce these correctly. Unfortunately that is very long, so perhaps this link to an online text to speech program will be more helpful.
I'm sorry that my explanation is so long, but you had the bad luck of choosing a last name with lots of sounds that don't exist in English. I wrote how to pronounce it as correctly as possible. If you want a shortcut, perhaps this will help:
http://www.ivona.com/?tk=aMmDwKb3



First up, a) Dzierżyński and b) Dzierziński are pretty similar, the main difference is unfortunately a letter not present in the English language.
"Dzi" is sort of like english "j" (jeep), BUT it's softer in a way. /Not quiter, just less harsh) Try saying "chya" like maybe in Italian "ciao!" Now say "jya" like "chya." And that "jya" is essentially "Dzia".
So I'll write the first syllable as "Jyeh."

The next sound is the rolled r. "Jyeh-r"

Now the hard part. In Polish we have three z's, they are: z, ż, and ź. Option (a) uses the ż sound while option (b) uses the ź sound. To be honest this difference is extremely difficult for English speakers, so I'll try not to waste too much time on it since you would probably be forgiven for this mistake if you don't speak any Polish, or be corrected face-to-face, which would be a a lot easier than an online explanation.
The ż sound is a hard z-sound, the ź is soft (and z is normal z).
Now ż is to z as English sh is to s. You already know how to turn a "s" into a "z." Now just put your tongue into the "sh" position and make it into a z-sound exactly like before. That is ż. (same sound as the J in French Jacques)
Ok. Then ź is a soft ż. So if ż is hard like the ch in cheese, then ź is soft like the "chy" in ciao. Don't worry if you can't hear this difference at first.

By now we have:
"Jyeh-r-ż/ź

Next. Polish y is like the "i" in tin or sin; and Polish i is like "ee."
"Jyeh-r-żi" and "Jyeh-r-źee"

The end is very easy. The Polish ń is exactly like Spanish ñ, it's a soft "n". And "-ski" is pronounced "skee"

And you're done!
a) Dzierżyński "Jyeh-rżiñ-skee"
b) Dzierziński "Jyeh-rźeeñ-skee"



And if you're even reading this far I will be amazed.
Option (c).
If you read all the above explanation, this will go fast.
Dzie --> "Jyeh"
When you write rz next to each other it's the exact same sound as ż.
Again "i" as in "tin", the eñe, and "skee".

c) Dzierzyński "Jyeh-żiñ-skee"