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From: =James Birkholz= <>
Subject: RE: [POSEN] Polish Terms
Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 10:42:12 -0500
References: <NIEALCAFHMMMJLHGGFJFOEJACDAA.textor@oncable.dk><00f701c31cd8$52f04ea0$b2ce7689@e7k7n8>
In-Reply-To: <5.2.1.1.0.20030518061015.01d24c60@incoming.verizon.net>


I'll sum up what I've learned about Polish diacritcals. Please correct any
errors.

The Polish language is spelled with 23 of the Latin characters that English
uses, plus another 9 characters that use one of four "diacritical
marks". The three Latin characters "Q", "V" and "X" are only used in
Polish to spell foreign words.

The single dot over the "z" is called a kropka ("dot") or kropeczka
("little dot"). Sometimes called the "dotted Z" or "Z dot accent". It has a
"ZH" sound, like the "s" in "treasure".

Four consonants and one vowel may have the kreska ("stroke") or kreseczka
("little stroke") above them.
While often called an acute, this mark (which looks like an apostrophe) is
slightly diferent and is used on the letters "O C N S Z". Sometimes called
the "O acute", "C acute" etc.

The slash through the "L" is called a kreska ukosna ("_?_ stroke").
Sometimes called the "L slash" or "barred L". It has a "W" sound.

The little hook below the "A" and "E" is called an ogonek ("little tail")
or ("apple stem"). This gives the vowel a French nasel sound that sounds
like it might have an "N" on the end, so German spelling of Polish names
usually add the "N". For example, the town of "Wa~growiec" was Germanized
to "Wongrowitz".

My source for most of this was here:
http://studweb.euv-frankfurt-o.de/twardoch/f/en/typo/ogonek/intro.html
which shows the characters and discuss font design.

James

At 06:12 AM 5/18/03, =James Birkholz= wrote:
>For some reason, I don't recall ever hearing names for the Polish
>diacriticals. The German ones are: (vowel) umlaut and the "esszhet". Can
>anyone provide either an English language or Polish language set of names?
>
>James

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