Have you ever heard the popular joke where the ophthalmologist asks his Polish patient if he can read the last line of the chart during an eye exam?

“Reading it?” says the patient. “orzsk? I know that guy!”

For all of us used to the ‘standard’ consonant-vowel combinations that produce syllable sounds in the English language, combinations like ch, cz, rz, sz, szcz are unsettling.

Now, if you thought these were undoubtedly unfamiliar but not that hard after all, how about this 54-letter tongue twister?

It is the singular form of an adjective meaning, roughly speaking, “of nine hundred and ninety-nine nationalities”! Of course, a 54-letter word is difficult in any language. After all, when Mary Poppins said “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, who thought it was easy?

So what about the easiest “Konstantynopolitanczykowianeczka”? The word means a girl from Constantinople. Not so easy if Polish is all Greek and Latin to the speaker (or listener)!

Is Polish a language impossible to pronounce smoothly? Hardly, IF you are a competent speaker of the language.

polish your facts

Polish is a West Slavic language spoken mainly by the 38.5 million natives of Poland as their first language. Additionally, Polish is the second language in parts of Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Historically, Polish is an important language in academia and diplomacy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Emigration, particularly that following World War II, has resulted in the spread of the language to other parts of the world; Polish speakers can be found in such diverse parts of the world as Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Russia, and Ireland. In total, there are an estimated 55 million Polish speakers worldwide.

Polish has 32 letters in its alphabet: 6 oral vowels, 2 nasal vowels, and 24 consonants.

Do we need to shine in Polish?

Ask mountaineers why they love to climb something as challenging as Mount Everest and the answer will be: Because it’s there!

There are many with a love of languages ​​and learning Polish is something that challenges this love.

The more practical, and perhaps mundane, reasons would be:

Poland ranks 20th in GDP globally and is considered a high-income economy by none other than an authority such as the World Bank.

Poland is a founding member of the World Trade Organization.

Poland has been aggressively liberalizing its economic policy since the 1990s, and this has contributed to steady economic growth.

Polish law encourages foreign investors and the Polish government offers tax and investment incentives. Take, for example, the 14 economic zones where exemption from income tax and property tax are designed to encourage foreign investment, as well as competitive land prices.

Poland is also a member of the EU and investing in Poland offers the added benefits of EU structural funds, brownfield and greenfield locations.

Last but not least, learning Polish opens the door to other Slavic languages ​​such as Slovenian, Bosnian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Russian, Macedonian, Belarusian, Serbian, and Bulgarian. This is the stuff a polyglot’s dreams are made of!

Polish to English and vice versa

There are an estimated 15 million Poles living in non-native countries. Poland also offers an attractive investment climate. Translation from Polish to English, the language that is now considered the lingua franca of the 21st century, is certainly a growing need.

With the Polish expat community, translation needs may arise for personal documents such as birth and marriage certificates, medical procedures or treatments, wills, green card petitions, etc.

Translation for business needs can cover a whole range of activities: license and loan applications, tax returns, financial and accounting paperwork, correspondence, etc.

Business, travel and tourism consistently drive the hotel industry: English translation of websites and brochures to attract tourists and travelers is in high demand.

The largest component of the Polish economy is the service sector. Production or service based websites need translation to increase their reach as Poland dives deeper into the globalization scene.

Translation that becomes eloquent

Polish to English translators must be fluent in both languages ​​to be effective. This is the minimum, not everything that specialized translation implies.

Special skills are needed, especially within the areas of law and government, to translate and ensure proper localization from Polish to English. Keep in mind that a seemingly minor slip in the translation can cause not only a loss of prestige, but also adverse financial and legal consequences.

There are very specific formats for various documents that require more than knowledge of the English and Polish languages. Medical transcriptions, for example, require experience and knowledge of terms in both languages. Expert translation is what experts do!

Many documents and translations require the strictest confidentiality. Discretion is an integral part of translation.

Timely delivery of services is an important consideration – missing a deadline can often have devastating consequences.