# ś-pronunciation



## Tazzler

Hello all,

I really need some help with pronouncing the sound represented by the letter _ś_. Could you give me some tips on the proper way to produce it correctly? For example, how does it differ from the sound represented by _sh_, which is given as the closest English equivalent? I really need this, so I am very thankful for all the help you can give me. 

Dziękuję .


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## Solotto

hello,
Hit You Tube and search for 'siema 3Y (yez yez yo)'.
the first word they say is "siema", however in Polish you pronounce "ś" in the same way as "si..." so it should help.
The song sucks, i hate it, but i can't think of any other way to explain correct pronounciation.


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## The Cure

Hello, first post here

I think it's more soft than English "sh"

If you know German it might help you - 
you remember the way Germans pronounce "ch" in some cases? 
that's close. 

good luck


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## majlo

These two sounds are quite similar in terms of pronunciation. [ʃ] (sh) is voiceless postalveolar fricative, and [ɕ] (ś) is voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative, so as you can tell by the names, they share a lot of properties. The only one they differ in is the place of articulation. When you pronounce [ʃ], there is relatively much space between the tongue and the palate. If you want to make [ɕ] out of [ʃ], you should simply  raise more or less the middle part of your tongue so that it's much closer to the hard palate, almost on the verge of touching it, and the back actually slightly touching the hard palate.
Don't hesitate to ask if you should have further qestions.


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## cured

majlo said:


> [ʃ] (sh) is voiceless postalveolar fricative, and [ɕ] (ś) is voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative...


 
um.... I was always told that "sh" is palato-alveolar fricative. Strange....


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## majlo

cured said:


> um.... I was always told that "sh" is palato-alveolar fricative. Strange....



Yeah, strange...


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## Tazzler

majlo said:


> These two sounds are quite similar in terms of pronunciation. [] (sh) is voiceless postalveolar fricative, and [ɕ] (ś) is voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative, so as you can tell by the names, they share a lot of properties. The only one they differ in is the place of articulation. When you pronounce [ʃ], there is relatively much space between the tongue and the palate. If you want to make [ɕ] out of [ʃ], you should simply  raise more or less the middle part of your tongue so that it's much closer to the hard palate, almost on the verge of touching it, and the back actually slightly touching the hard palate.
> Don't hesitate to ask if you should have further qestions.


 
Thank you! This really helps! The hardest part about Polish phonology is the without any doubt the hushes! They really do set the language apart. So it is just a palatilized [ʃ]? I thought it was more complicated than that. Also, where does the tip of the tongue go? Does it matter?

Thanks for all of your help. I appreciate it.


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## majlo

Tazzler said:


> Thank you! This really helps!


You're welcome. 


Tazzler said:


> The hardest part about Polish phonology is the without any doubt the hushes! They really do set the language apart. So it is just a palatilized [ʃ]? I thought it was more complicated than that.


Like I said, they are very similar in terms of pronunciation. I don't think  [ɕ] requires much training. Surely, not more than English vowels or diphthongs. 




Tazzler said:


> Also, where does the tip of the tongue go? Does it matter?


 
I don't think so. [ɕ] is neither alveolar nor dental, so the tip of the tongue isn't that important, but it does change its position - it's a little lower than in case of [ʃ].


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