Nasal phonemes and their realisation in Polish. Selected teaching problems

Abstract

This article discusses the problems related to the sound realisation of the so-called nasal sounds, that is letters ą and ę, as well as the differences in the phonological interpretation of those realisations. The issue has been repeatedly raised by linguists (e.g. Zarembina 1963; Retz 1979ab; Dunaj 1991; Sawicka 1995; Nagórko 1998; Szpyra-Kozłowska 2002, and others), which proves its complexity and difficulty. The letters ą and ę can be pronounced in various ways depending on their neighbourhood (that is other letters that follow them), which causes problems in Polish language didactics and in the process of teaching of the correct Polish language pronunciation (especially when it comes to teaching Polish pronunciation to foreigners). The article mentions the methods and principles of the realisation of nasal sounds as well as inconsistencies in the phonological characteristics of the phenomenon. The article is an overview, as its aim is to compare different suggestions for the phonological interpretation. Keywords: phonetics – phonological system – nasal vowels – nasal phonemes.