Polish, like Russian, belongs to the Slavic group of languages. It is included in the West Slavic branch along with Czech, Slovak and Serbo-Lusatian. However, it is included in the Lechitic subgroup together with one extinct and poorly spoken language. Among the dialects of the Poles a special place occupies Kashubian — it unites more than 100 thousand people in Poland and a part of Germany.

A peculiarity of mastering Polish is its pronunciation. Those who speak Polish not from childhood have a hard time with the hissing sounds. Accent when pronouncing them always gives away a newcomer and learning to speak correctly without constant practice among native speakers is almost impossible.

Pronunciation is what causes most translation mistakes in Polish. For instance, Wódzie is not listed on any of the Russian-speaking maps. In Polish, the name is spelt L`o`d z and in Russian it reads Łódź. Therefore, in the case of important translations, it is best to contact a translation agency where experts will accurately interpret the meaning of words. One of the easiest things in Polish is accentuation. It is static and always falls on the penultimate syllable.

Until the 16th century Polish was heavily influenced by Czech. Over time it started to have Latin, Italian, French and German components. Nowadays, as in many other languages, English dominates. Even a large number of dictionaries do not solve the problem of ambiguity of meaning and other problems of translation. Qualitative interpretation of what is written in Polish is in most cases possible only with knowledge of English.

Difficulties in translating from Slavic languages also lie in the different meanings of words, e.g. compared to Russian. Many older Poles know and understand Russian well, because until the end of 90’s it was taught in schools. But when asked a question not in Polish, natives can answer in their native language. This is influenced not so much by devotion to Polish and a desire to demonstrate national pride, as by fear of mispronunciation of Russian words.

A high-pitched style of narration is another specificity of the Polish language that was passed down from the Baroque period to modern times. If in everyday communication, concentrating on ornate phrasing is a thing of the past, the absence of important Polish expressions in official correspondence can make the fate of a business contract less in your favour. To reduce the risks of such an outcome, it is better to entrust this to a translation agency — professionals will interpret the text taking into account all the dangerous points and peculiarities of working with the Polish language.