Polish "c"

[Car]

How do you pronounce a "c" in Polish?
I just had a look at a Polish e-mail course in Esperanto and I'm not sure about it. In general the Polish pronunciation confuses me a bit.

[Psi-Lord]

If my memory serves me well, the Polish c sounds like English ts (or as German z in words like Zeit).

[Car]

Thanks!
And what about dż?

[Ryan]

I'm pretty sure the "dz" in Polish is pronounced like the English "dz" as in "kids." But if it's "dz" (with an accent mark over the 'z') it is pronounced like an English "j."

[Fenek]

Hi, Car!
I am not surprised that you found Polish pronunciation confusing, it's really difficult.

I can confirm that Polish "c" is usually pronounced like German "z".
However, there are some rules that can bring about change of the pronunciation of 'c':
1) The letter "i" softens the preceding consonant. That's why "c" followed by "i" is pronounced like Polish "ć".
2) Voiceless consonants preceding voiced consonants may turn into the corresponding voiced consonants. So "c" followed by a voiced consonant is pronounced like Polish "dz".

Ryan was right, Polish "dż" (don't mistake it for dź!) is pronounced like English "j" in "James".
Again, the pronunciation of "dż" may be different in some positions. "dż" is pronounced like its voiceless correspondent consonant, i.e. Polish "cz", when it is followed by a voiceless consonant or it stands at the end of a word.

[Psi-Lord]

The softening of consonants is probably the point I've always had more problems with in languages that use it. But then, I guess it took me ages to figure out (by myself) the difference between the German sch (as in englisch) and the ch (as in sprechen, not as in Buch)—but I eventually got it.

[Car]

Hi, Car!
I am not surprised that you found Polish pronunciation confusing, it's really difficult.

I can confirm that Polish "c" is usually pronounced like German "z".
However, there are some rules that can bring about change of the pronunciation of 'c':
1) The letter "i" softens the preceding consonant. That's why "c" followed by "i" is pronounced like Polish "ć".
2) Voiceless consonants preceding voiced consonants may turn into the corresponding voiced consonants. So "c" followed by a voiced consonant is pronounced like Polish "dz".

Ryan was right, Polish "dż" (don't mistake it for dź!) is pronounced like English "j" in "James".
Again, the pronunciation of "dż" may be different in some positions. "dż" is pronounced like its voiceless correspondent consonant, i.e. Polish "cz", when it is followed by a voiceless consonant or it stands at the end of a word.

Cześć a dziękuje, Fenek!

[Fenek]

Cześć a dziękuje, Fenek!

Proszę bardzo.
I think I will add some examples, so as to make my quick explanations clearer.

"Plac" - meaning "square" - pronounced [plac], c pronounced like German z or tz in "Platz".
"Na plac go!" - meaning "(Take/bring) him to the square" - when it is spoken fast, it will be pronounced [napladzgo], because the c, followed by voiced g, will become voiced dz; when each word is spoken separately, the pronunciation will be normal: [na plac go].
"Cisza" - meaning "silence" - pronounced [ćisza]
"Ciastko" - meaning "cake" - pronounced [ćastko], the i is not pronounced, it only serves to indicate that the c should be pronounced like ć.

"Dżem" - meaning "jam" - pronounced [dżem], dż pronounced like j in the English word "jam"
"Różdżka" - meaning "a stick of a sorcerer" - pronounced [ruszczka], the dż is followed by voiceless k and it becomes voiceless cz (the same thing happens to the ż, which becomes sz)
"Brydż" - meaning "bridge (the game)" - pronounced [brycz], the voiced dż becomes voiceless at the end of a word
"Zagramy w brydża?" - meaning "Shall we play bridge?" - pronounced [zagramy wbrydża], the dż is followed by a vowel, so it remains voiced