In praise of … the Polish language

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/30/in-praise-polish-language

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With its mind-bending plosives, tongue-twisting fricatives and terrifying affricates, Polish is not the easiest of languages to master. Try saying Szczebrzeszyn (sounds a bit like shtebdeshin) for the merest hint of the challenges involved. To non-Polish speakers, just saying hello sounds more like a polite sneeze than a greeting, while the combination of z with almost every other consonant creates a palette of snuffles that can be distinguished only with the most diligent study. This is the tongue that is now spoken by more than half a million in England and Wales, according to newly released data from the 2011 census, and vies with Welsh for popularity. The Irish Herald once introduced a Polish language pullout, but the signs now are that second-generation Poles speak English as well as Polish, with all the established neurological benefits of bilingualism. Learning Polish may be harder, but those who've done it say it's worth the effort.