Subject: summary : polish phonology

not too long ago i posted a request for polish informants who were also linguists in the hope of getting some quick responses to some questions about polish phonology which are not fully addressed in the literature . the response has been tremendous . since the details may not be of interest , and since i am not sure if all respondents want their names used , i will summarize as follows : most respondents report having a contrast between the sequences [ k ' e ] and [ kje ] as well as [ g ' e ] and [ gje ] , where by [ k ' ] and [ g ' ] i mean a fronted velar probably not quite as front as ipa [ c ] , though . a minority of respondents report no contrast , which is apparently the result of a very recent and presumably spreading sound change . of those speakers who do have the contrast , most report also having a similar contrast between [ x ' e ] and [ xje ] sequences , although one or two do not . it is this last contrast , [ x ' e ] vs . [ xje ] ( both distinct also from [ xe ] ) which is of special interest because in attested forms it only appears before one suffix , a rather peculiar one at that . the suffix is spelled - ewicz and it forms last names such as stankiewicz or banachiewicz . it is also clear that such names come from eastern poland , and that the [ x ' e ] pronunciation is thus a borrowing into standard polish from some eastern dialects and ultimately from east slavic ( belorussian / ukrainian ) . synchronically , however , it is a genuine contrast and one of special interest to those phonologists who are interested in the universals governing the possible systems of contrasts ( e . g . , in lexical phonology 's structure preservation , ) . great thanks to everybody who has responded so far . once i verify whether i am authorized to publicize people 's names i will post a " nonymous " acknowledgement . any additional information on this topic would be welcome . alexis mr
