Re: Halina
in reply to a message by )(
I think it's lovely, though I pronounce it like "ha-LEE-na," which isn't the correct Polish pronunciation.
Replies
As a Polish speaker, I can assure you that no one, apart from probably linguists, can usually hear, or even know that they could be hearing, the difference between the English "h" and Polish "h", most people just don't pay that much attention. Not softening the "l" could get noticed but honestly, most people likely wouldn't know exactly what's off or think too much about it, it could be just a personal speaking pattern. So your pronunciation isn't really functionally different from a Polish pronunciation. If I were to tell an English speaker, how I pronounce Halina I would write down ha-LEE-na as well.
Oh, thank you for that clarification! I'm glad I'm not totally mispronouncing it. :)