Devoicing & Assimilation
For those who have studied Russian, German, and other languages, the concept of consonant devoicing is not foreign. In Polish, most consonants have a voiced and unvoiced pair. The pairs are as follows:
Voiced – Unvoiced
B [b] – p [p]
Gołąb [ˈgɔ.wɔmp] “dove”
D [d] – t [t]
Środku [ˈɕɾɔ.tku] “middle” (loc. case)
Dz [d͡z] – c [t͡s]
Kukurydz [ku.ku.ˈɾɪt͡s] “corn”
Dź [d͡ʑ] – ć [t͡ɕ]
Łódź [wut͡ɕ] “Lodz (city), boat”
Dż/drz [d͡ʐ] – cz, trz, tsz, tż [t͡ʂ]
Mądrz [mɔnt͡ʂ] “pontificate” (short form imperative)
G [g] – k [k]
Filolog [fʲi.ˈlɔ.lɔk] “philologist”
Rz, ż [ʐ] – sz [ʂ]
Twarz [tfaʂ] “face”
W [v] – f [f]
Krew [kɾɛf] “blood”
Z [z] – s [s]
Teraz [ˈtɛ.ɾas] “now”
Ź [ʑ] – ś [ɕ]
Przyleź [ˈpʂɪ.lɛɕ] “turn up uninvited” (2nd person sing. imperative)
Unlike other Slavic languages, Polish assimilation rules are quite simple—consonants will only assimilate from voiced to unvoiced. There are three instances when voiced consonants will assimilate to an unvoiced consonant.
1. When a paired voiced consonant is word-final.
2. When a paired voiced consonant is before an unvoiced consonant.
3. When a preposition (w, z) is before an unvoiced consonant.
When examining clusters of consonants, it is the last obstruent that will determine devoicing. However, w and rz will not determine the voicing of the cluster. In these instances, it will be the preceding consonant(s) as shown in the examples below.
Ex. Trzy [tʂɪ] “three”; drzwi [dʐvʲi] “door
Twarz [tfaʂ] “face”; dwór [dvuɾ] “manor”
These rules apply across word barriers as well. Therefore, if a word ends with a paired voiced consonant and the following word begins with a voiced/unvoiced consonant, it will be voiced or unvoiced. If the following word begins with a vowel, j, or w, the consonant of the previous word will be unvoiced. The exception to this is prepositions.
Ex. Żołnierz ranny [ˈʐɔw.ɲɛʂ‿ranːny] “wounded soldier”
Ogród ojca [ˈɔ.grut‿ˈɔj.t͡sa] “father’s garden”
But
Pod lasem [pɔd‿ˈla.sɛm] “by the forest”
Z matką [z‿ˈmat.kɔ̃] “with mother”