A biweekly feature about little things.
The capitalization rules for English are important, even if most people ignore them in texts and social media. While there are amusing possibilities for misunderstandings, dropping a capital never results in a difference in pronunciation.
Except when we’re talking about Poland.
With an uppercase P, it’s a noun or adjective about the people, language, or culture of Poland, i.e. Poland. (IPA: ˈpoʊ lɪʃ , sounds like “pole-ish” or “goldfish”
E.g., “Polish people are everywhere you look—especially in Poland.”
With a lowercase P, it’s a noun or verb about making things shiny, i.e. polish. (IPA: ˈpɒl ɪʃ , sounds like “paw-lish” or “crawfish”)
E.g., “You must polish the silverware thoroughly so it looks pristine before we cover it in greasy food and clang it against our teeth.”
You can also use the lowercase P polish as a phrasal verb, “polish off,” meaning to finish.
E.g., “Please polish off that last piece of cake so we can clean the good platter and get it back into storage.”
Because you have to start every sentence with a capital letter, you can easily end up with a big P “Polish” that’s pronounced like the little P “polish.”
E.g. “Polishing the floor for three hours is a great way to avoid relatives.”
[Insert your own classic Polish joke to round out this post here.]