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July 27

Pronunciation of Polish surname

Does anyone here know how to pronounce the Polish (I assume) surname "Sowiak"? It was a family name way back, but as my mother was deaf I've never known how it was pronounced. Thanks! --NellieBly (talk) 23:17, 27 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Polish pronunciation: [ˈsɔvʲak], close to SOV-yahk. It must mean "a male owl".--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 00:36, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I bow to Luboslov in all things Slavic and his answer is most likely the correct one, but I'm also wondering if that is indeed a Polish name or an Anglicization of a Polish name? Could it be an Anglicization of Żywiec (in which case the Polish pronunciation would be something like [ˈʐɨvjɛt͡s]).--William Thweatt ^Talk^Contribs 00:48, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I know of a singer named Oksana Sowiak, and there appears to be no anglicisation involved in her name. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 02:14, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I am not an expert of Polish surnames, but it's 100% Polish [1][2] [3]. It looks very rare though. I'm sure, they are all relatives, and Nelly can find them in Poland. If I were of Polish origin I'd also learn the language of my Polish ancestors, languages are always interesting. The question above is of 101 level. --Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 12:12, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks everyone, and especially Luboslov for his expert advice. Interestingly enough, it looks as if there are no Sowiaks left in the area my grandmother was from. Given the circumstances that's not surprising, but I didn't know how rare the name was. As for Anglicization...she immigrated at Quebec City, so I'm not sure if that was an issue. Thanks again. --NellieBly (talk) 12:45, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I thought it might be Jewish. Then they rather came from Ukraine. Сов’як/Soviak is quite wide-spread surname there. Pronounced: [sɔvˈjak] (like above but the stress is on the last syllable).--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 13:39, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you again! I have no idea whether they spoke Ukrainian or Polish or Yiddish or whatever - that part of Poland had Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Hungarians, and Russians living in it in 1925. --NellieBly (talk) 03:33, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

What's that part if it is not a secret?--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 12:19, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Lüboslóv Yęzýkin, NellieBly: it is almost definitely not a Jewish surname. I've searched most of the relevant databases at JewishGen.org (the Jewish genealogy website); there were no results. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 03:59, 31 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

See [4] for a geographic distribution of people with this surname in Poland. — Kpalion^(talk) 15:09, 28 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]