Polish Language/name "mylesko"

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Expert: Maciej St. Ziêba - 10/13/2009


Question
I am trying to find someone I cannot remember how to spell the last name, it is something like mylesko. can you help me with spellings?

Answer
Dear Mary,

It's difficult to answer your question. Are you sure the surname is Polish? the ending -esco or -escu is quite common in Romanian surnames (like Ionesco, Ceausescu), but quite rare in Polish.


Everything depends on how you pronounce the word you have written. English spelling can hardly be called phonetical (contrary to the Polish one).

If you pronounce the first syllable of the word "my-" with y as in "syllable", then
the closest one is written Mileszko, and pronounced [mih-LESH-ko] -ih standing for short i like in "bit".

See: http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/index/m_25_17.html - then you can see the repartition of the surname in Poland (and even in Germany).

If you however pronounce the first syllable with y as in the word "my" or "Mycroft" - then the Polish spelling should be "Majles....." and no such name exists in the present day Poland.

See: http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/index/m_3_36.html

Best regards

MAciej  

Polish Language

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Maciej St. Zięba

Expertise

I am native Polish and I used to teach Polish to foreigners. I know (passively of actively) more than 15 other languages - so I can answer many questions concerning Polish grammar, pronounciation, spelling, etymology and usage - as compared to English, French, German, Russian, Dutch, Esperanto or Norwegian. Also questions concerning other Slavic languages, Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, or general linguistics, especially scripts (writing systems and transcriptions) - are welcome.

Experience

Teaching English and French to Poles, Polish to foreigners, teaching Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan to philosophy students. Former President of the Regional Examination Committee for Tourist Guides (English and French)

Organizations
The Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), Poland, History of Philosophy Department - assistant-professor. Polish Oriental Society; International Association of Buddhist Studies; Klingon Language Institute; Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin; Polish Philosophical Association; Universala Esperanto-Asocio

Publications
Books: "Origin of the World According to Rigveda" (Montreal 1996); "Our Bug. Creating Conditions for Development of the Border Areas of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus through Enhancement and Preservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage" (Lublin 2008); "Migration - a Challenge to the 21st century" (Lublin 2008); "Migracja zarobkowa do Woch" (Job migration to Italy) (Lublin 2008); more than 100 articles in "Powszechna Encyklopedia Filozofii" (Universal Encyclopedia od Philosophy) vol. 1-10 (Lublin 2000-2009); many more in Polish

Education/Credentials
Studying philosophy at Catholic University of Lublin (Poland) 1976-81; PhD in Philosophy (1989). Having learned languages in Gdask and Gdynia (Russian, Esperanto, Latin, English - International Bacalaureate), Lublin (KUL - French, German, Dutch, Sanskrit, Latin, Ancient Greek; UMCS - Chinese, Japanese; elsewhere - Esperanto, Spanish, Italian), Paris (IIAP - French; INALCO - Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese; Sorbonne - Sanskrit), Asker (Norwegian), Montreal (McGill - Chinese); Rome (Italian). Self-taught: Slavic languages (other than Polish and Russian), Hungarian, Korean, Vietnamese, Klingon and several other.

Past/Present Clients
AllExperts users (since 12/03/2003); Wikipedia readers (since 2004)

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