Pronunciation of Polish last name?

I have an appointment with a Dr Wolaniuk, who is Polish. My former college roommate, also Polish, was named "Saniuk" and it was pronounced Sahn-yuk. I thought "Wolaniuk" would be similar, like Vol-ah-nyuk, but the service called to remind me of my appt with Dr Wol -nee-ak. If any Polish speakers could advise, I'd appreciate it very much.

Pronunciation of Polish last name?
Vo-LAH-nyuk





I never met the name in Polish, but in Ukrainian it is written Волянюк, and thus pronounced (and transliterated) Volyanyuk (Vo-lya-nyuk).








edit: I today asked a Polish colleague, who confirmed that the surname Wolaniuk is used in Poland but of Ukrainian origin. A Russian (half-Ukrainian) colleague added that Волянюк in Ukrainian is usually stressed on the last syllable (Vo-lya-NYUK), whereas in Polish it is always stressed on the penultimate (Vo-LAH-nyuk).
Reply:Woh-lahn-yook
Reply:Ok first of all service calls NEVER and i do mean never get our last names right! I just laugh at them and hang up lol. But anyways you were right the first time Wolaniuk is pronounced Vol ah nyuk. Stupid callers. Good Job! Do Widzenia
Reply:Vol-ah-nyuk is right, Wol -nee-ak is wrong unless his last name is Wolniak
Reply:either you spelt it wrong or they did. if it's your spelling then you were right with your pronunciation - i often come across people who can't pronounce their boss' names and it drives me frickin crazy!! having said that, maybe it's someone new at the clinic...i guess i shouldn't be so harsh...?! ;o)
Reply:You are right to pronounce the name Wolaniuk as "vol-ah-nyuk." Polish spelling is pretty regular, so the letter "w" will pretty much always stand for a "v" sound, an "o" stands for a "oh", an "a" is an "ah", the letters "ni" stand for a "ny" (like the Spanish ñ), "u" is a "oo" and "k" is, well, a "k" ;)





By the same token, if somebody pronounces the name as "voh-lee-nyak," due to the regularity of Polish spelling, it must stand for a different name, i.e. Woliniak. One word will almost never have more than one pronounciation in Polish, so Wolaniuk is always "vol-ah-nyuk," or raher "vol-ah-nyook" since the last vowel should be a full long "oo" sound.





Whoever gave you the name on the phone could have mispronounced it, or you may have been mistaken about the name from the outset as it might really be Woliniak. However, I am Polish and I would have mispronounced it easily... it's like saying "Tom Johnson" instead of "John Thompson" - some people will do that ;)



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