Chrząszcz

Chrząszcz (beetle, chafer) by Jan Brzechwa is a tongue-twister poem famous for being considered one of the hardest-to-pronounce texts in Polish literature. It may cause problems even for adult, native Polish speakers.[1][2][3]

The first few lines of the poem:

Polish original^ⓘ	Phonetic transcription	English translation
W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie	[f‿ʂt͡ʂɛ.bʐɛ.ˈʂɨ.ɲɛ xʂɔɰ̃ʂt͡ʂ bʐmi f‿ˈtʂt͡ɕi.ɲɛ]	In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds
I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie.	[i ʂt͡ʂɛ.ˈbʐɛ.ʂɨn s‿ˈtɛ.ɡɔ ˈswɨ.ɲɛ ‖]	And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for this.
Wół go pyta: „Panie chrząszczu,	[vuw ɡɔ ˈpɨ.ta | ˈpa.ɲɛ ˈxʂɔɰ̃ʂ.t͡ʂu |]	An ox asks him: "Mister beetle,
Po cóż pan tak brzęczy w gąszczu?"	[pɔ t͡suʂ pan tag‿ˈbʐɛn.t͡ʂɨ v‿ˈɡɔɰ̃ʂ.t͡ʂu ‖]	What are you buzzing in the bushes for?"

The Beetle Wooden Monument in Szczebrzeszyn, dedicated to the poem's main character

The first line "W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie" (In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reed) is a well-known Polish tongue-twister and dates to at least the 19th century.[2]

Thanks to the poem, the town of Szczebrzeszyn is widely known in Poland. Two monuments to the beetle were erected there, and a yearly sculpture festival has been held there ever since.^[citation needed]

Chrząszcz was translated into English by Walter Whipple as Cricket (whose Polish equivalent, świerszcz, is also considered difficult to pronounce for non-Polish speakers).

See also

• Polish literature
• Strč prst skrz krk

References

1. Kwapisz, Jan; Petrain, David; Szymanski, Mikolaj (2012-12-06). The Muse at Play: Riddles and Wordplay in Greek and Latin Poetry. Walter de Gruyter. p. 1. ISBN 978-3-11-027061-7.
2. Niesporek-Szamburska, Bernadeta (2010). "Zabawy brzmieniem we współczesnych wierszach dziecięcych". Język Artystyczny (in Polish) (14): 141–156. ISSN 0209-3731.
3. 10 Craziest Polish Tongue Twisters

External links

• ""Chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie" - J. Tuwim, W. Literackie, 1933". Retropress (in Polish). 2016-05-26. Archived from the original on 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2023-04-18.