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]
The first few lines of the poem:
| Phonetic transcription | English translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie | pronounced as /[f‿ʂt͡ʂɛ.bʐɛ.ˈʂɨ.ɲɛ xʂɔɰ̃ʂt͡ʂ bʐmi f‿ˈtʂt͡ɕi.ɲɛ]/ | In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle sounds in the reeds | |
| I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie. | pronounced as /[i ʂt͡ʂɛ.ˈbʐɛ.ʂɨn s‿ˈtɛ.ɡɔ ˈswɨ.ɲɛ ‖]/ | And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for this. | |
| Wół go pyta: „Panie chrząszczu, | pronounced as /[vuw ɡɔ ˈpɨ.ta {{pipe}} ˈpa.ɲɛ ˈxʂɔɰ̃ʂ.t͡ʂu {{pipe}}]/ | An ox asks him: "Mister beetle, | |
| Po cóż pan tak brzęczy w gąszczu?" | pronounced as /[pɔ t͡suʂ pan tag‿ˈbʐɛn.t͡ʂɨ v‿ˈɡɔɰ̃ʂ.t͡ʂu ‖]/ | What are you buzzing in the bushes for?" |
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.
Thanks to the poem, the town of Szczebrzeszyn is widely known in Poland. A monument to the beetle was erected there in 2002, and a yearly sculpture festival has been held there ever since.
Chrząszcz was translated into English by Walter Whipple as Cricket (whose Polish equivalent, świerszcz, is also considered difficult to pronounce for non-Polish speakers).