Cabbage Rolls

[ducphat30]

Looking for help for the correct spelling for Polish cabbage rolls

[mhadam]

golabki

However the "l" has a "/" through it. I don't have the letter available to actual type it out for you.

[ducphat30]

Thanks for the info

[ludja]

How about the pronunciation?

Interesting to see it spelled, b/c growing up in central CT with a large Polish community I heard it spoken more than saw it written.

We called them, (phonetic spelling): gah-LUMP-kees.

Is this close to how it's pronounced?

[Pam R]

I always thought it was holopchi...

[rooftop1000]

hmm yeah, my friends family pronounced it with an H at the begining....like huloopkee

[ducphat30]

We called them, (phonetic spelling): gah-LUMP-kees

This is how we called them growing up, as well, I have never seen them spelled, until I needed it for a menu for some clients.

[JerzyMade]

The correct spelling is gołąbki. My attempt at the pronunciation is go-WOMP-kee. In Polish, the first sound is definitely a 'g', not an 'h'. Holoopki sounds like Chech, or another Slavic language. The ł is roughly equivalent to 'w' in english, ą is similar to 'on' in the word tongue.

It literally translates to 'little pigeons'.

[Pam R]

The correct spelling is gołąbki.  My attempt at the pronunciation is go-WOMP-kee.  In Polish, the first sound is definitely a 'g', not an 'h'.  Holoopki sounds like Chech, or another Slavic language.  The ł is roughly equivalent to 'w' in english, ą is similar to 'on' in the word tongue.

It literally translates to 'little pigeons'.

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Though my father is from Poland, the area he was from was sometimes poland, sometimes russia - it could be Ukranian. I always assumed that it was Polish with the Ha-Lope-chee - but who knows?

[JerzyMade]

Though my father is from Poland, the area he was from was sometimes poland, sometimes russia - it could be Ukranian.  I always assumed that it was Polish with the Ha-Lope-chee - but who knows?

←

Your father was probably following a Ukrainian pronunciation. He also might have been influenced by the predominant pronunciation of the immigrant community where he arrived. For example, the Polish community in Chicago speaks a distinct dialect of polish, and many words are pronounced quite differently than in Poland.

[Pan]

[...]ą is similar to 'on' in the word tongue.[...]

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I wonder how you pronounce that word. I pronounce tongue "tung" or sometimes "tun-g@" with the @ being a schwa.

[Taboni]

The Ukrainian pronunciation is ho loob tsee (the singular is ho loo betz)

[JerzyMade]

[...]ą is similar to 'on' in the word tongue.[...]

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I wonder how you pronounce that word. I pronounce tongue "tung" or sometimes "tun-g@" with the @ being a schwa.

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I found this Polish Pronunciation Guide - it's much better than my attempt at "hooked-on phonics."

[Pam R]

I think the problem with my pronunciation may lie in the fact that I am a child of a man born in Poland, which may have been under Russian rule, born to parents who mostly spoke Yiddish (mostly German/Polish/hebrew mix) at home - who then moved to rural Saskatchewan when he was only 3 and lived in a Jewish colony with other Jews from all over europe speaking different languages - surrounded by Ukranians.

I can't understand why my word may be wrong ;)

[monavano]

My parents are 100% Polish (and Catholic). The pronunciation we use is Ga-Wum-Kee.

[ludja]

Cool, interesting discussion. Interesting to know the literal tranlation as "little pigeons" too.

[polack]

Just was in the company of some people that imigrated from Poland a few years ago and they pronounced it Ga wum kee. As for us we call them piggies and you better get out of the way when they hit the table. My wife makes them with a tomato sauce, my aunt does it with tomato sauce with sour cream, and some other reletives with saurkraut. The best meat filling for me is ground pork and beaf with the rice.

Polack

[Carolyn Tillie]

This is great! My Czech grandmother always called them Ga-lump-kees and it just now dawned on me that it was a Czech word and not her doing child-speak!

Note to self: MUST do Czech excursion to Inverness soon....

[budrichard]

I was fourteen years old before I discovered that the Mass was not always in Polish! My relatives lived in South Boston and I can say Ga-lump-kee or 'pigeon in a blanket'. Great soul food for me. -Dick

[hwilson41]

You can learn the damnedest things on egullet . One of the things I love about this site. Growing up in Texas, we called them guh-LUHM-kees. I'm really surprised we were as close to correct as we were .