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The funny thing is that if you showed the text above to anyone who actually lives in Poland they would be quite surprised by how many inaccuracies it contains. First of all, the correct spelling is ''“pączki”'', not “paczki”. It’s true that ''“paczki”'' means “packages”, but it’s a completely different (and unrelated) word than ''“pączki”'' (notice the little hook under the “a”?), which is the correct term for Polish doughnuts. Secondly, the correct pronunciation is more like ''pawnch-key''{{pronczyt|pawnch|keepączki}} than {{pron|''poonch|kee}}-key''. Thirdly, prunes and apricots seem pretty weird as ''pączki'' fillings; everybody knows that rose-hip jam is the most traditional and most aromatic one. And finally, the chief ''pączki''-eating day is not Fat Tuesday, but Fat Thursday, six days earlier.

Let’s start with the linguistic part. The Polish word for a doughnut (usually, in the shape of a flattened sphere, with some kind of filling in it) is ''“pączek”'', pronounced: {{pronczyt|pawn|chekpączek}}. The plural form, used for more than one doughnut, is ''“pączki”'', which is pronounced: {{pron|pawnchczyt|keepączki}}. The latter word has nothing to do with packages. That’s ''“paczki”'' {{czyt|paczki}} (without the hook-shaped squiggle), pronounced: {{pron|pahtch|kee}}. It’s which is the plural form of ''“paczka”'' ({{pronczyt|pahtch|kahpaczka}}), or “a package”. As you can see, the explanation you can occasionally come across in America that ''pączki'' are [https://twitter.com/BethelBakery/status/949661885393199105 ''“little packages of goodness”''] is as sweet as it is wrong. So where does the Polish word for doughnuts actually come from?

”''Pączek”'' is a&nbsp;diminutive form of the word ''“pąk”'' ({{pronczyt|pawnkpąk}}), which is a&nbsp;botanical term referring to a&nbsp;flower bud or leaf bud. What do doughnuts have to do with flower buds, you may ask. Not so much, if you’re thinking about the American ring-shaped donuts, but it’s different with the ball-shaped Polish ones. Originally, the word ''“pąk”'' referred to anything that is round, bulging (''pękate''), swollen (''napęczniałe'') and about to burst (''pęknąć''). Ultimately, all these ''“pąk- / pęk- / pącz- / pęcz-”'' words are most likely of onomatopoeic origin, meaning that they’re supposed to resemble the sound of something swollen that is bursting.<ref> {{Cyt

But the weirdest thing about how “paczki” became a&nbsp;Polish loanword in English is how English speakers (in North America at least) tend to pronounce it. Why is it {{pron|''poonch|kee}} -key'' and not {{pron|''pawnch|kee}}-key'', which would be so much closer to the original Polish pronunciation? Are the Polish Americans wrong to say the word the way they do? And even if they are, then why did this “wrong” pronunciation become so common?

It turns out they’re not that wrong after all. {{pron|''Pawnch|kee}} -key'' may be the accepted pronunciation in modern standard Polish, but modern standard Polish is a&nbsp;relatively recent creation, a&nbsp;product of state-run schools, radio and television that have worked for the past few generations to unify the language across Poland. In the past, though, each region had its own dialect and subdialects, used especially by the rural populace, and pronunciation differences between regions could be quite substantial.

}}</ref> In all these regions, ''pączki'' was, in fact, pronounced: {{pron|''poonch|kee}}-key''. If you’re reading this, then I assume you don’t speak much Polish, but if you’re interested in examples, then you can find a&nbsp;few in the [[:pl:Punczki z powidłami na tłusty wtorek#Pączki czy pųczki?|Polish-language version of this blog post]]; look for ''“pónczki”'' or ''“punczki”'' (the spelling may vary). And all these regions produced waves of migrants who would settle in the United States or Canada, bringing their own pronunciation of ''“pączki”'', as well as the recipës, to the banks of the Great Lakes.