What does “daj głos” mean in Polish?

Polish dogs are asked to daj głos! — “give voice!” — where English dogs are told to “speak.” It comes from głos, “voice,” the same word you use for a singer’s voice or a vote. The other two commands in the contest complete a beginner’s set: siad! (“sit!”, a clipped form of siadać) and daj łapę! (“give paw!”, i.e. “shake”). Learn the three and you can talk to any dog in Poland.

Round out the vocabulary with leżeć! (“down!”), zostań! (“stay!”) and do nogi! (“heel!”, literally “to the leg”). Notice that daj is the informal imperative of dać, “to give” — the same daj you’ll hear in daj mi spokój (“leave me alone,” literally “give me peace”). The praise words in the clip are useful too: super! and pięknie! (“beautifully!”) are what Poles say to a dog — or a child — who got it right.