EN
The article discusses the main phonetic changes that take place in toponyms, with attention to certain distinctions in relation to the lexicon of literary texts. The following issues are examined: 1) changes under the influence of accent, 2), phonetic archaisms fossilized in toponyms, 3) dialect characteristics appearing in toponyms (transition 'ra-' to 're-', 'ja-' to 'je-', '-'a- to -'e-', 'chw' to 'f' , the alternation of -'ew-II-'ow- , the Mazovian pronunciation, the disappearance of resonance of nasal vowels, secondary nasality of vowels, the transitional tendency to change 'lu' to 'li' recorded in names), 4) phonetic traits recorded in toponyms arising from a mechanism of speech not controlled by writing (assimilations, dissimilations, metatheses, the simplification of constant groups). In the phonetics of toponyms, despite interaction with the norms of the general language, a more precise association was expressed with the colloquial and dialect speech discussed than with the lexicon of literary texts corrected by writing. Key words: genetic traits of toponyms, changes under the influence of accent, phonetic archaisms, dialect influences on the phonetics of toponyms