Breakdown of Szczerze mówiąc, ten projekt to katastrofa.
ten
this (m)
to
is (linking copula)
projekt
project
katastrofa
disaster
Questions & Answers about Szczerze mówiąc, ten projekt to katastrofa.
What exactly is mówiąc in the phrase szczerze mówiąc?
Mówiąc is a present adverbial participle, which is equivalent to an English "-ing" word like "speaking." Combined with the adverb szczerze (honestly), it frames your attitude toward the rest of the sentence. You will see this same mówiąc in other framing phrases like ogólnie mówiąc (generally speaking) or prawdę mówiąc (telling the truth).
I've also seen szczerze powiedziawszy used to mean "to be honest." Could I use that in this sentence instead?
Yes, absolutely. Szczerze powiedziawszy uses a perfective participle (literally: "having honestly said"), but in everyday usage, it is completely interchangeable with szczerze mówiąc. Both function as fixed framing expressions to introduce your candid opinion.
Why does this sentence use to katastrofa instead of jest katastrofą?
When equating two nouns (project = disaster), Polish gives you two structural options. You can use the word to, which requires the following noun to stay in the basic Nominative case (katastrofa). Alternatively, you can use the verb jest, which forces the following noun into the Instrumental case (katastrofą). Using to is very natural and common here, especially in expressive or spoken Polish.
Do I strictly need the comma after mówiąc?