Posts in July 2009

To Learn Grammar or Not? That is the Question!

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jul
15
2009

Recently I’ve been having quite a lot of discussions about grammar. I don’t know why – it just simply started to come up in conversations all of a sudden. And you’d think that grammar would be a sure conversation killer, right? After all, who wants to discuss the finer points of subordinate clauses in a social setting? But guess what? People don’t really mind talking about grammar and such conversations can get quite heated actually. Especially so when it comes to foreign languages.

Lately, I’ve participated in several such discussion, and inevitably the topic, regardless of what it was at the beginning of the conversation, always morphs into something like: “Why do we need to learn all this stupid grammar when studying foreign languages?” and “Do babies learn grammar when THEY learn to speak?” and “Speaking is more important than proper grammatical constructions.” And so on… You get the idea.

Such discussions are giving me a headache. Really. You see, I’m not a fan of grammar. In fact, I quite despise the whole issue, and frankly, if I could I would never even open a single grammar textbook in my life.

But I also understand that grammar is important. Whether we like it or not, having at least some basic idea of the quirks and rules of the foreign language one is learning is essential. Otherwise, we end up speaking that language like a bunch of idiots.

And the questions of: “what is more important – speaking or grammar?” and “why should we study grammar if babies learning to speak never have to deal with stuff like possessive pronouns or passive voice?” are quite pointless. At least they are to me.

I’m no linguist, but even I have enough common sense to see that we, as adults, are do not learn foreign languages the way babies learn their native language. And hence, speaking without any grammatical backbone whatsoever can only get us so far (and it won’t be very far - trust me, I’ve been there and done that). I think the post about “sin, sitt, sina” kind of illustrates what I’m talking about here.

So yes, if you are just interested in the most basic communication skills, then sure - you can survive those two weeks in a foreign country while butchering the local lingo. But if you want to get to know the language and the whole mentality that comes with speaking it on a daily basis, then unfortunately, you have no choice but to grab a grammar book and study it every so often.

Otherwise how would you know that a possessive pronoun in English often corresponds to the definite article in Swedish, huh?

  • Jag måste tavätta håret. - I must wash my hair.
  • Han stoppade handen i fickan. - He put his hand in his pocket.
  • Hon tappade balansen. - She lost her balance.

Now that you know what I think about it, please tell me your opinion – is grammar important or not? And what are some of your best ways to learn Swedish grammar?

 
Posted under Swedish Language
Tagged with , , 		16 Comments | Post a Comment

We Have a Winner!!!

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jul
12
2009

Ladies and gentlemen!!! We have a winner!!! In a totally random drawing, conducted by my mother in law, because I couldn’t find a suitably cute kid named Per or Karin to pull names out of the hat, Kristina became the lucky winner of “Populärmusik från Vittula” - a novel by Mikael Niemi.

Grattis Kristina!!!

Kristina says she’s a tough woman who drives a SAAB. That explains the part about her being tough - someone once told me that SAAB stands for “Swedish Automobiles Always Broken”. As a former SAAB owner myself, I take pity on those who drive SAABs and that fact alone should make her a deserving winner. Yes, I admit it, I’m not a SAAB fan, OK?

I hope that Kristina will like the book. And I think we all should quiz her on it when she’s done reading it.

But guess what? Even if you didn’t win this time, you can still follow the story. And guess what the good news is? You can do it without actually reading the book! Luckily for the rest of us, this splendid novel has been turned into a movie.

I know that some movies totally butcher the original stories their screenplays are based on. But not this one. The director, Reza Bagher, took his time, read the book and did it right.

So I have an idea. While Kristina is busy reading the book this summer, why don’t we try to look up the film version and watch it as our first joint blog project? If finding the film proves too difficult, then (and only as the last resort) there’s the English translation – “Popular Music from Vittula” available in many libraries or from Amazon.

And in September, we can all compare our notes and discuss what we thought of either the film or the book. Or both. So, who’s in?

 
Posted under Culture
Tagged with , , , , 		3 Comments | Post a Comment

Culture Shock When Moving to Sweden?

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jul
9
2009

Lately it seems that almost all of my on-line friends are planning a move to Sweden. One friend found a Swedish boyfriend, and boom, she’s moving. Another one got a job with a Swedish company. And yet another one is being transferred by his current company to Sweden. And oh yeah, one is going as an exchange student and another one – she’s just moving there because she loves the country and its unspoiled nature.

And all of them are asking me the same question: how much of a culture shock can I expect?

Unfortunately, I am the wrong person to ask this sort of question. My personal opinion is that if you’re moving to Sweden from another western country, there shouldn’t be any major culture shock whatsoever. I mean, Sweden is a modern, developed country. It’s not like we ride donkeys* here and drink horse urine for medicinal purposes. You know what I’m saying?

True, there are many things in Sweden that might be different or done in a different way than what you’re used to back home. But to call it “culture shock”? Nah! I think that’s overkill.

And those differences? Yes, sometimes they can be annoying (but the same can be said about differences between life in San Francisco and North Dakota, for example), but they’re also the reason why moving to a new country is so much fun. If every place was exactly the same, what would be the point of seeing the world?

So here’s my question for you, my wonderful readers, and I really need your input on this one, because like I said before, I’m not really the right person to talk about culture shock. In fact, I dislike the term “culture shock” immensely, especially when applied to Sweden.

But where were we? Oh yes, the question!

When you moved to Sweden, what surprised you the most? What “shocked” you the most? And what advice would give to someone who’s about to pack his or her bags and settle in the land of lagom?

*) though sometimes I really wish we did - what can I say? I like donkeys!  :)

 
Posted under Culture
Tagged with , , 		18 Comments | Post a Comment

How to Read Apartment Rental Ads

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jul
7
2009

I haven’t forgotten about the book contest! Don’t worry. I am just waiting for the weekend – I think it will be more festive to announce the winner then.

In the meantime, I want to talk about something that seemed very puzzling to one of my friends. And because it also happens to be a very practical bit of information, I thought it would be a good idea to go over it in a special blog entry.

You see, my friend is not in Sweden right now, but that is not stopping her from looking for an apartment in the town she is going to live (I don’t remember where exactly she’s moving to, all I know is that she’s looking for a place somewhere down south). Long-distance apartment hunting is never easy. Heck, it’s not easy when you are doing it right there and then in person! Now imagine trying to do it in a language that you have just started to learn very recently. Not fun at all.

So, let’s go over some points that might make this process a bit less confusing.

One thing that my friend wanted to know was: “Anna, what’s a second-hand apartment? Does that mean that the apartment is not new? That it has been lived in before?”

Hmmm… I can see how someone might have gotten this idea, because the literal translation of “andra hand lägenhet” is indeed a “second hand apartment”. But when talking about apartments, “andra hand” simply means “a sublet”. So, someone owns an apartment and wants to sublet it. This is called “hyra ut i andra hand”, or “andra hand” for short.

So, are there “första hand” apartments? Sure there are! This type of apartment is when you rent (or buy) directly from a housing company.

Another thing that you may notice when reading Swedish rental ads is something like this “1 rok” or “2 rok”.
“Rok” simply means “rum och kök” – room and kitchen.

So, if you see an ad listing “2 rok”, you know the apartment will have 2 rooms and a kitchen. This would most likely be what in the US we call a “1 bdr”. A one bedroom apartment that has a living room and a kitchen. In Sweden, we just count the total number of rooms, regardless of whether they are living rooms, dining rooms or bedrooms. This is something worth remembering, because there is nothing worse than finding out later on that what you thought was a two-bedroom apartment is actually a one bedroom plus living room type of place. I actually know of at least one foreign expat who made that mistake. That lady also had two kids, so you can imagine how unhappy she was when she saw what “2 rok” actually meant.

Frequently, you will also see it abbreviated to “2:an” – that also means that the place has two rooms plus a kitchen.

And finally the most important word of them all (just so you’ll know what you’re renting):

  • lägenhet (def. lägenheten, pl. lägenheter, pl. def. lägenheterna) – apartment (or flat as they call it in some parts of the world).

I am no expert when it comes to renting apartments, but if you remember these basics you should manage to get by just fine. And I hope this short explanation will be useful to those of you, who like my friend, are trying to sort out a place to live in Sweden BEFORE actually moving to the country. Good luck! I know it’s not easy. Especially in Stockholm.

 
Posted under Swedish Language, Vocabulary
Tagged with , 		2 Comments | Post a Comment

It’s a sin!

Posted by Anna Ikeda
Jul
4
2009

Well, not really a sin, but simply “sin”. It’s one of those fun “false friends”- words that look the same in both English and Swedish, but have different meanings. And we could pretty much leave it at that, but unfortunately, this Swedish “sin” can be a bit problematic for English speakers.

You see, it’s a possessive pronoun. Yes, another one, I know, I know… And it’s also of the “not found in English” variety of personal pronouns, which is precisely why it can be a pain to learn and use it correctly.

So, what is this “sin” exactly? It may mean “his” or “her” or “its” or “their” depending on the subject of the sentence. Because you see, it’s used when the third person possessive pronoun in the sentence refers to the subject of the same clause. Confused? OK, let’s take a look at how it works in real life.

  • Åsa är gift med Jonas. – Åsa is married to Jonas.

And this lovely couple will now demonstrate when you use “sin” and when some other possessive pronoun is needed.

  • Jonas besöker sin pappa ofta. – Jonas often visits his (own) dad.
  • Åsa ringer hans pappa varje dag. – Åsa calls his (Jonas’s) dad every day.

See what I mean? In the first sentence, because Jonas is the subject and his dad is the object, instead of “his” we need to use “sin”. It means “his”, but more like “his own”. And that’s basically the gist of it. If you can’t stick “own” after the possessive pronoun in a sentence, then you must use “hans” or “hennes” or “deras”.

Now, Åsa will provide us with one more example.

  • Åsa tvättar inte sin bil. – Åsa doesn’t wash her (own) car. (hehehe, she’s just like me!)
  • Jonas älskar Åsa, så han tvättar hennes bil. – Jonas loves Åsa, and so he washes her car. (and Jonas is just like my husband, LOL!)

And that’s basically it. You just need to remember that “sin” can’t be used with the subject. For example:

  • Jag känner Åsa. - I know Åsa.
  • Hennes man arbetar på vårt kontor. – Her husband works at our office.

See? You can’t say “Sin man arbetar på vårt kontor”.

The easiest way to remember when to use “sin” and when to use a different possessive pronoun is to keep in mind these two simple sentences:

  • Jonas älskar sin fru. – Jonas loves his (own wife).
  • Jonas älskar hans fru. – Jonas loves his (some other guy’s) wife.

And of course, because it’s Swedish “sin” morphs into “sitt” when it is used with “ett” nouns and becomes “sina” when used with plural nouns.

Now, you see that it’s important to learn how to use “sin” correctly - it can help you stay out of trouble when talking about another man’s wife! :) Because otherwise, it’s a sin!

 
Posted under Grammar
Tagged with , , 		7 Comments | Post a Comment