Posts under "Swedish Language"

Swedish Madlibs

Posted by Marcus Cederström No Comments
Feb 7 2012

We’re going to try something new here. A Swedish Madlib. I’ve used Swedish Madlibs before, at the behest of a good friend actually, and loved them. They tend to get you thinking about various grammatical forms, how to use them, and of course what words you actually know. It’s a great way to practice the language while playing.

We all know how Madlibs work right? Usually you have a second person reading off certain grammatical forms that you need. A noun here, an adjective there, maybe the name of a person. Of course, we’re online and so we’ll have to improvise. Below you will find a list of 16 blanks to fill in. In Swedish. The prompts are in Swedish, the words you choose should be in Swedish, and finally, the final product will be in Swedish.

Pick your words, and in a couple of days, we will post the remainder of the Madlib for you to fill in. Have fun and be creative!

1: Påhittat ord (använd din fantasi!) 1. __________________
2. Färg 2. __________________
3. Färg 3. __________________
4. Kroppsdel 4. __________________
5. Kroppsdel 5. __________________
6. Singular substantiv 6. __________________
7. Presens verb 7. __________________
8. Stor siffra 8. __________________
9. Jättestor siffra 9. __________________
10. Land 10. __________________
11. Land 11. __________________
12. Mat 12. __________________
13. Plural substantiv 13. __________________
14. Din favorit låt 14. __________________
15. Adjektiv 15. __________________
16. Mat 16. __________________

The great Swedish vowel shift

Posted by Steve No Comments
Feb 6 2012

Last week, I continued my series on the three special Swedish letters, å, ä and ö. Now I’m here to explain how the letter å even came to be at all.

As I explained last time, the letter å in writing came to be like so: first as a double-a (aa), then as an a with another, smaller a written over it, and finally a simplified å. But why exactly was there a double-a at all?

The double-a was used to indicate a long a-sound, which eventually, over time, began to sound much like the long o-sound of that time (similar to today’s å); in other words, the long a became orally more closed. And while the long a became more and more like the long o, the long o became itself more closed, becoming closer and closer to the long u-sound of that time. And with that, the long u-sound became even more closed, evolving into a new sound: the Swedish long u we know and love today.

In a more graphical form, the vowel shift looked like this:

And that’s why today’s Swedish vowels are so different from the vowels of many other European languages although they are spellt the same.

The letter å

Posted by Steve 1 Comment
Jan 31 2012

Last week I clarified where the Swedish letters ä and ö come from, but to you the origin of the letter å is still a mystery. And here I am to clear it up!

In 1526, a new time period known in Swedish linguistics as Nysvenska perioden began with the first ever Swedish translation of the New Testament of the Christian Holy Bible. This was an incredible development, since before this time the Bible was only available in Latin, which only the higher social/economic classes could read; this made the content of the New Testament available to all of Swedish-reading Sweden and Finland.

With this publication, the long a sound, which was previously written aa (although orthography varied immensely during this time), was now changed to å, after having shifted through several stages: first aa, then an a with another, smaller a over it, and finally an a with a simple ring over it (å).

But why did the Swedish written language need the letter å when it already had o, which in most Indo-European languages is pronounced similarly? Welcome back soon! :)

Swedish swear words

Posted by Katja 8 Comments
Jan 27 2012

The first words many foreigners learn in a new language are usually swear words. I don’t think this is uncommon for anybody, no matter where you come from or what language you want to learn.

The point of this post is not to encourage swearing but to explain the degree of different swear words in Swedish vs. English.

In Swedish there are four “real” swear words. Jävlar, Satan, Fan and Helvete. All of these are religiously related words. Jävel (Jävlar), Satan and Fan are all synonyms for the devil. Helvete is the Swedish word for hell. All these have become down-toned over the years but can still not be used by politicians in public for example.

“Jävla bords-jävel”

“Damn table devil” To be roughly translated. Probably something you might say when having trouble with a table.

Excrement bases words are also common. For example; skit (shit) can be used not only as a swear word but as an emphasis like “very”. Skit-snygg (very good looking) or skit-ful (very ugly).

Then there are sex based swear words, which are the foulest of the used swear words in Sweden. Very many foreigners learn and over-use these without really understanding to what extent they insult somebody. These and words relating to ethnic background.

In Sweden however, F*** You is not at all as severe as in other, English-speaking countries, and even the Swedish equivalents are used a lot among younger people. This can be quite a shock for especially English speakers, when they hear young people, even kids, using the phrase without concern.

There are therefor many other, much less offending, words that you can learn instead. Honestly, who doesn’t need a couple of words to express the pain after stubbing your toe or something like that?!

The milder and mostly harmless (even among the grandparents) swear words are:

Swedish word / English literal translation (or as close you can get, feel free to give better translations if you know of any)

Fanken – darn

Fasiken – darn

Järnspikars också – iron nails

Söte göte – dear göte

göta petter – göta petter (Just a name)

Jösses – dear me

jäklar – darn

förgrymmat också – damn it

förbaskat (också) – darn it

tusan – shoot

förbövelen (this is yet another religious word but not as severe) – literally it means executioner

Sjutton också – sjutton means seventeen but religiously the number meant more than it does today

järnvägar – railroads

attans – darn

attans bananer – darn bananas

sjutusan – seven thousand

det var som sjutton – that was like seventeen (this is a pure literal translation since there are no English equivalents)

fy katten – darn cat

nedrans – darn

rackarns – shoot

hujeda mig – dear me

fy bubblan – my gosh

milda matilda – gracious Mathilda

Bomber och granater – bombs and grenades

These milder words were thought of because the first syllable is the same as many other more harsh words, giving the impression you are going to say something vulgar but changing your mind at the last minute.
Good luck, and try to chose appropriate language when speaking in Sweden ;)

Svenska Samtalsbordet

Posted by Marcus Cederström 1 Comment
Jan 25 2012

We’re always looking for learning language tips here at Transparent. It’s why everyone who works so hard on the various language learning software is so proud of what they do (if you haven’t already, check out what Transparent has to offer). But sometimes, some of the best things in life are free. Or, at least they don’t cost any money. When it comes to learning a language, there are some easy activities you can arrange to help you practice your new language.

One such way is the language conversation table, or samtalsbord. It’s a simple enough idea. Grab a few language learning friends, meet up once (or twice, or three times, or however many you want) and speak Swedish for an hour. Only Swedish. Only an hour. You’d be surprised how much you can actually say and how much you can actually understand.

The key is of course making sure that your conversation table becomes a recurring event. The best way to do so is to pick a time that works for a decent amount of people. Maybe your group does best right around 5:30 after work. Maybe your group likes to meet at lunch. Maybe you are a morning coffee person. It doesn’t matter, but make it regular. By choosing a set time every single week, it is easier to make your conversation table a habit.

Make sure that all levels are welcome. In fact, encourage it. Advanced language learners can learn a lot by helping beginners with pronunciation, word order, and vocabulary. It forces you to think about the language in a way you may not have done before. Beginners can learn a lot from watching and listening to more advanced speakers. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that can also lead to a lot of great friendships.

Some conversation tables like to have a script to work from. A sort of introductory discussion that gets repeated at every meeting and gets the ball rolling. Others like to let the conversation come organically. That’s up to you. I’m a proponent of the organic conversation. It’s more realistic and in my opinion more interesting. You never know what you’ll learn how to say in Swedish if you just let things happen.

Finally, if you have some Swedes in the area, invite them along. It’s great to have a native speaker to practice with and more often than not, they are excited to be able to use their language and help others learn.

A great place to start when forming a language table is in your classroom. Many of you are learning Swedish with a bunch of other students who share your interest in the language. Take advantage of that and get together. Even if you find yourself actually in Sweden learning Swedish, it can be a great exercise to meet up with other learners to share your experiences (in Swedish of course). If you are an industrious soul trying to learn on your own, check around. You might be surprised by the Swedish community in your area. Look for Swedish-American clubs, community colleges or universities, or check for online communities willing to share a samtalsbord online. You might be surprised by how many people are actively trying to learn the language right alongside you.

As always, good luck, and please be sure to let us know how it goes for you, whether you are staring a new language table or if you’re already a part of one.

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