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The '''Swedish language''' (''Svenska'' [`svɛnska]) is a [[Germanic language]], spoken in [[Sweden]] and by ethnic Swedes in [[Finland]], where it is also an official language. It is related to [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic ]], and [[Faeroese language|Faeroese]]. It is remarkable that the structure of Modern Swedish is much different from the one in the ancient times. The systems of [[declension]] and [[verb|conjugation]] have gone through a tough process of simplification, which nowadays makes Swedish easy to learn in comparison with Icelandic or German, for example. Having borrowed a relatively large amount of words from other European languages, Swedish has, however, saved most old lexemes, which makes it very similar to other Scandinavian languages.
The '''Swedish language''' (''Svenska'' [`svɛnska]) is a Germanic language, spoken in [[Sweden]] and by ethnic Swedes in [[Finland]], where it is also an official language. It is related to [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Icelandic]], and [[Faeroese language|Faeroese]]. It is remarkable that the structure of Modern Swedish is much different from the one in the ancient times. The systems of declension and conjugation have gone through a tough process of simplification, which nowadays makes Swedish easy to learn in comparison with Icelandic or German, for example. Having borrowed a relatively large amount of words from other European languages, Swedish has, however, saved most old lexemes, which makes it very similar to other Scandinavian languages.
==History==
The history of Swedish names 5 main periods: Runic Swedish (800-1225), Classic Old Swedish (1225-1375), Old Swedish (1375-1526), New Swedish (1526-1732), Modern Swedish (since 1732).
The history of Swedish names 5 main periods: Runic Swedish (800-1225), Classic Old Swedish (1225-1375), Old Swedish (1375-1526), New Swedish (1526-1732), Modern Swedish (since 1732).
==Orthography==
Swedish uses the Latin alphabet with three additional letters: Åå, Ää, Öö. The letter Åå has been used since 1948, and it replaced the digraph aa, which is still possible in some old fashioned newspapers and old Scandinavian surnames. The letters q, z, and w are not typical for originally Swedish words, and are usually used in borrowings. However, q can be approached in some Swedish surnames (Lagerqvist, for example).
Swedish [[orthography]] uses the Latin alphabet with three additional letters: Åå, Ää, Öö. The letter Åå has been used since 1948, and it replaced the digraph aa, which is still possible in some old fashioned newspapers and old Scandinavian surnames. The letters q, z, and w are not typical for originally Swedish words, and are usually used in borrowings. However, q can be approached in some Swedish surnames (Lagerqvist, for example).
Unlike English, Swedish writing evolved simultaneously with the language itself. Thus, modern Swedish spelling is adequate to the way the words actually sound.
Unlike English, Swedish writing evolved simultaneously with the language itself. Thus, modern Swedish spelling is adequate to the way the words actually sound.
* a – /ɑ:/, /a/
* a – /ɑ:/, /a/
* b – /b/
* b – /b/
* c – /k/, /s/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y) *
* c – /k/, /s/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y)
* d – /d/
* d – /d/
* e – /e:/, /e/; /ɛ/ (in some words as exception); /æ/ (before r when short); /ə/ (unstressed)
* e – /e:/, /e/; /ɛ/ (in some words as exception); /æ/ (before r when short); /ə/ (unstressed)
* f – /f/
* f – /f/
* g – /g/, /j/ (bafore ä, e, ö, i, y; after r, l at the end of a word)
* g – /g/, /j/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y; after r, l at the end of a word)
* h – /h/
* h – /h/
* i – /i:/, /i/
* i – /i:/, /i/
* tj, kj – /ɕ/
* tj, kj – /ɕ/
==Phonetics and Phonology==
There are 17 vowels (with 23 variants overall) and 23 consonants in Swedish. The phonetic system of modern Swedish is typically Scandinavian and is closest to Norwegian. The main features of Swedish phonetics, which are not found in English, are:
There are 17 vowels (with 23 variants overall) and 23 consonants in Swedish. The phonetic system of modern Swedish is typically Scandinavian and is closest to Norwegian. The main features of Swedish phonetics, which are not found in English, are:
# phonological opposition of long and short vowels. This is not typical for modern English. This term stands for pairs of vowels which are identical and differ in length only.
# [[phonology|phonological]] opposition of long and short vowels. This is not typical for modern English. This term stands for pairs of vowels which are identical and differ in length only.
# Phonological opposition of labialized and non-labialized vowels. In simple words, a labialized vowel is a vowel that is pronounced with the lips rounded (like “u” in “tune”). In Swedish, there are pairs of vowels that differ only in labialization: att meta (to catch) – att möta (to meet).
# Phonological opposition of labialized and non-labialized vowels. In simple words, a labialized vowel is a vowel that is pronounced with the lips rounded (like “u” in “tune”). In Swedish, there are pairs of vowels that differ only in labialization: att meta (to catch) – att möta (to meet).
# Total absence of diphthongs (gliding vowels like in English “time”). This fact is unique for the whole Germanic group.
# Total absence of diphthongs (gliding vowels like in English “time”). This fact is unique for the whole Germanic group.
* /p/ is a bilabial (formed with both lips) voiceless aspirated stop. It is similar to English “p”. panna /`phanna/ (forehead), spel /’spe:l/ (game).
* /p/ is a bilabial (formed with both lips) voiceless aspirated stop. It is similar to English “p”. panna /`panna/ (forehead), spel /’spe:l/ (game).
* /b/ is a bilabial voiced stop. This sound is similar to English “b”. bi /’bi:/ (bee), barn /’bɑ:ɳ/ (child).
* /b/ is a bilabial voiced stop. This sound is similar to English “b”. bi /’bi:/ (bee), barn /’bɑ:ɳ/ (child).
* /m/ is a bilabial voiced nasal (the air goes through the nose) consonant. It is no different from English “m”. mamma /`mam:a/ (mom), matta /`mat:a/ (carpet).
* /m/ is a bilabial voiced nasal (the air goes through the nose) consonant. It is no different from English “m”. mamma /`mam:a/ (mom), matta /`mat:a/ (carpet).
* /h/ is a fricative back voiceless consonant. It is said right the same way as “h” in English. hav /’hɑ:v/ (sea), het /’he:t/ (hot).
* /h/ is a fricative back voiceless consonant. It is said right the same way as “h” in English. hav /’hɑ:v/ (sea), het /’he:t/ (hot).
==Grammar==
Swedish grammar is relatively simple. During the process of it evolution, Swedish developed multiple analytic constructions as opposite to the old synthetic forms erased from the modern language and retained in fixed constructions, sayings, proverbs, as well as some highly scientific, formal, or religious texts etc..
Swedish grammar is relatively simple. During the process of it evolution, Swedish developed multiple analytic constructions as opposite to the old synthetic forms erased from the modern language and retained in fixed constructions, sayings, proverbs, as well as some highly scientific, formal, or religious texts etc..
===The Noun===
Swedish nouns are classifying according to gernder and declined according to number, case, and definiteness. There are two genders in Swedish - the Common gender and the Neuter gender. The Common gender stand for the old Masculine and Feminine which have lost grammatical differences. Actually, it is rarely logical which gender a noun belongs to. It is worth mentioning that the majority of Swedish nouns (about 80%) belong to the common gender. The neuter gender is thus typical for about one fourth of all words. From the actual form of a noun, it is almost never possible to predict the gender, so it should usually be memorized. However, sometimes, the meaning of a noun or its suffix / ending can help in defining the gender:
Swedish nouns are classifying according to gernder and declined according to number, case, and definiteness. There are two genders in Swedish - the Common gender and the Neuter gender. The Common gender stand for the old Masculine and Feminine which have lost grammatical differences. Actually, it is rarely logical which gender a noun belongs to. It is worth mentioning that the majority of Swedish nouns (about 80%) belong to the common gender. The neuter gender is thus typical for about one fourth of all words. From the actual form of a noun, it is almost never possible to predict the gender, so it should usually be memorized. However, sometimes, the meaning of a noun or its suffix / ending can help in defining the gender:
The category of case is controversial in Swedish. Some linguists tend to claim no cases in Swedish with the presence of syntactic possessive constructions. However, in most sources, it is still considered that Swedish nouns have two grammatical cases - the Common case and the Genitive case formed with an "-s" attached to the end of a noun after all its endings: "en pojke - en pojkes - pojken - pojkens :: a boy - a boy's - the boy - the boy's".
The category of case is controversial in Swedish. Some linguists tend to claim no cases in Swedish with the presence of syntactic possessive constructions. However, in most sources, it is still considered that Swedish nouns have two grammatical cases - the Common case and the Genitive case formed with an "-s" attached to the end of a noun after all its endings: "en pojke - en pojkes - pojken - pojkens :: a boy - a boy's - the boy - the boy's".
The category of number includes two items - singular and plural. There are six major types of plural formation in Swedish. Therefore, all nouns are classified as belonging to one of the six declensions:
The category of number includes two items - singular and plural. There are five major types of plural formation in Swedish. Therefore, all nouns are classified as belonging to one of the five declensions:
====1st Declension====
This group includes all nouns of the common gender which end in an "-a" in the singular: "en skola - skolor" (school), "en mamma - mammor" (mom), "en klocka - klockor" (clock). These are the former weak feminine nouns. Some of them are still replaced with the pronoun "hon" (she), for example: "en människa - hon", "en klocka - hon", "en skona - hon" etc. Nouns in the first declension are declined as follows:
This group includes all nouns of the common gender which end in an "-a" in the singular: "en skola - skolor" (school), "en mamma - mammor" (mom), "en klocka - klockor" (clock). These are the former weak feminine nouns. Some of them are still replaced with the pronoun "hon" (she), for example: "en människa - hon", "en klocka - hon", "en skona - hon" etc. Nouns in the first declension are declined as follows:
|}
|}
The definite form singular ends in "-n", and the definite form plural ends in "-na".
The definite form singular ends in "-(e)n", and the definite form plural ends in "-na".
Some words that do not have an "-a" at the end also belong to the 1st declension: "en ros" (rose), "en våg" (wave), "en toffel" (slipper), "en svan" (swan, also 2nd declension optionally).
Some words that do not have an "-a" at the end also belong to the 1st declension: "en ros" (rose), "en våg" (wave), "en toffel" (slipper), "en svan" (swan, also 2nd declension optionally).
Two words in the first declension are neuter: "ett dilemma - dilemmor", "ett panorama - panoramor".
Two words in the first declension are neuter: "ett dilemma - dilemmor", "ett panorama - panoramor".
====2nd Declension====
This group includes a large ammount of Swedish common words (often monosyllabic or ending in an unstressed "-e"). In the past, these nouns were either masculine or feminine. Nouns in the second declension are declined as follows:
This group includes a large ammount of Swedish common words (often monosyllabic or ending in an unstressed "-e"). In the past, these nouns were either masculine or feminine. Nouns in the second declension are declined as follows:
Two nouns in the second group take umlaut in the plural: "en mo(de)r - mödrar" (mother), "en dotter - döttrar" (daughter).
Two nouns in the second group take umlaut in the plural: "en mo(de)r - mödrar" (mother), "en dotter - döttrar" (daughter).
The definite form singular ends in "-(e)n", and the definite form plural ends in "-na".
====3rd Declension====
Most of the nouns in this declension are common and of foreign (usually Latin) origin. Here are a few examples: “en student – studenter” (student), “en idé – idéer” (idea), “en apparat – apparater” (gear).
Most of the nouns in this declension are common and of foreign (usually Latin) origin. Here are a few examples: “en student – studenter” (student), “en idé – idéer” (idea), “en apparat – apparater” (gear).
| färg-er-na-s
| färg-er-na-s
|}
|}
The definite form singular ends in "-(e)n", and the definite form plural ends in "-na".
| tryckeri-er-na-s
| tryckeri-er-na-s
|}
|}
The definite form singular ends in "-(e)t", and the definite form plural ends in "-na".
Some words in the third declension take umlaut in the plural form: “en strand - stränder” (shore, coast, beach), “ett land - länder” (country, land), “en tand - tänder” (tooth), “en bok - böcker” (book), “en and – änder” (duck), “en bokstav – bokstäver” (letter, print), “en bonde – bönder”, “en fot – fötter” (foot), “en hand - händer” (hand), “en ledamot – ledamöter” (member), “en natt – nätter” (night), “en rand – ränder” (edge), “en rot – rötter” (root), “en son /so:n/ – söner” (son), “en stad – städer” (city, town), “en stång – stänger” (pole).
Some words in the third declension take umlaut in the plural form: “en strand - stränder” (shore, coast, beach), “ett land - länder” (country, land), “en tand - tänder” (tooth), “en bok - böcker” (book), “en and – änder” (duck), “en bokstav – bokstäver” (letter, print), “en bonde – bönder”, “en fot – fötter” (foot), “en hand - händer” (hand), “en ledamot – ledamöter” (member), “en natt – nätter” (night), “en rand – ränder” (edge), “en rot – rötter” (root), “en son /so:n/ – söner” (son), “en stad – städer” (city, town), “en stång – stänger” (pole).
====4th Declension====
The fourth declension includes neuter nouns that end in vowels. This group is not very large and it consists of originally Germanic words only. Nouns in the fourth declension are declined as follows:
The fourth declension includes neuter nouns that end in vowels. This group is not very large and it consists of originally Germanic words only. Nouns in the fourth declension are declined as follows:
The definite form singular ends in "-(e)t", and the definite form plural ends in "-a".
====5th Declension====
The fifth declension is a large group of nouns including first of all those neuter nouns that end in a consonant. For example: “ett bord – bord” (table), “ett torn – torn” (tower), “ett universitet – universitet” (university), “ett tak – tak” (roof, ceiling).
The fifth declension is a large group of nouns including first of all those neuter nouns that end in a consonant. For example: “ett bord – bord” (table), “ett torn – torn” (tower), “ett universitet – universitet” (university), “ett tak – tak” (roof, ceiling).
For neuter words, the definite form singular ends in "-et", and the definite form plural ends in "-en". For common words, the definite form singular ends in "-(e)n", and the definite form plural ends in "-en / -na".
===The Article===
Like in other Germanic languages, Swedish nouns are accompanied by articles.
The Indefinite Article has the form "en" for common nouns and "ett" for neuter nouns: "en skola" (school), but "ett lejon" (lion).
The definite article, as mentioned before, usually is attached to the end of a noun and functions as a suffix. It derives from the Old Norse demonstrative pronoun "hinn" (this) which was usually placed after the noun it modified. The definite suffix appears in the following forms:
* common singular: "-(e)n"
* neuter singular: "-(e)t"
* common plural: usually "-na" ("-en" for a few words)
* neuter plural: "-na" (3rd decl.), "-a" (4th decl.), "-en" (5th decl.)
The most challenging and mutation-causing is the formation of the definite form in the singular:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Gender / Base ending
! consonant
! stressed vowel
! unstressed vowel
! -en
! -el
! -er
! -um
|-
| Common
| -en
| -n
| -n
| -en -> -nen
| -el -> -eln
| -er -> -ern
| N/A
|-
| Neuter
| -et
| -(e)t
| -t
| -en -> -net
| -el -> -let
| -er -> -ret
| -um -> -et
|}
The so-called "free standing" article is used in Swedish before adjectives modifying definite nouns or substantivized adjectives. It has the following forms:
* common singular - "den". "den unge mannen" (the young man), "den döda" (the dead woman)
* neuter singular - "det". "det vackra huset" (the beautiful house), "det gröna" (the green leaves / plants etc)
* plural - "de [di:] / [dɔm:]". "de gamla kvinnorna" (the old women), "de döda" (the dead people)
Before ordinal numbers and adjectives indicating quantity, the definite article is dropped: "första gången" (the first time), "hela världen" (the whole world). However, the definite suffix of the noun is preserved.
===The Adjective===
Swedish adjective are a declinable part of speech, which means they change their form according to their function in a phrase, as well as the words they modify. An adjective in Swedish has the following grammatical categories:
* gender
* number
* definiteness
* degree of comparison
In modern Swedish, adjectives are not declined for case.
The category of definiteness is crucial in Swedish. All old Germanic languages had two different declensions of adjectives - strong (with indefinite nouns or as predicate) and weak (with definite nouns). The strong declension reflected the declension of pronouns, while the weak declension took the endings of weak nouns. Nowadays, the category of definiteness was erased from some Germanic language (English, Afrikaans) or is present as rudiment (Dutch, Frisian, Yiddish). In all Scandinavian languages, as well as in German, the category of definiteness is still significant in the system of the Adjective.
Swedish adjectives in the positive degree are declined as follows:
'''Indefinite:'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Common singular base ending
! Neuter singular ending
! Plural ending
! Example
|-
| -
| -t
| -a
| lång - långt - långa
|-
| consonant + -t
| -
| -a
| svart - svart - svarta
|-
| -tt
| -
| -a
| mätt - mätt - mätta
|-
| stressed vowel
| -tt
| -a
| ny - nytt - nya
|-
| stressed vowel + -d / -t
| -d / -t -> -tt
| -a
| röd - rött - röda
|-
| consonant + -d
| -d -> -t
| -a
| vild - vilt - vilda
|-
| -ad
| -ad -> -at
| -e
| begåvad - begåvat - begåvade
|-
| -en
| -en -> -et
| -en -> -na
| mogen - moget - mogna
|-
| stressed -at / -et / -ut
| -
| -a
| konkret - konkret - konkreta
|}
'''Definite:'''
In the definite form, adjectives take the '''"-a"''' ending in all genders and numbers (like the indefinite plural form):
* en vacker flicka - den vackra flickan
* ett vackert hus - det vackra huset
* vackra flickor - de vackra flickorna
However, in case an adjective modifies a male living being in the singular form, it takes the ending '''"-e"''': den ung'''e''' mannen.
[[Category: Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Germanic Languages]]
[[Category:Sweden]]