Difference between revisions of "Swedish language"

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Swedish Language

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, Norwegian, Icelandic, and 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).

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). Unlike English, Swedish writing evolved simultaneously with the language itself. Thus, modern Swedish spelling is adequate to the way the words actually sound.

The most notable deviation from this is the letter Oo which represents four vowels– /u:/, /ʊ/, /o:/, /ɔ/. Also, a number of archaic spellings are still retained, such as gj, lj, dj, hj with the first sound being mute.

The reading rules are not difficult in Swedish as far as the spellings usually correspond to the actual pronunciation. The basic principle is based on the syllabic balance. The syllabic balance is a common Scandinavian feature which stands for obligatory lengthening of stressed syllables. It means that a long vowel can only occur before a single short consonant, as well as a short vowel – only before a cluster or a single doubled consonant. Doubled consonants are said twice as long as their single equivalents. Thus, a vowel is long if:

1. it is the last sound in the syllable (veta /`ve:ta/, läsa /`lɛ:sa/);
2. it occurs before one consonant (tid /’ti:d/, ord /’u:ɖ/).

A vowel is short:

1. before a consonant cluster in which the first consonant is said a bit lengthened (eld /’eld/, aska /`aska/);
2. before a doubled long consonant (Anna /`an:a/, rinna /`rin:a/).

Note that the consonants represented by the clusters rd, rn, and rl are always short. The clusters rt and rs are usually short, and ng is almost always long.

• a – /ɑ:/, /a/
• b – /b/
• c – /k/, /s/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y) *
• d – /d/
• e – /e:/, /e/; /ɛ/ (in some words as exception); /æ/ (before r when short); /ə/ (unstressed)
• f – /f/
• g – /g/, /j/ (bafore ä, e, ö, i, y; after r, l at the end of a word)
• h – /h/
• i – /i:/, /i/
• j – /j/
• k – /k/; /ɕ/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y)
• l – /l/
• m – /m/
• n – /n/
• o – /u:/, /ɔ/; /ʊ/ (in some words as exception)
• p – /p/
• r – /r/
• s – /s/
• t – /t/
• u – /ʉ:/, /ʉ/
• v – /v/
• x – /ks/
• y – /y:/, /ʏ/
• z – /s/
• å – /o:/, /ɔ/
• ä – /ɛ:/, /ɛ/; /æ:/, /æ/ (before r)
• ö – /ø:/, /ø/; /œ:/, /œ/ (before r)

Letter combinations:

• gj, dj, lj, hj – /j/ (before a stressed vowel)
• rt – /ʈ/
• rd – /ɖ/
• rn – /ɳ/
• rl – /ɭ/
• rs – /ʂ/
• ng – /ŋ/
• gn – /ŋn/ (in the same part of a word)
• sj, stj, sch – /ɧ/
• sk – /ɧ/ (before ä, e, ö, i, y)
• 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:

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. Total absence of diphthongs (gliding vowels like in English “time”). This fact is unique for the whole Germanic group.
4. Long consonants after short vowels. This reflects the so called syllabic balance (see below). The actual behavior is implied in any consonant doubled and said long after a short stressed vowel: hiss /his:/ (elevator), finna /`fin:a/ (to find).
5. Tonic accent as a phonologically relevant factor. Simply saying, the tonic accent is changes in pitch in different syllables in a word. The pitch itself can be high and low, and the combination of pitches forms the tonic accent. This should not sound intimidating as there are only two tones in Swedish. However, sometimes, the meaning of a word depends on the tone (see below).

Vowels:

• /i:/ is a long close front unrounded vowel. It means, the tongue goes up and forward, and the lips stay calm or smile. This sound therefore resembles English /i:/ in “team”, but it is tenser and closer. vi /’vi:/ (we), lika /`li:ka/ (the same as).
• /i/ is a short close front unrounded vowel. This sound resembles /i:/, but it is much shorter, like in the English word “bin”. hiss /’his:/ (elevator), finna /`fin:a/ (to find).
• /y:/ is identical to /i:/, but the lips should be intensively rounded (as if you wanted to say “doom”). yta /`y:ta/ (area), by /’by:/ (village).
• /ʏ/ is identical to /і/, but again, you will have to apply some rounding. yrke /`ʏrkə/ (profession, occupation), fylla /`fʏl:a/ (to fill (in)).
• /e:/ is a long mid front unrounded vowel. It is similar to English /e/ in “debt”, but it is much longer. leva /`le:va/ (to live), veta /`ve:ta/ (to know, to be aware of).
• /e/ is the short copy of /е:/. krets /’krets/ (circle, environment), penna /`pen:a/ (pen).
• /ø:/ is identical to /е:/, but this vowel is rounded. möta /`mø:ta/ (to meet), lösa /`lø:sa/ (to solve, to untie).
• /ɛ:/ is a long mid front unrounded vowel. The description is the same as for /e:/, but this vowel is different. To say it, you will have to drop you jaw a little bit. The difference is quite slight, and the terms to differentiate /e:/ and /ɛ:/ are “narrow” and “wide”. gräla /`grɛ:la/ (to quarrel, to shout), äta /`ɛ:ta/ (to eat).
• /ɛ/ is the short variant of /ɛ:/. Make the sound very short to get it right. väska /`vɛska/ (bag), känna /`ɕɛn:a/ (to know (someone), to feel).
• /ə/ is simply a schwa. It is a weak variant of /e/ which appears in unstressed syllables. moder /’mu:dər/ (mother), mogen /’mu:gən/ (mature).
• /ø/ is pronounced like /ɛ/, but some rounding is applied. önska /`ønska/ (to wish), öppna /`øpna/ (to open).
• /æ:/ is a variant of /ɛ:/ that occurs before “r”. This long vowel is an open front vowel and is very similar to the English vowel in the word “ran”. ära /`æ:ra/ (honor), stjärna /`ɧæ:ɳa/ (star).
• /æ/ is shorter than /æ:/. hjärta /`jæʈ:a/ (heart), värma /`værma/ (to heat up, to warm up).
• /œ:/ is a variant of /ø:/ before “r”. Apply the very known rule: say /æ:/ with rounded lips. köra /`ɕœ:ra/ (to drive), göra /`jœ:ra / (to do, to make).
• /œ/ is just the short equivalent for /œ:/. börja /`bœrja / (to begin).
• /a:/ is a long open back vowel. It is slightly rounded. This sound is similar to English /a:/ in “father”. However, it is even deeper and closer to “o” in “pot” (like the way they say it in England). taga /`ta:ga/ (to take), tala /`ta:la/ (to speak, to talk).
• /a/ is a short open mid unrounded vowel. It is close to English “o” in “stop” (American variant). This sound is complicated for those speakers of English who tend to retract the “o” in “stop”. kan /’khan:/ (can), han /’han:/ (he).
• /o:/ is a long (narrow) mid back rounded vowel. No actual approximation in English. The closest English sound is /ou/ in “boat”, but the Swedish vowel has no glide (remember there are no gliding vowels in Swedish?). This vowel is very similar to the corresponding German sound, like in the word “Boot”. fågel /’fo:gəl/ (bird), sova /`so:va/ (to sleep).
• /ɔ/ is a short (wide) mid back rounded vowel. It is actually close to the English vowel /:/ in the word “boring”, but don’t forget to make it very short! lång /’lɔŋ/ (long), hålla /`hɔl:a/ (to hold).
• /u:/ is a long close back rounded vowel. It resembles the English sound /u:/ in “two”. However, it is even closer and could even have a slight approximation to “w” at the very end. tro /’tru:/ (to believe, to trust), bo /’bu:/ (to live (about location)).
• /ʊ/ is shorter than /u:/. Many Swedes also make it a little more lax. orm /’ʊrm/ (snake), ont /’ʊnt/ (badly).
• /ʉ:/ is the most difficult Swedish vowel. It is a long (narrow) mid slightly retracted front rounded vowel. Actually, the position of the tongue is close to /e:/, but the whole tongue is retracted a bit. The lips are very tense and pressed to the teeth. You will have to practice this sound a lot to eventually get it right. fura /`fʉ:ra/ (pine), ljus /’jʉ:s/ (light).
• /ʉ/ is a short mid middle rounded vowel. It is even more retracted than /ʉ:/, and the lips are rounded, but not so tense. hund /’hʉnd/ (dog), lugn /’lʉŋn/ (calm).

Consonants:

• /p/ is a bilabial (formed with both lips) voiceless aspirated stop. It is similar to English “p”. panna /`phanna/ (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).
• /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).
• /f/ is a labio-dental (formed with the lower lip and the upper teeth) fricative voiceless consonant. The air goes through a narrow gap between the lip and the teeth. This sound is said like “f” in English. fira /`fi:ra/ (to celebrate), fram /’fram:/ (forward).
• /v/ is the voiced equivalent for /f/ and is like “v” in English. vila /`vi:la/ (to rest), vänta /`vɛnta/ (to wait).
• /t/ is a dental (formed on the upper teeth) voiceless aspirated stop. In English, “t” is said by pressing the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth. In Swedish, you have to go all way down to the teeth and say the sound there. The alveolar English /t/ is a totally different sound in Swedish. Practice “t” a lot to hear the difference. timme /`thim:ə/ (hour), tår /’tho:r/ (tear).
• /d/ is a dental voiced stop. döma /`døm:a/ (to judge), de /’di:/ (they).
• /n/ is a dental nasal voiced consonant. Again, simple say “n” making sure that the tip of the tongue is pressed to the upper teeth. nöje /`nøj:ə/ (pleasure), när /’næ:r/ (when).
• /l/ is a dental voiced lateral consonant. Like you did before, press the tip of the tongue to the upper teeth to prevent confusion with the other “l”. lampa /`lampa/ (lamp), älg /’ɛlj/ (elk).
• /s/ is a fricative dental voiceless consonant. There are two things about this sound. The first (and the most important) one is that this consonant is dental, which mean you should again apply the well known rule. The other point is that this sound has no voice parallel in Swedish, and the letter “s” is never pronounced like “z”. sorg /’sɔrj/ (misery), saga /`sɑ:ga/ (story).
• /r/ is a tongue tip trill. The tip of the tongue must hit the alveolar ridge a few times as you say this sound. rita /`ri:ta/ (to draw), ropa /`ru:pa/ (to call for; to cry).
• /ʈ/ is an alveolar voiceless stop. Now, you can relax and remember you native language. This sounds is the same as the English t-sound. kort /’kɔʈ:/ (short), fort /’fu:ʈ/ (fast).
• /ɖ/ is an alveolar voiced stop. This sound is like “d” in English. bord /’bu:ɖ/ (table, board), gjorde /`ju:ɖə/ (did, made).
• /ɳ/ is an alveolar voiced nasal vowel. kvarn /’kvɑ:ɳ/ (mill), örn /’œ:ɳ/ (eagle).
• /ɭ/ is an alveolar lateral consonant. This sound resembles English “l” a lot. pärla /`pæ:ɭa/ (pearl).
• /ʂ/ is a fricative alveolar voiceless consonant. This sounds resembles “s” in English, but is slightly similar to //, like in “sheep”. norska /`nɔʂka/ (Norwegian language).
• /ɕ/ is a fricative palatal (tongue comes close to the palate) voiceless consonant. To say this sound, bring the tongue close to the hard palate (as if you were going to start saying “y-y-y-y-es”) and say a voiceless “y”. tjock /’ɕɔk:/ (thick), kirurg /ɕi’rʉrj/ (surgeon).
• /j/ is the voiceless variant for /ɕ/. Thus, this sound resembles “y” in “yield”, but it is a bit more fricative (which means that the noise must be harsher). djur /’jʉ:r/ (animal), jaga /`jɑ:ga/ (to hunt).
• /ɧ/ is a fricative back voiceless sound. It is actually very difficult to say. The lips are rounded quite a lot. The best way to learn this sound is listening and repeating. skjuta /`ɧʉ:ta/ (to shoot), skälla /`ɧɛl:a/ (to bark).
• /k/ is a back voiceless aspirated stop. kalla /`kal:a/ (to call), kunna /`kʉn:a/ (can, to be able).
• /g/ is a back voiced stop like “g” in English. gå /’go:/ (to go), gåva /`go:va/ (gift).
• /ŋ/ is a back voiced nasal consonant. It is actually nothing different from /ŋ/ (ng) in English. hänga /`hɛŋ:a/ (to hang), ring /riŋ:/ (a ring).
• /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).