Swedish Language Blog

Just a few days ago, Sweden took home one of the most coveted awards in all of tourism. World’s most attractive men! Ok, so maybe it doesn’t rank up there with a Nobel Prize (a Swedish honor of course), but it did make headlines. And for some, maybe it gave them another reason to learn Swedish.

Sweden has long been known for its stereotypically beautiful women. Tall, blonde, blue-eyed, these women created a sort of Nordic ideal. But as Alexander Skarsgård fans know, it’s not just the women who are attractive.

The article by Travelers Digest is no exception, playing on some of the Swedish stereotypes while claiming that Stockholm, Sweden is home to the most attractive men in the world. In fact the paragraph confronts those stereotypes head on and lists them off: cold, distant, attractive, tall. Of course, interestingly enough, the deeper analysis of such a stereotype reveals even more stereotypes. These of course are overwhelmingly positive. Did you know that all Stockholmers (males at least) are “impeccably-dressed?” Or that they love fine dining? Or that they are elegant and devoted lovers? Wandering the streets of Stockholm, it’s hard not to notice that some of these stereotypes may actually hold a shard of truth. I feel woefully underdressed just about every time I walk out my door for a night out in Stockholm for example. But you’ll find plenty of Stockholmers indulging in less-than-fine dining. Sweden’s very own burger chain, Max Burger, comes to mind.

But I suppose that’s kind of the point. No one wants to focus on the negative stereotypes if all you’re looking for is aesthetics. And that’s probably one of the reasons that stereotypes are so fascinating. It’s something we’ve written about quite a few times here at Transparent Language. In fact, if you want to delve a bit deeper, check out Swedish Stereotypes and Swedish Stereotypes. Again.

When you think of the stereotypical Swedish male, is this what you think of? A tall, good-looking man who loves good food and good clothes? Or do you think of the big, rugged, Viking-like man who is more concerned with beer? Or do you find yourself falling somewhere in between taking a more nuanced approach to generalizing an entire population?

I know, I know. You’ve all been waiting with bated breath for the continuation of the Swedish Madlib that we posted a while back. Wait no more. Below you will find the story that all your different words will fill in. If you haven’t yet filled in your words, just for good measure, check out our post Swedish Madlibs.

Activities like this, silly as they may seem at times, realy stretch your vocabulary, and even your grammar. If you’ve got yourself a small group of Swedish speaking friends, or maybe you’ve put together a Swedish conversation table, activities like this are a great way to practice your Swedish and have a little fun while doing it.

 Ett Konstigt Djur

_____1__________ är ett djur som har en ______2_________ päls med ______3_________ prickar på sin ______4_________ och _______5________. Djurets näsa ser ut som ____6_______ och används till _____7__________. Djuret kan väga mer än _______8________ kilo och bli _____9__________  centimeter lång.

Djuret finns bara i ____10___________ och ______11_________. De gillar _____12__________ och tycker också om att äta _____13__________. Om du någonsin ser en, ska du absolut inte sjunga _____14__________. Låten gör dem ______15_________. Se till istället att du ger dem ____16______ och spring åt andra hållet.

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!