Archive by Author
Sportlov Season Is Upon Us Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 21, 2009
And that’s “lov,” NOT “love,” not to be confused, and the meaning is totally different as well. Sportlov, aka vinterlov, or skidlov is simply Swedish for “winter school break.” But lov is a tricky word – it has several meanings, and depending on the meaning, it can be either an “ett” or “en” word, or…
The Pirate Bay Trial Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 18, 2009
The buzz in Sweden this week seems to be all about the Pirate Bay trial. Unless you’ve been living under a rock on planet Zog, you have most likely heard about file sharing. I have purposely left out the word “illegal” from the previous sentence, because file sharing comes in all sorts of shapes and…
De fyra tjejerna från Robertsfors Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 16, 2009
You ask, I deliver. At least, I try to deliver. And since you asked about music, what better band to start with than our four local girls from Robertsfors? Yes, it’s Sahara Hotnights time! I have to admit, I hadn’t been always a Sahara Hotnights fan. But my friend’s daughter subjected me to repeated doses…
Alla hjärtans dag Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 15, 2009
That’s what Valentine’s Day is called in Sweden. alla – all hjärta (def. hjärtat, pl. hjärtan, def. pl. hjärtana) – heart dag – day You’d know immediately that something is up by all the chocolate hearts at the supermarkets. And for those on a strict budget there are boxes of red geléhjärtan (as Mats has…
“Swedish – An Essential Grammar” – book review Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 13, 2009
“Swedish – An Essential Grammar” Authors: Philip Holmes and Ian Hinchliffe Published by Routledge ISBN: 0-415-16048-0 I totally forgot I had this book. Yesterday I was cleaning out some stuff and whoops, it just fell out of the box and hit me on the head. I think I packed it away because once upon a…
If – om, Adverbial Clauses Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 10, 2009
A couple of posts back Mo asked how to say stuff like “if you are….I am ….” And since she asked, I thought it would be a good idea to talk today about adverbial clauses (adverbialsbisatser). What is an adverbial clause? It’s when an entire subordinate clause sentence can act as an adverbial. Uh-huh, I…
How To Read a Car Ad Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 7, 2009
It looks like we’ll have to sell our car. Why? To buy a better car. Ours is not bad, but it’s time to upgrade. And besides, I’d rather have a kombi (wagon) than a 2-door coupé. So, my guy delegated me to prepare a sale ad. Since I’ve never done it before, in any language…