Archive for 'Culture'
The Power of Unions Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 2, 2008
It’s not a happy day in Stockholm today. Why? Bus drivers are on strike. It’s actually day two of no buses, and from the looks of it, it will continue a little bit longer. And if no agreement is reached, the strike may spread to other parts of the country. I’ve just read that here…
Swedish Checkout Habits Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 30, 2008
Sweden is a very organized country. Everything has its place and there are rules and regulations for just about anything. Some rules don’t even need to be officially written down, they technically don’t exist, yet people here follow them anyway. That of course makes life a lot easier in many different situations – when boarding…
Hej Hej! Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 27, 2008
Everywhere you go in Sweden, people “hej” at you. If you don’t know that “hej” means “hello” in Swedish, you might be slightly confused as to why everybody is trying to get your attention. Because that’s what we use “hey” for in English, among many other things, right? “Hej!” in Swedish doesn’t have any of…
Midsummer’s Eve Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 20, 2008
It’s that time of the year again when the entire Sweden goes outside to sing, dance, drink and celebrate the arrival of summer. Yep, it’s Midsommarafton (Midsummer’s Eve) today. Regardless of the actual day of the summer solstice, the holiday is always scheduled for Friday-Saturday between June 19th and 25th. On Midsummer’s Eve businesses close…
Take a Break – Swedish Style Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 17, 2008
One of the very first words of Swedish, right after hej and tack, that every foreigner learns is fika. Which also happens to be my favorite Swedish word, too. And you’d be hard pressed to find a word more Swedish to the core than fika. You could even say that fika is a social institution…