Why Do We Learn Swedish? Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 18, 2009
“Why bother learning Swedish?” someone asked me recently. “Everybody in Sweden speaks perfect English,” the person continued, “so what’s the point?” Hmmm… yeah, really? It’s true that one of the first things that a visitor to Sweden will notice is that almost everyone speaks English here. Maybe not perfect English, but English that is easily…
Is Driving in Sweden Stressful? (I don’t think so!) Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 15, 2009
After reading the blog post about buying a car in Sweden, one of the readers (who also happens to be my good friend) sent me an email ranting about how frustrated and stressed she is when it comes to driving in Sweden. I emailed her back saying that she had no clue what she was…
Position and Direction continued Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 12, 2009
A couple of posts back we were talking about those little words that denote such important things as position and direction. Boring stuff, yes I know, but very useful nonetheless. So today let’s continue in the same vein and discuss här and där. And hit and dit. You see, in English, it’s all the same…
European Capital of Culture 2014 Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 9, 2009
I really don’t know what to say. Much to my disappointment, it was Umeå, not Lund that became selected as the Swedish candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2014. The jury made its decision yesterday and when the results were announced during a press conference, I know that the good people of Lund…
Particles of Position and Direction Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 5, 2009
Uhuh, I knew this day would come. I knew that sooner or later someone would email me asking about the difference between “hemma” and “hem” and “hemifrån”. “Ute” and “ut”, and “inne” and “in”. Yeah, you get the picture… It’s not very exciting stuff (hey, I’d much rather write about the lovely city of Lund)…
Anybody’s “man” – another personal pronoun Posted by Transparent Language on Sep 2, 2009
Since we were talking about personal pronouns the other day, and as I see, it has provoked some very interesting comments, I thought it would be a good idea to continue on the subject. “What? There are even more pronouns in Swedish?” I hear you say. Well, not that many more. Actually, just one more…
Buying a Car in Sweden Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 31, 2009
A few days ago one of the readers of this blog asked a question about car dealers in Sweden. He wanted to know whether they are as pushy and obnoxious as their American counterparts. That’s a very good question, but I am not sure whether I am the right person to answer it. Why? I’m…