Vernal Equinox (vårdagjämning) and Seasons in Swedish Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 21, 2009
I’m really happy today. Springtime is here. Well, at least officially, because you wouldn’t know it from looking out the window. And while I’m not a fan of vår (spring) – too much rain and mud for my liking, I am a huge fan of vårdagjämning. vårdagjämning (def. vårdagjämningen) – den tidpunkt under våren då…
When a Short, Sharp Intake of Breath Means “Yes” Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 19, 2009
My friend had to go to the doctor the other day, and afterwards, when we were having fika, he said: “wow, I guess I’m seriously sick. The doctor was making those scared little noises at pretty much everything I told her.” As you can very easily guess, my friend is an expat and hasn’t been…
Swedish Entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 16, 2009
I didn’t post about it yesterday, because I had to think about what to say. But there’s really no avoiding it, even a day later – I really don’t like the song that Sweden is sending to the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow in May. And the song is “La voix” sung by Malena Ernman…
Swenglish eller svengelska? Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 14, 2009
One of the commenters mentioned my funny English recently and that actually was a very good thing. As any expat who’s been living for a long time in a non-English speaking country can tell you, this is bound to happen. Sooner or later, your English will start deteriorating. And the funniest thing is, you might…
Kiruna stadsflytt – Where They Really Move Houses Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 12, 2009
And I mean “move houses” in more ways than one. They are literally planning to move the entire city center to a new location. Historical houses will be taken apart, moved and put back together in their new locations. Some buildings will be demolished, either fully or partially, and then replaced with new, or partly…
Swedish Writers – Selma Lagerlöf Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 10, 2009
I was driving from Umeå to Stockholm this past Monday. Everything was going just fine and we were happily cruising along when somewhere between Umeå and Örnsköldsvik (also known as Ö-vik) the weather got all funky. It began to snow, or rather, from the looks of the road, it had been snowing for quite some…
Word Order in Subordinate Clauses Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 3, 2009
Remember when we talked about adverbial clauses? Yes, boring grammar stuff today, sorry! But we haven’t quite finished with the subject, and actually, the bit we will discuss today is interesting. What, you didn’t know that grammar can be interesting? Don’t believe me? Just wait and see for yourself! (And it’s easy, too – I…