What does it mean to “black-paint” someone in Swedish? Posted by Stephen Maconi on Dec 18, 2015
Like many other languages, the Swedish language has a large variety of different expressions. Some of these expressions are similar to expressions in other languages – and some are more-or-less unique to Swedish. These expressions vary from being several words long to being only one word. One useful piece of interesting vocabulary in Swedish…
Sweetish Swedish pancakes – maybe not what you’d expect! Posted by Stephen Maconi on Dec 10, 2015
Swedish pancakes come sweet or savory – here, I’ll give you the run-down on sweet Swedish pancakes! One very popular dish in Sweden is the pannkaka – the Swedish pancake. American readers might see the word “pancake” and think, “Oh! Swedish-style pancakes!” Well, no. Swedish pancakes aren’t really just Swedish-style pancakes. They’re more like crêpes…
Emphasizing adjectives in Swedish with “så” and “sådan” Posted by Stephen Maconi on Nov 30, 2015
There are lots of ways to emphasize adjectives in Swedish. Many of these ways are very similar to how we emphasize adjectives in English. One way to emphasize adjectives in Swedish is to use så or sådan. Both create the same emphasis, but they are used in different ways. The difference between så and sådan is similar…
Swedish Tongue-Twisters. Part Two. Posted by Marcus Cederström on Nov 25, 2015
Have you mastered the tongue-twisters from last week? Personally, I think “sex laxar i en laxask” is the trickiest. If you haven’t had a chance to practice yet, take a look at Swedish Tongue-Twisters. Part One. If you have, get ready for a new set of tongue-twisters. These are a little bit harder and maybe…
Swedish Tongue-Twisters. Part One. Posted by Marcus Cederström on Nov 19, 2015
Tongue-twisters are a lot of fun. I remember several from my childhood, trying to say them faster and faster only to eventually be spitting out vowels and consonants in complete disarray. Then laughing. A lot. I was easily amused. But it turns out that being able to spit out “Sally sells sea shells by…
Swedish exclamations using “vad” and “vilken” Posted by Stephen Maconi on Nov 10, 2015
Hey! It’s the fuzz! Run away! Careful, now! Cheers! All of those are examples of exclamations, known this way because they are short phrases we exclaim. Some or all instances might be called interjections, depending on whom you ask. In Swedish, as in many other languages, there are various types of interjections. The kind we’ll…
Swedish Word Order with Question Words Posted by Stephen Maconi on Nov 5, 2015
The world’s languages vary immensely. There are an infinite number of things which can be different among languages. One of these things is the use of question words: what kind of sentence patterns they usually come in, as well as how they, when used as subordinating conjunctions, differ from other subordinating conjunctions. (“Whoa, what’s…