Vårprat (Spring talk in Swedish) Posted by Katja on Mar 21, 2013
Just around about this time of year, at least in the south of Sweden, talk of spring is one of the most popular conversation topics. This blogpost will equip you with good phrases for “vårprat” (spring talk). Here comes a standard phrase which you can exchange the adjective for any number of synonyms. “Visst är…
A Swedish Hymn – Tryggare kan ingen vara Posted by Marcus Cederström on Mar 19, 2013
I wrote a while back about a Swedish nursery rhyme called Rida Rida Ranka that I have encountered while doing field work in Swedish America. It’s a great little nursery rhyme and one that I actually remember my dad reciting to me when I was younger. It’s not just nursery rhymes though that I keep…
Melodifestivalen – 2013 Posted by Marcus Cederström on Mar 5, 2013
It’s time. The final Melodifestivalen is happening this Saturday. Of course, we’ve got a few fans here on the blog who have written about Melodifestivalen before (including me with Melodifestivalen and the other Swedish Schlager), but for those of you who are new to the glory that is Swedish schlager, here’s a quick rundown. Schlager…
Expressing the “same” in Swedish Posted by Stephen Maconi on Feb 28, 2013
You walk into your office one morning and one of your colleagues says, “Hey, look! We are wearing the same shirt at the same time!”. Daily office life is just remarkable, isn’t it? In English, wearing the “same” shirt and wearing it at the “same” time as someone else are both expressed by the same…
Sport i Sverige Posted by Katja on Feb 21, 2013
Sport is something that is the same all over the world. People from all different countries can meet across boarders and compete against each other. Whatever politics different countries have when the players get on the pitch, pist, field or pool most of that, if not all is left behind them. There are of course…
Why is the Swedish language so melodic? Posted by Stephen Maconi on Feb 14, 2013
Many people who have heard the Swedish language being spoken have commented that it sounds very song-like, very melodic, with high tones and low tones, giving a “singing” effect. The people who noted this have often contrasted the prosody (intonation and language rhythm) of Swedish to that of English, which they say is much more…
The big immigration Posted by Katja on Feb 8, 2013
Depending on the level of interest in history, most Swedes know a little bit about the big immigration of Swedes to the United States of America during the late eighteen hundreds. Sweden was said to be a dark and cold place befallen by several years of crop failure in a row. During the eighteen and…