Tag Archives: Swedish Language
Drunken Moose and Swedish Months Posted by Marcus Cederström on Sep 27, 2013
Maybe you saw the news from a month ago. Radio Sweden released a short report about a gang of drunken moose tormenting Swedes. (You can click here for the original.) It was picked up by plenty of news agencies here in the US and categorized under the “Weird” news section in plenty of places. It’s…
Meeting Someone New – in Swedish Posted by Marcus Cederström on Jul 31, 2013
Last week we learned about animals. It’s fun, it helps the vocabulary, but the word for hippo might not be all that useful (it’s flodhäst, in case you’re wondering). But one thing that will be useful is how to start a conversation with someone you just met. That’s one of the beauties of traveling. New…
Three Ways Wikipedia Can Help You Learn Swedish Posted by Marcus Cederström on May 21, 2013
You know all of those teachers who warn you about using Wikipedia academically? Well… they have a point. Kind of. At least if you start citing Wikipedia in your university papers. Don’t. But if you’re looking to improve your language skills? Do. There are plenty of ways to use Wikipedia to improve your Swedish language…
14 Swedish Abbreviations You Need to Know Posted by Marcus Cederström on May 7, 2013
Learning vocabulary can be a challenge sometimes. But then there are those little moments when you hear the word, or maybe you just read it, and you get it. The smile creeps over your face, maybe you throw your arms up in the air like Rocky running up the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum…
Every Other Hippo is Swedish (And Other Useful Frequency Terms) Posted by Marcus Cederström on Apr 23, 2013
There are some phrases in foreign languages that are just good to know. Hello (hej), good bye (hej då) thanks (tack), where is the bathroom (var är toaletten), every other hippo is Swedish (varannan flodhäst är svensk), you know, the usual. But within those useful terms are some things that can be tricky, like frequency…
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…
Swedish Nursery Rhyme – Rida Rida Ranka Posted by Marcus Cederström on Feb 6, 2013
As I’ve written before, I sometimes do fieldwork in the United States, interviewing and talking with Scandinavian Americans. It’s a great experience and I get a chance to meet a lot of wonderful people and hear some amazing stories. One thing that has popped up a couple of times is an old nursery rhyme that…