{"id":7012,"date":"2015-09-18T15:46:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T15:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=7012"},"modified":"2015-09-18T15:46:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-18T15:46:59","slug":"exciting-swedish-dialects-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/exciting-swedish-dialects-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"Exciting Swedish dialects: Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Normally, learners of a second language like Swedish want to learn the standard version, which for Swedish as known as rikssvenska<\/em> or standardsvenska<\/em>. Yet, Sweden, being the long, vast country it is, has numerous dialects spoken in all the different parts of the country — some big, some small. So even if your goal is to be proficient in standard Swedish, it is a good idea to understand how Swedish dialects can vary.<\/p>\n

Dialects in general can differ in many ways: pronunciation, vocabulary, even grammar. Within each of these categories are various subcategories. Here, you can read all about how Swedish dialects differ in terms of vocabulary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the dialects of Uppland<\/strong> (collectively called uppl\u00e4ndska<\/em>), where the city of Uppsala is located, it is very common to use vart<\/em> as a replacement for var<\/em>. In other words, the distinction between var<\/em> (“where” referring to static location) and vart<\/em> (“to where” referring to movement toward a location) is not used. Similarly, many dialects in Norrland (norrl\u00e4ndska<\/em>) have also done away with this distinction \u2013 many norrl\u00e4nningar<\/em> (or Norrlanders) say vars<\/em> in place of both var<\/em> and vart<\/em>. Differently from\u00a0var<\/em> and\u00a0vart<\/em>, vars<\/em> is pronounced with a short\u00a0a<\/em> (as in\u00a0katt<\/em>). This vars<\/em> is not to be confused with the other Swedish word vars<\/em>, which means “whose” (as used in relative subclauses).<\/p>\n

In the city of Ume\u00e5 and other parts of V\u00e4sterbotten<\/strong> (whose dialects are collectively called\u00a0v\u00e4sterbottniska<\/em>), many people refer to socks as sockar<\/em> \u2013 contrary to the standard Swedish strumpor<\/em>. This was a shock to me when I first visted Ume\u00e5!<\/p>\n

In the Swedish capital of Stockholm<\/strong> (stockholmska<\/em>), it is common to hear people say pr\u00f6jsa<\/em> instead of betala<\/em>, “to pay”. Stockholmers (stockholmare<\/em>), after a late night out, might call for a bulle<\/em> (litterally “bun” or “roll”), otherwise known as a taxi<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In parts of V\u00e4sterg\u00f6tland,<\/strong> you might hear the word klenig<\/em> \u2013 the opposite of what an English-speaker might guess, this means “dirty” (smutsig<\/em> in standard Swedish).<\/p>\n

In V\u00e4rmland<\/strong> (v\u00e4rml\u00e4ndska<\/em>), your favorite lingonberry jam is made of kr\u00f6ser<\/em> \u2013 lingonberry (lingon<\/em> in standard Swedish).<\/p>\n

In G\u00f6teborg<\/strong> (known as Gothenburg in English, dialect g\u00f6teborgska<\/em>), you might hear people tj\u00f6ta<\/em>, or\u00a0“chat”, (standard Swedish slang snacka<\/em>) at a street-side caf\u00e9. And then they might thing you’re tetig<\/em>, or “strange” (standard Swedish underlig<\/em>), for staring at them.<\/p>\n

And on the island of Gotland<\/strong> (gotl\u00e4ndska<\/em>), you might come across a pinnsvain<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 the Gotlandic word for “hedgehog” (standard Swedish igelkott<\/em>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What kind of Swedish do the Swedes you know speak? Stockholmska<\/em>? V\u00e4rml\u00e4ndska<\/em>? Do they often use dialectal words you haven’t learnt? What kind of Swedish do you ultimately want to learn? Tell us about it in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Normally, learners of a second language like Swedish want to learn the standard version, which for Swedish as known as rikssvenska or standardsvenska. Yet, Sweden, being the long, vast country it is, has numerous dialects spoken in all the different parts of the country — some big, some small. So even if your goal is…<\/p>\n

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