{"id":9129,"date":"2021-02-26T03:52:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T03:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=9129"},"modified":"2021-02-26T13:28:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T13:28:39","slug":"5-tips-to-discuss-sustainability-in-swedish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/5-tips-to-discuss-sustainability-in-swedish\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips to Discuss Sustainability in Swedish"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credits: Simon Paulin\/imagebank.sweden.se<\/p><\/div>\n

54% of Sweden’s energy comes from renewable sources. With a commitment to fighting climate change, Swedish society has taken action to make sustainable choices every day. It’s commonplace for Swedes to discuss their flygskam<\/em> (shame of flying) or their apartment building’s system for sorting hush\u00e5llssopor<\/em> (household waste) into multiple smaller bins for efficiency. Practicing vocabulary related to the environment and climate is time well spent! <\/span>This week, I\u2019ll cover 5 ways to smoothly integrate sustainability into your Swedish.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Use Sustainable Grammar<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n

The adjective \u201csustainable\u201d has three forms in Swedish. One for <\/span>en<\/span><\/i>-category nouns, one for <\/span>ett<\/span><\/i>-category nouns, and one for plural nouns as follows:
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0en \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ett \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 plural<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/span>h\u00e5llbar \u00a0 \u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u00a0 h\u00e5llbart \u2192\u00a0 \u00a0 h\u00e5llbara<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>H\u00e5llbar mat<\/i><\/b> inneh\u00e5ller mindre k\u00f6tt. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Sustainable food<\/b> contains less meat.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ett h\u00e5llbart s\u00e4tt <\/i><\/b>att resa \u00e4r att \u00e5ka t\u00e5g. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>A sustainable way<\/b> to travel is to take the train. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>H\u00e5llbara bilar<\/i><\/b> anv\u00e4nder el ist\u00e4llet f\u00f6r bensin. <\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>Sustainable cars <\/b>use electricity instead of gas. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

H\u00e5llbarhet(en) <\/span><\/i>is the noun for<\/span>\u00a0sustainability. Similar to English, it can also be used to address sustainability in other contexts. For example, the terms <\/span>social och ekonomisk h\u00e5llb\u00e5rhet<\/span><\/i> (social and economic sustainability) are widely used.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Master New Nouns<\/b><\/h3>\n


\n<\/span>en milj\u00f6 \u2192 milj\u00f6n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/em>environment<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>ett klimat \u2192 klimatet\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0climate<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>en natur \u2192 naturen\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0nature<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>den globala uppv\u00e4rmingen\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 global warming<\/span><\/p>\n

(en) konsumtion\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 consumption
\n
\n<\/span>…can you make a proper sentence with each of these nouns? Show me your best example in the comments!<\/p>\n

3. Use Comparative Adjectives<\/b><\/h3>\n

Our office is pretty green, but can we be <\/span>greener<\/span><\/i>? The Swedish adjective <\/span>gr\u00f6n<\/span><\/i> works to refer to the color green but also to describe something that is environmentally friendly. For a guide to using the comparative form of Swedish adjectives, see Happy, Happier, Happiest – Comparing Adjectives in Swedish<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

gr\u00f6n \u2192 gr\u00f6nare \u2192 gr\u00f6nast \u2192 gr\u00f6naste
\n<\/em>green \u2192 greener \u2192 greest \u2192 the greenest
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>My Swedish “hometown” V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is often referred to as <\/span>Europas gr\u00f6naste stad <\/span><\/i><\/a>(Europe\u2019s Greenest City). They were the first city in the world to declare a goal of ditching fossil fuels by the year 2030. The 60,000 inhabitants in V\u00e4xj\u00f6 proper get their energy via centralized heating and cooling – perhaps a statistic not that surprising. But, what is impressive is that 90% of the electricity used in V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is powered by byproducts from the local forest industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another common comparative seen in conversation is English cognate klimat<\/em>smart <\/em>(climate smart).
\nsmart \u2192 smartare \u2192 smartast \u2192 smartaste
\n<\/em>smart \u2192 smarter \u2192 smartest \u2192 the smartest
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Read Up on Current Events<\/b><\/h3>\n


\n<\/span>Sweden may be greener than most countries but they still have a lot to sort out before reaching their goal of 100% sustainable energy. Swedish <\/span>K\u00e4rnkraft <\/span><\/i>(nuclear power) has been a topic of news lately. A student and I read this 8sidor.se article, <\/span>K\u00e4rnkraften kan bli stoppad<\/span><\/i><\/a> (Nuclear Energy May Be Stopped). Swedish energy giant Vattenfall and the government discuss <\/span>k\u00e4rnkraftverk <\/span><\/i>(nuclear power plants) and the dilemma of dangerous <\/span>sopor<\/span><\/i> (waste) they leave behind. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This bit of current news is eerily similar to the premise of hit SVT program White Wall. It\u2019s streamable now on SVTplay<\/em>, as has a combination of Swedish and English dialogue.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n