{"id":9413,"date":"2021-09-24T11:55:57","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T11:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=9413"},"modified":"2021-10-24T21:09:10","modified_gmt":"2021-10-24T21:09:10","slug":"pronunciation-breakdown-swedish-sj-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/pronunciation-breakdown-swedish-sj-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Pronunciation Breakdown: Swedish Sj-Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

Learning about phonetics is cool. And if you ask me, pretty difficult! A recent blog commenter said they have difficulty with the Swedish sj-sound and asked for tips to practice it. Classified as a \u201c<\/span>voiceless fricative phoneme\u201d <\/span>it\u2019s one of the most difficult sounds in the Swedish language to reproduce. While I\u2019m not a phonetics expert, I do have a great ear and a talent for parroting back the sounds that I hear. So, this week I\u2019ll highlight the sj-sound and I\u2019ll give you some tips and tricks to master it!<\/span><\/p>\n

Fricka-what? Fricative!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Students typically meet the Swedish sj-sound for the first time when learning the number 7, spelled sju<\/em>. Swedish sj, or \u2018\u0267\u2019, as it is symbolized in the phonetic alphabet is a fricative consonant sound that is made when air passes through a narrow opening at the back of our throat. This sound is also voiceless, meaning that no vibration of the vocal cords occurs. Any German speakers here? This sound is common in German, similar to the ch-sound in words like richtig<\/em> and Ich<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do Cool Whip and the Sj-sound have in Common?<\/span><\/h2>\n