Swedish is one of the easiest languages for native English speakers to learn. It has a lot in common with English grammar and vocabulary. There are still some difficult components to learn, including the complex compounds and melodic rhythm. Don’t worry, we have these super helpful tips for learning Swedish! Hire Kings of Translation today to get professional swedish translation to english. This linguistic service provides 24/7 customer support and translations are performed under the direction of a project manager. To learn more, contact Kings of Translation via email or telephone.
En Or Ett?
It can be confusing to distinguish between the Swedish articles en or ett. It can be confusing to know why one fruit is called en banana and the other ett Apple. Also, why are they sometimes called bananen or applet?
First, it is a bit confusing that the equivalent to “the”, which we refer to as the definite article is built into the words in the form of a suffix. So, “a banana” can be referred to as “en banan” but “the banana”, is “bananen”. Although it may seem strange at first, you’ll soon get used to the addition of the article at the bottom.
Here comes the hard part. How can you tell if a word an an en-word, or an ett -word? Swedish does not have a semantic gender system similar to the Romance languages. A man is masculine while a woman feminine. Instead, both man (and kvinna) are en words. Barn, however, is an example of an ett word! How is this possible?
It’s not as simple as it sounds — or vice versa
Even when you learn your first words and phrases like jag (I), god morgon (good afternoon), and det ar (it’s), you will quickly notice and learn something that will be very helpful in learning Swedish. Not all letters can actually be pronounced. In spoken Swedish, the “g” in jag can be omitted, and det and ar combine to make a “dee”. God morgon sounds more like a “gomorron” since you want to learn Swedish. This is a great tip to incorporate these “reductions” into your new language. They exist because they are important!
Sing It!
People often say that Swedish is a melodic and singing language. It is said that the melody moves up and down, just like when you warm your voice. For speaking Swedish, a good tip is to use your best Welsh accent. It’s possible to get the Swedish rhythm wrong if you don’t know enough Welsh. However, it is worth listening to and mimicking Swedes to help you. Listening to a Swedish podcast, radio or show can help you get a sense of the prosody. This is a fancy term for all aspects that affect how a language sounds. Listen to the sentence and notice how it rhythms. This is also true for your first phrases such as ordering coffee, introducing yourself and asking for directions to the ABBA Museum.
Wait! This word has 32 letters!
Oh, the beauty and power of compound words! Looking around my office, I see a miniatyrplastflakt, a spraktradsteckning and a rullgardinsupphangningsanordning — in other words, a plastic miniature fan, a drawing of the Indo-European language tree and an arrangement on which the window blinds hang. These words are not found in a dictionary and may be my first to write them.
Start with the Easy Part
The best news is the last. You probably already know the main selling point of Scandinavian languages, which is that there is no conjugation of verbs! Every verb is the exact same regardless of who it is, so “am”, “are” or “is” all translate into ar. This means you are ready for a quick start. Your brain won’t get caught up in the personal pronouns that you would have to use to find the correct verb form. I will even give you your first verbs immediately.
