Introduction to Swedish/Spelling
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Grammar
[edit | edit source]The ng-sound
[edit | edit source]Normal case: tung, tvinga, sväng
Spelled gn when the ng-sound is followed by a n-sound: regn, lugn, ugn, inhägna
An exception to above is tvungna as the ng-spelling of this word is herited from the adjective tvungen.
The tj-sound
[edit | edit source]
English examples of the tj sound: wash, fish, flush, shallow, ship
Before hard vowel (at the beginning of words), the tj-sound is spelled tj.
tjusa, tjäna, tjalla, tjog
Before soft vowel (at the beginning of words), the tj-sound is often spelled k, but sometimes tj.
Kina, kela, kind, kärlek, kyrka, körsbär¨ Tjej, tjäna, tjära
Exceptions with tj-sound kjol, kiosk
The skj-sound
[edit | edit source]Due to the development of the spoken language since the Middle Ages, this sound is complex, not only in terms of spelling but also in terms of pronunciation. In "standard" Swedish, without any strong social or regional marker, this sound is pronounced in a way very similar to German "Buch" or Scots "loch". However, it can also be pronounced in a way midway between the "tj" sound and "sh-" in English, and then carries a strong upper-class social marker, except in Northern Sweden where a similar pronunciation is very widespread without social connotations. The social marker can elicit mildly to violent reactions, whereas the regional marker is usually thought of as attractive.
The standard spelling is sj.
sju, sjö, sjal, sjåpig, själ
Before soft vowel the skj-sound is often spelled sk.
skepp, skinn, sky, skärm, sköld
Before 'o' and 'u' the skj-sound is sometimes spelled skj.
skjorta, skjul, skjuta
Before the soft vowel ä the skj-sound is sometimes spelled stj.
stjärna, stjärt, stjälk
In central and northern Sweden, the combination rs is also pronounced this way, except in formal recitals and by some elderly speakers. Particularly in Western Sweden (and there more clearly in lower-class sociolects) the combinations "rs" and "rt" are pronounced "s" and "t".
fors, färsk, kurs
For some exceptions in beginning of loan words, before a soft vowel the skj-sound is spelled g.
generell, generös, giraff
Before hard vowel in some borrowed words spelled ch.
choklad, chock, chans
Before o in some borrowed words spelled ti.
station, situation, aktion
In a few words, the spelling is sch.
schack, schampo; dusch
The j-sound
[edit | edit source]jord, boj,
djup, djungel, djärv, djur
gärna, ge
gjuta, gjorde
hjärna, hjälp
ljuvlig, ljus
The rd and rt-sounds
[edit | edit source]Pronounced with soft r and long preceding vowel in a manner reminiscent of Hindi or Urdu ṭ and ḍ; in certain rural dialects "lt" is pronounced in a similar way.
ord, börda
kort, art
The r-sound
[edit | edit source]This sound depends strongly on the dialect. There are five variants.
The s-sound
[edit | edit source]sång, stilla, bas
cykel, cyklop, cyanid, Cecilia
Z is pronounced like s.
zink, zoo, zon
Example sentences
[edit | edit source]Många ugnar görs i Kina. Many ovens are made in China.
Hjärnan är jättestor. The brain is huge.
I djungelns djup finns många djärva djur. Deep in the djungle there is a lot of brave animals.
I skjulet finns skjorta. In the shed there is shirt.
Example text
[edit | edit source]Drottning Kristinas far, Gustav II Adolf, lät bygga regalskeppet Vasa år 1628. Skeppet sjönk på sin jungfrufärd eftersom det var för rankt byggt. Anders Franzén återfann det sjunkna skeppet 1956. Det bärgades och konserverades och finns nu på Vasamuséet i Stockholm.
The father of Queen Christina, Gustav II Adolf, built the warship Vasa in the year 1628. The ship sank on its maiden voyage as it was too unstable. Anders Franzén found the sunken ship in 1956. It was brought up and preserved and is now exposed at the Vasa museum in Stockholm.
Exercises
[edit | edit source]Pronounce these words
A) juni, hjul, jul, djur, gjuta, gubbe, galt, hjort, hjässa, ge, ljuvlig
B) kurva, tjusig, köra, kärv, kär, tjäle, tjockis, varsel, mars, kjol
C) skalle, sjal, stjälpa, skjorta, sko, skinn, generad, gumma, gäst, ljus
D) vart, färd, fart, hord, rabbla, borra, bura in, barrikad
E) vagn, dunge, djungel, ting, stygn, tvungna, ringla
F) bastu, vass, central, Barsebäck, morsning, kross, brons
Translate into English
1. Ett skepp med körsbär kommer från Kina.
2. Cecilia är en schackspelare.
3. Djur ska inte tvättas med schampo.
4. Giraffer och zebror är afrikanska djur.
5. Kring jul tänder man många ljus.
Translate into Swedish
6. You will gain on it!
7. There is a shot giraffe in the shed.
8. Venus is bright, but it is not a star!
9. I bought two skirts in a kiosk.
10. A lot of species have brains.
Glossary
[edit | edit source]| en aktion, flera aktioner | a political action, several political actions |
| en art, flera arter | a species action, several species |
| en bank, flera banker | a bank, several banks |
| en bas, flera basar | a base, several bases |
| en boj, flera bojar | a buoy, several buoys |
| en chans, flera chanser | a chance, several chances |
| en chock, flera chocker | a chock, several chocks |
| en choklad, flera choklader | a chocolate, several chocolates |
| en cykel, flera cyklar | a bike, several bikes |
| en djungel, flera djungler | a jungle, several jungles |
| djup, djupare, djupast | deep, deeper, the deepest |
| ett djup, flera djup | a depth, several depths |
| ett djur, flera djur | an animal, several animals |
| djärv, djärvare, djärvast | brave, braver, the bravest |
| dunkel, dunklare, dunklast | dark, darker, the darkest |
| en dusch, flera duschar | a shower, several showers |
| en fors, flera forsar | a stream, several streams? |
| färsk, färskare, färskast | ripe, riper, the ripest |
| (att) ge, ger gav, givit | to give, gives, gave, given |
| (att) göra, gör, gjorde, gjort | to do, does, did, done |
| generell, mer generell, mest generell | general, more general, the most general |
| generös, mer generös, mest generös | generous, more generous, the most generous |
| en giraff, flera giraffer | a giraffe, several giraffes |
| en hjälp, mycket hjälp | a help, much help |
| (att) inhägna | to fence off |
| (att) kela | to caress |
| en kind, flera kinder | a cheek, several cheeks |
| ett Kina, flera Kina | a China, several China |
| en kiosk, flera kiosker | a kiosk, several kiosks |
| en kjol, flera kjolar | a shirt, several shirts |
| en kurs, flera kurser | a course, several courses |
| en kyrka, flera kyrkor | a church, several churches |
| en kärlek, flera kärlekar | a love, several loves |
| ett körsbär, flera körsbär | a cherry, several cherries |
| ljuvlig, ljuvligare, ljuvligast | sweet, sweeter, the sweetest |
| ett ord, flera ord | a word, several words |
| ett schack, flera schack | a chess, several chesses |
| ett schampo, flera schampo | a shampoo, several shampoos |
| den sjätte | the six:th |
| ett skinn, flera skinn | a skin, several skins |
| en situation, flera situationer | a situation, several situations |
| en skjorta, flera skjortor | a shirt, several shirts |
| ett skjul, flera skjul | a shed, several sheds |
| en station, flera stationer | a station, several stations |
| stilla, mer stilla, mest stilla | calm, calmer, the calmest |
| en stjälk, flera stjälkar | a stem, several stems |
| en stjärna, flera stjärnor | a star, several stars |
| en stjärt, flera stjärtar | a but, several buts |
| en sång, flera sånger | a song, several songs |
| ett tjog, flera tjog | an amount of twenty, several amounts of twenty |
| en stjärt, flera stjärtar | a but, several buts |
| (att) tjäna | to earn |
| (att) tjusa | to amaze |
| lugn, lugnare, lugnast | calm, calmer, the calmest |
| ett regn, flera regn | a rain, several rains |
| ett skepp, flera skepp | a ship, several ships |
| en sväng, flera svängar | a turn, several turns |
| tung, tyngre, tyngst | heavy, heavier, the heaviest |
| (att) tvinga | to force |
| en ugn, flera ugnar | a owen, several owens |
| usch! | yeuk! |
| en zon, flera zoner | a zone, several zones |
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Language classification: this is a Swedish language resource. |