Learn the meaning of Swenglish
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is Swenglish? |
| Jesper: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At SwedishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| Ben Lee got a message from his Swedish friend but is a bit confused. He asks his friend, Sandra Ström, |
| "Is this English?" |
| Ben Lee: Är det här engelska? |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Är det här engelska? |
| Sandra Ström: Det är svengelska! |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Är det här engelska? |
| Michael: "Is this English?" |
| Sandra Ström: Det är svengelska! |
| Michael: "It's Swenglish!" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: An estimated 400 million people speak the English language as their native language. Aside from being widely spoken, English is also the most studied language, with at least 500 million who use it as a second language. It's no surprise that 90% of Sweden's population can understand and speak English. And like any other language, Swedish also has its own practice of fusing together English and Swedish to come up with new words or phrases. This development is called, Swenglish, or |
| Jesper: Svengelska. |
| Michael: The word "Swenglish" is a blend of the words |
| Jesper: Svenska |
| Michael: or Swedish, and |
| Jesper: Engelska |
| Michael: or English. Just as in many cultures that have their own versions of Swenglish, this code-switch between Swedish and English has received mixed criticism among the Swedish people. Some see it as a fun language, while others see it as a threat to their native tongue. Nevertheless, it's not uncommon to hear people in Sweden say words like, |
| Jesper: Vilken loser han är! |
| Michael: "He's such a loser!" |
| Michael: Many of the English loanwords in the Swedish language are spelled exactly the same, such as the words, "sport," "bank," and "taxi." Others are spelled differently but have a similar sound to their English equivalent, like in the word, |
| Jesper: fotboll |
| Michael: or "football." The same is true with |
| Jesper: polis |
| Michael: or, "police," and |
| Jesper: telefon |
| Michael: for "telephone." |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben says "Is this English?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Jesper as Ben Lee: Är det här engelska? |
| Michael: The speaker was asking if the text message he received was English. Perhaps he saw some English words but wasn't too sure why they were mixed with Swedish words. This is called code-switching, which is the basis of Swenglish and other similar practices of fusing two different languages. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned that Swedish speakers tend to adopt English words into their vocabulary. This is also referred to as "Swenglish." Some Swedish people may see this as a threat to the Swedish language, but many don't agree. For one, the amount of English words introduced to the Swedish language is not really as enormous as what people may think. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: Despite some Swedes worrying about the possible negative influence of Swenglish on their native language, it's not unusual to see both Swenglish and English almost everywhere in Sweden. You'll see them on TV, billboards, and will even hear them from the Swedish people themselves. There are cases when it seems like a word has its meaning a little bit twisted. This is a result of the attempt to accommodate new concepts. For instance, there's the word |
| Jesper: afterwork |
| Michael: This is a bit of an odd case because it came from the English word "after-work," which is an adjective. In Swenglish, however, the word is a noun and refers to drinking sessions after work. A similar case is with the word |
| Jesper: backslick |
| Michael: which, in Sweden, refers to a slicked-back hairstyle. It's not common for English loan words to replace Swedish words though. One example is the word |
| Jesper: snooza |
| Michael: which has been inspired by the English word "snooze." It could have replaced the Swedish term for a short sleep or |
| Jesper: dåsa, |
| Michael: but it has adopted the meaning of going back to sleep after an alarm. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: The incorporation of elements from the English language is not new to the Swedish people, or |
| Jesper: svenskar |
| Michael: They have been doing this since the 13th century. It just so happens that English has evolved to become a universal language. Since the Second World War, advances in technology and globalization have enhanced access to foreign languages, and this has sped up the rate at which language developed. Today, when people talk about the impact of English on the Swedish language, loan words, or |
| Jesper: lånord |
| Michael: are what come to mind. The term can be misleading, though, because Swedish loan words from English aren't simply borrowed. Oftentimes, the words are fully integrated into the Swedish language. This results in English words taking on Swedish pronunciation and inflection, and, in some cases, spelling. This is the case for the word |
| Jesper: dejt |
| Michael: or "date," and the word |
| Jesper: strejk |
| Michael: or "strike" in English. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Jesper: Vi ses! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
Comments
Hide