Yes, it's true. I am taking a course in Swedish. And, contrary to what some of you may think, learning this language takes much more effort than simply watching a few episodes of the Muppets with the Swedish chef!
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| Bork, bork, bork!! |
Because my class meets Monday through Friday from 9 until 11:30....and then of course I have homework...it has kept me quite busy. I am nearly finished with the three and a half week course, so I guess it's about time I provide an update.
To begin....the answer is "yes", I could survive here without ever learning the language (since ALMOST everyone speaks English), but I think there are a few good reasons to at least attempt to learn Swedish. First of all, we have some friends who will sometimes speak Swedish in front of me...it's not that I'm offended (or that I think they are talking about me), but it would be nice to contribute to the conversation! Secondly, as our girls' Swedish continues to improve every day, I want to be sure THEY aren't saying things about me that I can't understand! Learning the language may also make some other things a bit easier...like shopping, reading the mail, and perhaps finding employment!
I am (almost) the only American in the class. There is one other girl, but she has been dating a Swedish guy for five years, so I don't know if she counts as a typical American. Her Swedish pronunciation on day one was WAY better than that of many others in the class. I have to admit it was a bit intimidating on the first day since everyone else in the class knows at least two languages....that of their homeland plus English. Several people speak at least a bit of three or more languages. I firmly believe that learning a second language as a child would have made learning Swedish as an adult a bit easier (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). Yes, I took four years of Spanish in High School, but that really isn't helping me grasp these new sounds and letters. However, I do find myself occasionally thinking of a Spanish phrase when I can't think of the right Swedish one....which I find mildly amusing.
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| Oops! Wrong language! |
I have to say that after a couple of weeks of class (and studying), I now recognize many more Swedish words when I see them on paper. This is beneficial when trying to read the mail, notes from school, etc. I am still a LONG way from understanding people when they speak to me (unless, of course, they talk really slowly and speak in short, simple, one subject, one verb, present tense sentences). Examples would include "Klara rides her bike", "David is sleeping", or "I am tired".
To make learning Swedish even more difficult (did I say "difficult"? I meant to say "fun" and "interesting"), one must also be aware of different dialects. People in Skåne (the southern part of Sweden where we live) speak differently than those coming from other parts of Sweden.
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| We are the bright pink blob at the bottom. |
I could probably spend a whole post talking about this little piece of Sweden (Skåne even has its own flag!). However, this blurb I found kind of sums up the dialect difference...."
People from further north joke that speakers of the dialect in Skåne sound like they talk with a hot potato in their mouths. Residents of Skåne reply that speakers of Standard Swedish are 'spissflabbad', which translates roughly as sharp-tongued and snobbish." Of course, there is a mix of folks down here, so I will do my best to understand everyone!
Now back to the challenges of my class! Beyond trying to memorize millions (okay, thousands) of new words, I had forgotten all of the other fun things about learning a language. These would include (but are not limited to) learning different verb tenses, memorizing which nouns are "en" words and which nouns are "ett" words (it's important...trust me!), and all the crazy rules about when you reverse the subject and the verb in a sentence. Here are a few of my notes from "Noun Rule Day".
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| And this is just the tip of the iceberg! |
I am wondering (hoping) if there might be some sort of Swedish School House Rock that can help me with some of this stuff! Learning pronouns, adverbs ("Lolly Lolly Lolly get your adverbs here!") and, of course, conjunctions could all be made much simpler with catchy music and cartoons!
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| I SOOOOO need this in Swedish! |
My class ends this week. I will do my best to start throwing in Swedish words (when I know them) and will try to force my Swedish friends to speak with me (in Swedish). I know it's hard for them to resist just talking to me in English when I struggle through a couple of poorly pronounced words or sentences. I will keep trying...wish me luck!
