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Talking to Swedes in Swedish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6900 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 17 of 22 06 May 2012 at 11:20pm | IP Logged | ||
It's easier/cheaper to use original material in English than having it translated into Swedish. In nearly any random field, there is a lot more written in English than in Swedish (if there are any Swedish materials at all...), and it's any publisher's nightmare to have a work translated and then not sell enough copies. There's a big difference between translating a book on anatomy/law/linguistics and a cookbook/Harry Potter. We touched this briefly in the thread How Do Europeans Not Forget English?. Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 06 May 2012 at 11:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4613 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 18 of 22 06 May 2012 at 11:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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What is the Swedes' attitude towards people who move to Sweden? Are incomers expected to learn Swedish or are they allowed to get away with speaking English forever? People who come to the UK and show no inclination of learning or improving their English would be excluded from mainstream society. Edited by beano on 06 May 2012 at 11:53pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Hampie Diglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 6650 days ago 625 posts - 1009 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Latin, German, Mandarin | Message 19 of 22 07 May 2012 at 12:06am | IP Logged | ||
Before English science in Sweden was done German, almost exclusively, with some linguistic stuff written in French. People studying at the university were supposed to know how to read French or German with the aid of a dictionary. All university libraries has book shelves in the entrance full of German-swedish and french-swedish dictionaries, as a reminiscence of a distant past. Before German and French it was Latin all the way. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Hampie Diglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 6650 days ago 625 posts - 1009 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Latin, German, Mandarin | Message 20 of 22 07 May 2012 at 12:10am | IP Logged | ||
English is more accepted than other languages (since we can understand it). And you'll have no problem in Sweden being English monolingual, but, you'd probably be quite bored. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| lither Diglot Newbie SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4576 days ago 6 posts - 7 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 21 of 22 07 May 2012 at 10:26am | IP Logged | ||
I'd say it depends on where in Sweden you'd move. Major cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmo is no problem. We're used to (I live in Gothenburg, 2nd biggest) many cultures and a lot of languages, and people in general have no problem using English to converse with you. But I'm not to sure it's the same thing if you'd end up in a smaller city where immigration isn't the most common thing. You see, all the major cities have suburbs which have been heavily populated by immigrants due to failed politics in 60's and 70's, called Million Programme. Stockholm has Rinkeby, Gothenburg has Hammarkullen and Malmo has Rosengård. But smaller cities has "missed out" on these immigrants, plus they might not be the biggest cultural events so to speak, which might lead to English not being that accepted, at least not as accepted as in the top 3. Note: this is a speculation from my side. I'm not trying to convert this thread into being about politics or talk crap about other cities, it's just what I think might be the situation in some smaller cities in Sweden (I'm not talking about the sizes of Helsingborg or Norrköping, I'm thinking of maybe with a population under 20,000, like Boden or Köping). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Pisces Bilingual Pentaglot Senior Member Finland Joined 4613 days ago 143 posts - 284 votes Speaks: English*, Finnish*, French, SwedishC1, Esperanto Studies: German, Spanish, Russian | Message 22 of 22 07 May 2012 at 5:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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I moved to Sweden about ten years ago (I no longer live there, but visit regularly). I spoke a little Swedish when I moved. No one ever talked to me in English if I addressed them in Swedish, unless I asked to change at some point in the conversation. In fact some people talked to me in English so little (even though I was known to them as an English speaker) that I assumed they didn't know English, even though in some cases they did. (By the way, the extent to which all Swedes 'know English' is often exaggerated. Also the extent to which they want to speak English.) I think some people also assumed, at that early stage, that I knew Swedish better than I did.
On the other hand I think some people come to Sweden and would want to talk more Swedish, but people talk to them in English. This may be because people get to know them through English and then have trouble changing. I don't know. I think accent is also an important thing. Then there are the people who live in Sweden for decades and never learn the language. By the way, one thing I have noticed (and I know some other people who have noticed this as well), is that if you speak English with a native American/British accent, you often get better service in department stores, or with customer service in general, than if you speak Swedish imperfectly. Speaking English, you are 'an American' (or Brit) and perhaps a rich visitor, but if you speak Swedish with an accent you become 'some kind of immigrant'. (I don't do this - speak English, though) 5 persons have voted this message useful |
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