Thursday 27 June 2013

Video with Swedish phrases: Sommar i Sverige





Summertime is here and if there is any time, it's this time, that Swedes come out of their shells. Go to Sweden in July and watch them enjoy life. This video will give you some phrases good to know for this time of year.

Monday 27 May 2013

Studera till SFI-prov

(Below you'll find this Swedish text translated to English)

I slutet av varje skoltermin är det hög tid för nationella prov i SFI - svenskundervisning för invandrare.

Nationella prov i SFI kommer från Skolverket. Testen finns för SFI-kurs B, C och D. D-kursen är den sista kursen på SFI.

Många elever frågar oss lärare:

Vad kommer på SFI-provet?

Vad ska jag studera till ett SFI-test?

Vi lärare kan inte svara, för vi vet inte! Nationella prov ska testa ditt språk på alla sätt: läsa, skriva, höra och prata. Ett språk är stort, och därför är svaret på VAD du ska studera inte så lätt. Det vi lärare kan göra är att rekommendera hur du kan studera.

Swedish2go rekommenderar dig att träna på att skriva. Det är viktigt att du förstår hur man exempelvis skriver e-post, vykort, brev, meddelande, formellt brev.

Det är inte bara viktigt att veta formen på de olika texterna, utan också att du kan vara din egen lärare. Här kommer dina grammatikkunskaper in. Du får inte ett grammatiktest med specifika grammatikfrågor på nationella prov i SFI, men du måste visa att du förstår svensk grammatik när du skriver dina texter och svarar på frågor i testet. Skriv din text, läs den sedan som en lärare. Försök att tänka på grammatiken när du läser ditt eget språk!

Det är viktigt att visa att du kan skriva olika typer av texter, men det är också viktigt att du kan känna igen olika typer av texter när du läser. En kategori av texter kallas för en genre. Exempel på olika genrer är: nyhetsartikel, recept, instruktion, novell, brev...

Träna läsförståelse hela tiden när du studerar. Det är en ganska lång process att bygga upp sin läsförståelse, men genom läsning blir ditt ordförråd och din förståelse större, starkare och säkrare. Det är alltid bra att läsa mycket och träna sig i att förstå vad författaren/skribenten menar. Allting står kanske inte tydligt och klart. En del fakta och innehåll måste man läsa mellan raderna.

Vad betyder "att läsa mellan raderna"?

Detta är en fras som vill förklara att det finns en mening med författarens text, som kanske inte skrivs så tydligt, eller inte alls. Författaren vill att du ska förstå det han/hon menar genom göra andra beskrivningar. Ett enkelt exempel kan vara: "Det började bli mörkt på kvällarna, och de flesta löven hade fallit av träden". Här ska läsaren gissa att handlingen är i ett nordligt land, som exempelvis Sverige, på hösten.

Materialet på Swedish2gos medlemssidor ger dig en bred bas, från SFI B till SFI D. Om du vill ha extra träning och förklaring är videofilmerna och övningarna ett bra sätt att bli bättre på svenska. Swedish2go kan också hjälpa dig att träna på skrivning av olika typer av texter.

Här kan du se Skolverkets publicering av gamla prov på SFI kurs D.

Lycka till på ditt SFI-test!

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Vi firar våren!

Spring is in the air!

Swedish2go celebrates with more study material for members and non-members. Swedish listening comprehensions are intensively being produced right now. And what is already done, is up and running for you to work on. As a trial member you can have a peak at it all! The listening comprehension material for members will be offered our premium members.

Cheaper Swedish studies for a full year!

We also celebrate spring with spring coupons! Take the advantage to sign up as a member for a full year, but only pay for half a year, on our already low course prices! Hurry! Offer expires on June 30th.
Premium Swedish for 12 months: Coupon Maj2013
Get 400 kr off our regular low price! Enter coupon code in check out on our website.

Swedish courses for 12 months: Coupon Juni2013
Get 320 kr off our regular low price! Enter coupon code in check out on our website.

What else is new?

Swedish learning through literature is on it's way. For our more advanced Swedish premium members, this will be a fun and stimulating way to study Swedish. Keep your eyes open!

Monday 29 April 2013

Swedes don't talk

I spent this past weekend in New York with two Swedish girlfriends. I flew from middle of nowhere/Alberta, Canada, and they came from middle of Sweden. New York seemed like half way and way more exciting than any of the places we all normally live in.

What hit me the most was my girlfriends reflections of the people we met everywhere. "Wow, they are so polite!" "So many people are talking to us!"

What they meant by "talking" was maybe the phrase "There you go!" or "How are you today?" or "Have a nice day!"

This makes me wonder: How do the tourists and new immigrants to Sweden see the Swedes? Propably totally rude! The most Swedes would say to a stranger is: "Hej!" or "Tack!" (Swedes do know how to say thank you).

This little blog is to warn anyone going to Sweden. Don't expect an overwhelming welcoming! Swedes don't mean to be rude. Being quiet when seeing a stranger is just the way we are. We are maybe shy. Most of us simply don't think it's necessary, or meaningful to talk to strangers, asking for example how they are doing. We wouldn't get an honest answer anyway!

Take Swedes for what they are, and enjoy Sweden as it is! You will hopefully find our positive sides eventually, even if it may take time.

Saturday 30 March 2013

Swedish birthday celebrations

According to my own little statistics, looking around on everyone I know, there is a huge chunk of people who has a birthday at the end of March, and April. Actually some official statistics also point to those months with the most birthdates in Sweden.
This is not a big suprise, if we start counting 9 months back that a woman usually is pregnant. That will take us right to Midsummer, and into July, the month when the big majority of Swedes have vacation. Hmmm...
Hense, this is a good time to talk about how Swedes celebrates birthdays.

What to give to a Swede for birthday?

Flowers or chocolate works in Sweden too. A gift in this form, or at least in the form of a thing, is more appreciated than a birthday card with nice words. I find this being a big difference from culture here in North America, where I spend this year. Swedes are not so sentimental and emotional, so Hallmarks birthday cards are not really a big deal for Swedes. The purpose of giving a card is more just to show who the present is from.

Ha öppet hus vid födelsedag | To have an open house at a birthday

Att fylla jämnt = to turn "even"

This is a big deal and it means that someone turns the big "zero" (20, 30, 40, 50 ...). The older we get, the more common it is to celebrate this with an "open house". By an ad in the newspaper, or simply by mouth to mouth, we welcome everone we know and who wants to come and celebrate in our own house. The open house is usually a full day thing, from morning till late night, and each guest may stay a couple of hours. One tricky thing is that you never know how many guests you will have and when they come, so make sure to be prepared with cookies, cake and "smörgåstårta" all day long. An advice is to ask someone to help with the serving part.
If you don't want a crowd to come to your house on your big day, you can also put an ad in the newspaper saying this: "All uppvaktning undanbes." (= All petitions are declined)

Att fylla halvjämnt = to turn half even

Not only the "zeros" mean something special, but also the "5's". When turning 25, 35, 45, we can also make sure to celebrate ourselves a bit extra. Maybe not with an open house, but a big party with friends, or throwing a surprise party for the one who has the birthday is common.

Hissa flaggan

A lot of Swedes have their own flag pole, and for every official flag day in Sweden, the flag needs to be hissed. But you can also have it up during the private special Days, like the birthday, to show that this is a special occasion.

Breakfast in bed

Frukost på sängen is a very common tradition. The family members that are to celebrate the birthday "child" (this is not only for children though), sneak up, make breakfast and put it on a tray together with a candle or flower. Then head to the birthday childs bedroom and start singing: "Ja må han/hon leva...". Of course there are presents brought too, but they are not to be opened until the breakfast is eaten (or is that rule maybe just in my family?)

Hooray x 4 | HURRA HURRA HURRA HURRA

We sing to the birthday child several times throughout the day, depending on the situation. After every time, we say the four "hurra hurra hurra hurra". This is introduced by someone saying the phrase (and learn this, because it may be you who wants to do it one day):
Ett fyrfaldigt leve för (NAME). Hon/Han leve:
Everyone: HURRA HURRA HURRA HURRA!
The reason we say this four times comes from the 1600's, when war ships needed to identify which country they belonged to. Sweden had the code 2 canon shots. When the King was present this was doubled, hense our 4 "hurra" today.

Important Swedish birthdays

All the "zeros"
7: You begin first grade of school.
15: You get to drive "moppe" = moped.
16: You can begin your driving practice.
18: You come of age = Du blir myndig.
20: You can buy alcohol from the liquor store "Systembolaget".
30/40: With some employments, especially within the public sector, you get an extra week of vacation (5 weeks being very short according to Swedes).
50: You get a day off from work to celebrate your big birthday.
65: (This may vary between 61 -67) You retire, if you want to.

In the video from Swedish2go you also get to know some useful words about birthdays in Sweden. Have a look at that!

One phrase I should give you here, right away though:

Grattis på födelsedagen!


Friday 22 March 2013

Easter in Sweden | Påsk i Sverige

What is an Easter witch?

The children soon has Easter break, but long before that many of them has started to prepare their Easter letters, colourful drawings with the text GLAD PÅSK (Happy Easter), and thereafter folded them together in the special Easter letter way. The more letters prepared, the more neighbours to visit and that gives more candy!

Which day to expect a visit from an Easter witch depends on where in Sweden you are. Some has the tradition of going out as Easter witches on the Thursday, while other wait until the Saturday.

We have the custom of Easter witches because of traditions from the old folk belief, which is mixed in with the traditions from Christian traditions.

The children dress up by putting some old clothes on, often found in mom's closet, take som make up from mom and paint some rosy cheeks and freckles in the face. And one shouldn't forget to bring a basket or bag to be able to carry all the candy home. After all the preparations, the children bring their Easter letters and go from door to door, wishing everyone a happy Easter. Once back home again, they have more candy than mom and dad allow them to eat.

What do Swedes eat for Easter?

Påskafton (="Easter eve") is like any other eves in Sweden the day we celebrate the most. We often visit with our family and have an Easter buffé. The ingredient that is on everyone's Easter table is egg. Other than that, this buffé is similar to the julbord (Christmas buffé). Of course both alcohol and alcohol free drinks, such as must, are being served on the table.

What is Swedish must?

Must is a soft drink that we often have to our buffés and often as an alternative to alcohol drinks, like beer. We can buy it in any food store. At Christmas we call it julmust, and at Easter - guess what? Yes! Påskmust. The recipe is the same though.

Easter eggs

The Swedes don't have a strong tradition of Easter egg hunt, or Easter Bunny. Instead we buy cardboard eggs, påskägg, and give those to the children, filled with candy or maybe a Little toy. The bigger egg the better!

Here are some Words and phrases for you to learn to survive the Easter:

  • Glad påsk = Happy Easter
  • Påskkärrningar = Easter witches
  • Skärtorsdag = Thursday in Easter
  • Långfredag = Good Friday
  • Påskafton = Saturday in Easter
  • Påskdagen = Easter day
  • Annandag påsk = "Boxing day" Easter
  • Klä ut sig = Dress up (Klä ut is a reflective verb that you can learn more about from our Swedish grammar site)
  • Smörgåsbord = you know this, this is one of few Words that has actually been exported from the Swedish language, and we are pround of it!
  • Sill = pickled herring
  • Pynta = Decorate with traditional arnaments
  • Påskris = Easter twigs (we have it both inside and outside)
  • Blåkulla = The place we say the witches fly to
  • Lov = School break

Sunday 24 February 2013

Basic difference in pronunciation between the Swedish and English language


When it comes to pronunciation, you probably know, no matter if you are a beginner Swedish learner or an advanced, that the the way the Swedes pronounce their words are very different from the English language.

Here are som basic differences between Swedish and English:

W

Swedes don't really have the letter w. You may see it in last names and names of places, but really no. When we sing our alphabet song in Swedish we skipp it. Therefore, if we do happen to find the letter that has snuck in to our language, it is always pronounced as v. So if a Swede, while speaking Swedish, want to say Washington, for example, it will sound like: Vashington.

Å Ä Ö

No need to say, the extra three vowels are of course a major difference between our languages.
Å is pronounced ... similar to the sound in Awesome (if you are speak the Brittish English)
Ä is pronounced... kind of like the long a-sound in glad. Close, but not really...
Ö... do you know French? More similar to the French long u-sound in un, for example. I have a tough time finding an English equivalence.

G

The English word gym has a g-sound that the Swedes don't have. Whenever a G shows up in the Swedish language, it's always pronounsed y (a Swede would describe it as a j, but that doesn't help an English speaker) or the hard G (sometimes it's a sj-sound, but not that often). What am I trying to say? That the "dj"-sound that the English speakers do, Swedes never do.

Of course there's more differences between Swedish and English pronunciation. But not for now.

Monday 11 February 2013

Fettisdagen i Sverige | Semla?

What's Fat Tuesday, and what's "SEMLA"?

Well, since I asked two questions in one sentence, I pretty much answered the first one, by asking the other. The "fettisdagen" is when we eat "semla". Fettisdagen is always the last Tuesday before the beginning of the Christian Lent. And if you don't know what semla is, here is a picture.




 

Kärt barn har många namn


= A beloved Child has many names.



Semla in a simplified described way: Wheat bun, the top cut off,  with almond paste in the middle, lots of whipped Cream and powdered sugar on top of the lid. Mmmmmm...

Semla

= fettisdagsbulle
= fastlagsbulle
= hetvägg

Hmmm... "hetvägg" is maybe not totally a synonym. A "hetvägg" is a "semla" in warm milk, eaten in a bowl with a spoon. Like this:

How can "semla" be described?"

Underbar
Ljuvlig
Sagolik
Himmelsk
Otrolig
Förbluffande
Fantastisk
Utsökt
God*
Läcker
Delikat
Smaklig
Skitgod
Mumsig
Smaskens

Practice and learn these useful Swedish adjectives - because you will most likely need to use them next time you eat a semla!

Need some help to pronounce these words? Watch this video: Swedish adjectives | Semlor in Sweden

And a semla recipe in English, for the ambitious and the poor guy not living in Sweden between January and Easter (which is the only time Swedes eat them), can be found here.

Vill du ha recept på semla på svenska? Här är en länk till dig.

* Note that "god" in Swedish is most often used about food (and yes, also in situations like "god morgon...). Most often the Swedish word "bra" is a better translation to the English word "good".

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Blog about Melodifestivalen in Sweden | Swedish phrases and words to know for the Eurovision song contest

Swedes are coming in to a favourite season. No, they don't love slushy winter/spring, but inside by the TV, every Saturday night, it's their highlight of the year: Melodifestivalen 2013!

Also called Mello, Swedes love to hate this contest. What is it? In English it’s the Swedish song contest to elect the best song the Swedes can come up with for the Eurovision song contest. Normally Swedes have bad music taste, according to the rest of Europe, but last year we found the right hit with the help of Loreen, and won Europe’s hearts with the song Euphoria. Sweden finished number one (!) and the Eurovision contest will therefore this year be held in Malmö, Sweden.

But, what are the Swedes doing during the 6 weeks long season of Mello?

Other than watching song contests on tv 6 weekends in a row, complaining about the songs, the artist’s hair and clothes, eating snacks and drinking beer?

Well… we do other things… we... uhm… discuss the songs and artists every weekday on facebook, twitter or blogs, we find out more about the artists personal life in newspaper, on the radio and on every tv channel, we bet on the songs...
See! We have a life.

But for you who learn Swedish and want to be able to have a conversation with a Swede between February and May and to understand the media, here are some important words and phrases to know in Swedish:

Fel låt vann! = Wrong song won

Den var kass = It was terrible.

Den var kanon. = It was awesome.

Rösta på Carola! = Vote for Carola!

No, just kidding… she is actually not competing this year, nor Danny – another Mello-artist. But we could say:

Rösta på Army of Lovers/Ulrik, David Lindgren...

Jag älskar schlager! = I love ... well, this is the Swedish word for hit song and a type of Music that almost only configure in the Melodifestivalen.

Storfavoriten höll/föll. = The mega favourite artist won/failed.

And the headlines will likely include the word Eufori, just to be witty, like:

 

EUFORI I MALMÖ I MAJ

 
 

Monday 28 January 2013

The king's name day!

Kungens namnsdag!

The king of Sweden has his name day today! Today's name is Karl, and therefore we celebrate everyone called by that name, and one of them is the king of Sweden.

This blog is maybe not so much about our king, but about the name day celebration in Sweden.

What's wrong about celebrating? And celebrating one's birthday once a year isn't really enough for us Swedes, so celebrating our name days is a really good complement. (Which also is another great reason why many Swedes not only have one middle name, but often at least two.)

How do we celebrate name days?

Well... some totally forget about their name day. Some gets a small card or a phone call from someone saying "Grattis på namnsdagen". In some families they make this a bigger occasion, by inviting friends or family over for a name day fika, or actually kalas (which is the same as fika, but the word we use when celebrating birthdays - or name days). For people concerned about their age, celebrating the name day could be an awesome alternative to the birthday.

Back to the king of Sweden and his name day. Do we acknowledge that in any way? Yes, of course! It is an official flag day, meaning that everyone owning a flagpole (which is quite a few) must hoist the Swedish flag that day. In a Swedish calendar (svensk almanacka) you can see which days are official flag days, which is a good thing for flagpole owners. And of course, in the same almanacka, you can see what date you have your name day. (The chance of finding your name in the almanacka strongly increases if you have a Swedish name though.)

Is your name not in the almanacka? Do like many others: make one day Your name day! And celebrate!

 

Grattis på namnsdagen, Karl!

By the way: The name of the Swedish king is Carl XVI Gustav Bernadotte.

And if you want to know more about the reasons and rules around our Swedish name days, svenska namnsdagar, then follow this link.

Friday 25 January 2013

Partikelverb i svenskan

Swedish2go is in the production stage of finishing the 8 hours of lessons to the advanced course (Avancerad kurs i svenska). Right now, a lesson about partikelverb is being made. And it's just to face it: Us Swedes have some cool and useful expressions using particle verbs. There are tons of them though. Read and learn these as a start:

  • Ställa in sig - to prepare yourself for something, and to mentaly and strongly think something is going to happen
  • Ställa sig in - not the same thing as above! This means to brown nose somebody
  • Suga åt sig - to really absorb credit about yourself. If someone is telling you how good you are: Sug åt dig!
  • Punga ut - to pay for something, usually a bigger amount. It's always about money, though: Svenskar pungar ut miljontals på sms varje år.
  • Trassla in sig - "to tangle yourself in something": Not just literally, but also if you have a problem, or maybe several, and you have caused yourself to be in that situation.
  • Skälla ut någon - "to bark someone out" or to berate/scold/call down: Min lärare skällde ut mig när jag inte kunde alla partikelverb.
  • Skjuta upp - Skjut inte upp till imorgon, det du kan göra idag. = don't postpone till tomorrow, what you can do today...
Start learning Swedish! Yes! Great idea! You have already started by reading this blog.

Kör igång! (Another partikelverb!)


Tuesday 22 January 2013

What's good about snow? + Verb lesson

If you are not interested in reading about snow and winter, scroll down, for a quick lesson about the verbs "går" and "åker".


In the dark and cold winter Sweden, it may be uplifting to hear some good things about snow. Well, here you go!

  • Snow is dryer than rain.  Snö är torrare än regn.
  • Snow is white - it lights up the dark hours (which are many!). Snö gör vintermörkret lite ljusare.
  • Snow shoveling gives you free exercise. Snö ger dig gratis motion.
  • Snow makes you laugh. It's hard not to, when racing down a hill on a sled. Snö får dig att skratta, när du far nerför en backe på en pulka.
  • Snow makes you want to try activities you've never dreamed of: downhill skiing, skating, cross country skiing, hiking with skis (gå på tur), Nordic skating, snowball fights, snow angel creations, making snow lantern and many more!
Enjoy snow! Winter is short, so look at it from the bright side.

Some Swedish phrases in the winter:


åka pulka, åka skidor, åka längd, åka skridskor, åka slalom, åka snöskoter
göra snöänglar, kasta snöboll, bygga snölyktor 

Now your lesson: Åka och gå

Att åka = to go
Att gå = to go (or to walk)

What's the difference?

The easiest explanation is that we use "gå" when we use our feet. Therefore we cannot say this sentence "Jag ska gå till Sverige." We must say: "Jag ska åka till Sverige."

When we use some kind of transportation, we are therefore not using "går" but "åker":

Vi åker buss. Vi åker tåg. Vi åker bil. Vi åker kollektivtrafik. Vi åker motorcykel. Vi åker moped. And you see all the winter activities with some kind of help of transportation above: skates, skis, sleds...

Now that was the easy part. The verb "går" is however also used in a more general way than only when using our legs. We have quite a few standard phrases where we use "går":

Vi går på bio. Vi går på restaurang. Vi går på teater. Vi går i skolan. (Meaning that we are students in school. This is not the same as "Vi går till skolan", which is describing the way we get to school.)

The winter subject is also described in this YouTube video.

This, among many other grammar and language explanations, is also covered in the 8 hours of lessons, if you are curious about knowing more.

Thursday 17 January 2013

Hej!
 
Svensk text kan läsas nedan.
 
This blog will be about what's going on at Swedish2go right now. Just in case you wonder.

  • A new video, presenting the company is just about to be published. Keep your eyes up!

  • Three different levels of video packages are ready and offered to you today. Welcome to subscribe! These videos can be used as a complement to your other Swedish studies, no matter where, or in what form, you do them. See it as a speaking grammar book, with a great support in the English language.!

  • There is a demand for Swedish2go offering an Advanced online course, and believe me, it's coming and has high priority. To ensure the quality of the course, it may be a couple of months though. Sorry about that! Until then, go through the Beginner and Intermediate courses, repeat, and get better at what you already know!
Den som väntar på något gott väntar aldrig för länge.
(=All good things come to he who Waits)
___________________________________________________________________________

Den här bloggen handlar om vad som är på gång med Swedish2go, ifall du undrar...

  • En ny video som presenterar företaget är i dagarna på gång att publiceras. Håll ögonen öppna!

  • Tre olika nivåer av videopaket är klara och finns just nu redo för dig att prenumerera på. Välkommen! Dessa videofilmer kan användas som ett komplement till dina övriga svenskstudier, oavsett var och hur du studerar. Se det som en levande grammatikbok, där du både ser och hör beskrivning av grammatik, med hjälp av det engelska språket.

  • Det finns ett sug efter en avancerad online kurs från Swedish2go. Tro mig, den är på gång och har hög prioritet. För att säkerställa kvaliteten på kursen kan det dock ta ytterligare ett par månader innan den är klar, tyvärr. Tills dess, gå igenom nybörjarkursen och fortsättningskursen, repetera och bli bättre på det du redan kan!

Den som väntar på något gott väntar aldrig för länge.