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.

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!)

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.