The Old Viking Language
At first glance at Swedish signs, billboards and advertisements, I immediately noticed the similarities to English, especially letter exchanges such as ‘k’ for ‘c’, ‘v’ for ‘w’ and ‘y’ for ‘i’. Sometimes there are double ‘t’s or ‘p’s instead of one. Nevertheless, I was fairly convinced that I could navigate the city without having to stop and consult as frequently as I did in Japan (I was a lost cause there). I could figure out what most shop signs stood for, which is impressive for being in a foreign country for the first time. I’ll stop myself short there because the ability to read does not equate to or translate to speech. I’ll have to start myself from the beginning. Mostly, I avoided speaking because there were certain sounds I could not muster – oh, the fated rolling ‘r’.
I found an excellent Swedish language tutorial/study guide over at the Stockholm School of Economics (See Introduction to Swedish), which contains phrases, pronunciations, word lists, and other resources. Skimming through the word various vocabulary, I was surprised to see how many were French derivatives, or at least were comparable to French ( FYI: I studied French for 4 academic years). Sometimes I can’t really tell when English/French/Swedish were like this: May/Mai/Maj. What I did find interesting is its relation to Old English – language that survived the Viking Ages? Modern English/Old English/Swedish: Bloody/Blodig/Blodig.
As for pronunciation, I don’t believe my language training in English, Mandarin-Chinese or French provide too much help; it may only provide a pronunciation reference. Swedish has a distinctive pitch and rhythm. English and Mandarin seem relatively flat, comparably. Furthermore, I believe the sounds are formed mainly at the tip of the tongue, contrasting the Swedish formation. French have some letters that are similar-sounding (French/Swedish: eu/รถ) but the rhythm is dissimilar. While French words actually have accents applied (i.e. accent grave/acute) as ‘hints’, Swedish have strange spellings like ’sj’, ’stj’, ‘kj’ on top of ‘j’ ‘k’, ‘z’ that have re-worked sounds, so you’re really left with, “How do you say that?”
Next up, I’ll let you know about my progress with the rolling ‘r’s. Right now my throat is sore and I sound like a tiger or a shrieking little animal.