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Learning Swedish
Learning Swedish for family research
Here comes a series of lessons to help anyone learn a bit about the Swedish language. This will not make you a linguist but give you a few hints to help you a lot with genealogy activities. These notes target native English speakers. Swedes, do not cringe. I am trying to make it very simple to start.
Overview and Swedish letters – Lesson 1
It is not that hard. Don’t worry.
Compared with English, Swedish has a considerably smaller vocabulary, perhaps a fifth the size. Bigger words are often compounds of smaller words making it easier to look up an unfamiliar word in an Swedish-English dictionary. Swedish uses a word order and sentence structure familiar to English speakers. Verb conjugations are simple as in English.
But what about those letters?
The Swedish alphabet uses the 26 letters we are used to plus three extra vowels Åå, Ää, and Öö. (By the way, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish are similar although the graphics may look different.)
These are separate, distinct letters not modifications or accents on other letters! Do NOT treat them like A or O.
They come at the END of the alphabet after Z. This letter order must be used when you try to look something up in a sorted list like a dictionary, phonebook or gazetteer.
Think A B C D E … X Y Z Å Ä Ö.
When you get documents that have been transcribed by someone unfamiliar with Swedish, they MAY have removed the little marks or used them incorrectly so you may have to put them back to make some sense. It is strongly recommended that you always keep the correct letters in your writings. Just copy Swedish documents faithfully.
You can type these Swedish letters on your Windows PC (sorry MAC users). To do this, install the Swedish keyboard from Windows. You do this from the Control Panel. Windows allows you to temporarily modify your keyboard by software to a standard Swedish keyboard. You can switch back and forth with a click in the task bar area. With the SV keyboard loaded, find Å just to the right of P (where [ is), Ö the key just to the right of L, and Ä the second key to the right of L. You will find all the other letters and numbers in the familiar positions as the English QWERTY keyboard. Note that special characters are in other spots! (I forget that all the time. Ugh.)
A second way to type the extra Swedish letters use ALT codes. To type a letter, this is a multi-click process.
1 Hold down the ALT key (typically near either end of the Space bar).
2 Type the three digit number code using the numerical pad. (I made it work on my laptop only with the number pad, not with the numbers across the top of the keyboard.)
Alt + 134 = å
Alt + 143 = Å
Alt + 132 = ä
Alt + 142 = Ä
Alt + 148 = ö
Alt + 153 = Ö
Alt + 130 = é
Alt + 144 = É
É has been included here. It is not an extra letter but the accent is often used in personal names. It is just an E with an accent and sorts to the same place as E in the alphabet.
Finally, for occasional use, you can also copy the letters from another text on your screen. Windows drag-and-drop works fine. This is a quick way if you only need one letter like for a Google search.
Now that was not so bad. So, stay tuned, more to come.
Here comes a series of lessons to help anyone learn a bit about the Swedish language. This will not make you a linguist but give you a few hints to help you a lot with genealogy activities. These notes target native English speakers. Swedes, do not cringe. I am trying to make it very simple to start.
Overview and Swedish letters – Lesson 1
It is not that hard. Don’t worry.
Compared with English, Swedish has a considerably smaller vocabulary, perhaps a fifth the size. Bigger words are often compounds of smaller words making it easier to look up an unfamiliar word in an Swedish-English dictionary. Swedish uses a word order and sentence structure familiar to English speakers. Verb conjugations are simple as in English.
But what about those letters?
The Swedish alphabet uses the 26 letters we are used to plus three extra vowels Åå, Ää, and Öö. (By the way, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish are similar although the graphics may look different.)
These are separate, distinct letters not modifications or accents on other letters! Do NOT treat them like A or O.
They come at the END of the alphabet after Z. This letter order must be used when you try to look something up in a sorted list like a dictionary, phonebook or gazetteer.
Think A B C D E … X Y Z Å Ä Ö.
When you get documents that have been transcribed by someone unfamiliar with Swedish, they MAY have removed the little marks or used them incorrectly so you may have to put them back to make some sense. It is strongly recommended that you always keep the correct letters in your writings. Just copy Swedish documents faithfully.
You can type these Swedish letters on your Windows PC (sorry MAC users). To do this, install the Swedish keyboard from Windows. You do this from the Control Panel. Windows allows you to temporarily modify your keyboard by software to a standard Swedish keyboard. You can switch back and forth with a click in the task bar area. With the SV keyboard loaded, find Å just to the right of P (where [ is), Ö the key just to the right of L, and Ä the second key to the right of L. You will find all the other letters and numbers in the familiar positions as the English QWERTY keyboard. Note that special characters are in other spots! (I forget that all the time. Ugh.)
A second way to type the extra Swedish letters use ALT codes. To type a letter, this is a multi-click process.
1 Hold down the ALT key (typically near either end of the Space bar).
2 Type the three digit number code using the numerical pad. (I made it work on my laptop only with the number pad, not with the numbers across the top of the keyboard.)
Alt + 134 = å
Alt + 143 = Å
Alt + 132 = ä
Alt + 142 = Ä
Alt + 148 = ö
Alt + 153 = Ö
Alt + 130 = é
Alt + 144 = É
É has been included here. It is not an extra letter but the accent is often used in personal names. It is just an E with an accent and sorts to the same place as E in the alphabet.
Finally, for occasional use, you can also copy the letters from another text on your screen. Windows drag-and-drop works fine. This is a quick way if you only need one letter like for a Google search.
Now that was not so bad. So, stay tuned, more to come.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Norma Lawson on
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Thank you that has answered some of the questions I've had will look forward to the next lesson!
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Permalink Reply by Lynn Anderson on
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Learning Swedish for family research
Lesson 2 Spelling
Spelling can vary. For genealogists, we have to read documents going back to at least the late 1600s. Spelling and grammar evolve in any language and Swedish is no exception. Also in my non-academic opinion, rigorous spelling is a relatively new invention. Before the 1800s general education was lot less common except for some classes like the church officials. And until dictionaries became popular standardized spelling was not needed. (just my opinion)
Fortunately, Swedish is the language of only Sweden so the Swedes have total control over the language. Imagine writing this about English… spoken in England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, USA, South Africa, Australia, etc., etc. As a matter of fact, Swedish underwent a major reform in 1905 with lots of modernization.
Looking up words
First let’s talk about looking up words. There are lots of on line Swedish-English dictionaries that are free. I like lexin.nada.kth.se@sve-eng.html. It is supported by Skolverket, the Swedish school system. (IF you have not yet figured it out, .se is the Internet code for Sweden rather than .com, etc.) This Lexin dictionary seems to be more forgiving than some.
I also have a paper-and-ink book by my desk. It seems faster for quick lookups.
Dealing with spelling
Swedish fortunately is close to phonetic… one graphic letter makes one sound. Not like English with many, many variations. (Swedes, note I said *close*. I am trying to keep this simple.) Now, you are thinking why do I care about sound, I just want to read documents. But understanding sound a little bit will help you understand spelling variations. We are going to be a bit limited here with just a keyboard.
Here are some highpoints of sounds.
C and K the same sound a hard sound like K in Kafka. Modern Swedish uses K. Although I remember the often use of conditori rather than konditori in Skåne [café] the south part of Sweden-lot of Danish influence.
F and V The boy name Gustaf or in more recent times, Gustav. In older words you will see fv together. Like the old spelling for the city name was Gäfvle and is now Gäfvle.
Remember that J sounds like we say Y in English. “My name is Yohann [Johann].”
V and W are treated the same in Swedish. (Why do we call it a double-U when it looks like a double-V????) Some personal names and older Swedish may use W character. There is no difference.
Now for special letter combinations.
We use qu- in English. In Swedish it could also be qv- or even kv. My relative came from Kvistbro parish which in some older documents is spelled Qvistbro. Q will always be followed by u or v.
Now here is a more difficult combination to remember. Words (note especially person names and place names) with a K followed by e, I, y or ö is a soft K and sounds more like an sh- sound. For example, for the girl name Kerstin you say more like Sherstin. In older Swedish you will also see this written Kjerstin or even Cherstin. And city names that end in –köping you would be better to say –shooping like Falköping.
Along the same line, the sj combination is also soft kind of like sh. The most common to run into in genealogy is the ending for a place name -sjö [say –shoo, sea or lake]
And G in the words or word parts -berg and -borg. Say –berry or -borry. And G sounds more like the Swedish J [or English Y] when followed by vowels ö or ä as in Göteborg [the city name we call Gothenburg—say Yoo-te-borry] the boy name Gösta or the city Gävle.
This is getting very tedious so let me wrap up with the vowel sounds.
A sounds something like ah [like in autum]
E sounds something like eh [maybe ??? egg]
I sounds something like ee [as in bee]
O sound something like English long O
U sounds something like U
Y sounds something between ee or a U
Å closer to an O [PS I call this letter Swedish o]
Ä kind of like eh [as Canadians say]
Ö this is tough to describe perhaps like the oo in food
Now here is your final test. If you saw the place name in a document from 1690 that was spelled WEXIO, how would you spell it in modern Swedish to look it up on Google?
The winner gets one week on a beautiful lake in Småland!!! Don’t you wish. -
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Learning Swedish for Genealogy
Lesson 3
What to do when the word almost looks like one you know.
Swedish nouns usually become plural or definite by adding endings. We typically make plurals in
English by adding -s to the end. In Swedish they usually add -ar -er -or. There are irregular
words, however, just like in English.
street gata
streets gator
church kyrka
churches kyrkor
book bok
books böker
parish socken
parishes socknar
this is the old word. In 1900s the word is församling-församlingar
Definite nouns like THE street and THE church at an ending +n or if plural it gets fancier.
the street gatan
the streets gatorna
the church kyrkan
the churches kyrkorna
be advised there are some words that require no ending for plural. They are the same either singular or plural.
house hus
houses hus
the house huset
Finally, the genative. English adds an apostrophe+s to make it possesive. Swedish adds an +s
but does not use apostrophe. Hence...
the boy name Peter but possesive Peters bok Peter's book.
or Peters+son, which gives the patronymic Petersson with the double +ss.
Or Anders (already has an s) and Andersson. It makes sense to me.
My experience has been Swedes almost always want to spell surnames with two +ss. I spell my
American(ized) patronymic origin surname Anderson but if a Swede asked me my name she would
write it Andersson totally out of habit. It makes sense, one +s for the possive and one for the
+son word.
QUIZ 2 (email me for answers)
If one son in Swedish is son, then...
two sons is ?
the son is ?
the sons is ?
one daughter is ?
two daughters is ?
the daughters is ?
(sorry, slightly tricky but you should know these words)
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Learning Swedish
Dealing with Abbreviations
Swedish documents use abbreviations!
Yes we use abbreviations in English, too, but they do(and did) it much more. Rarely would editors allow abbreviations on the front page of the LA Times but it is common in a Swedish newspaper. Unfortunately this poses a bit of a problem for a non-native speaker because abbreviations can be hard to find in a Swedish-English dictionary.
First, how do Swedes make abbreviations (here is a place to a native speaker to comment)? I don’t know the rules but it seems that Swedes like to use the first and last letter a lot, separated with a colon. Example kyrka shortens to k:a (means church)
Note that Swedish does not capitalize the same way as English. English would write Skogsby Church but in Swedish often Skogsby kyrka or Skogsby k:a.
I would recommend you make yourself a list for your own use. Of course, you can always ask on this site. There are many people able to help.
In church book records, the patronymic endings –son and –daughter (more frequently) are commonly abbreviated *****often with a superscript. Other church book abbreviations
o dr = dräng (title or occupation for male farm hand, not doctor )
o p = pigga (title or occupation for unmarried female farm hand, librally translated maid)
o h = hustru (wife) sometimes you will see
o hh = hans hustru (his wife)
In church book entries you will also see ibid. This is not Swedish but Latin! Translate this as “ditto” (meaning same as above). Remember a priest also knows Latin and occasionally uses it.
In geographic names remember you are reading Swedish S Skog could mean stora skog (large wood) or could be Södra Skog depending on who wrote it. On the other hand St Skog (or St:a Skog) probably translates Stora Skog (large wood)not Saint Skog. Map makers often are cramped for space and need to shorten common beginnings and endings. Fortuanately they often provide a key but rally common general abbreviations may be left off.
With street names the type of street usually mergers with the name itself and is often abbreviated. Examples Storg. 42 is really Storgatan 42 and Gotlandsv 6 would be written out Gotlandsvägen 6 but occasionally written with a space. Note street address form is Street name then number (and then sometimes floor in appartments). By the way, Storgatan translates to Big Street and would be equivalent to Main Street in USA or High Street in UK.
Other abbreviations just misc. stuff. The equivalent of Inc. or Corp. would be AB like in SAAB. Most Swedes would instantly recognize SJ or SR meaning Svergies Jernvägar (the Swedish railroad did I spell that right?) or Svergies Radio. In context, perhaps DN Dagens Nyheter, a major (national) newspaper.
QUIZ 3
On a map from 1980 (Red map series) around the edges there are a number of names followed by “fg”. What do you make of it? Post your answer. -
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Permalink Reply by Cheri Hopkins on
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I am also enjoying your learning Swedish lessons. I always get great new tips here!
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I am so glad to hear from someone on the lessons. My point is you dont have to be a linguist to read many documents for genealogy. But knowing some basics can help you find the data you want. Language and culture are so intertwined, a little about the culture will help too.
Then when you get more involved text, you can post it here. We have some Swedes who post here.
Try the quizes. -
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I also enjoy Scandinavian films as a way to listen to the language. My favorite is Babettes Feast. It takes place in rural Denmark but there is a Swedish character in the story, the military officer. He speaks Swedish and the others all speak Danish. Note that nobody says "what did you say." The languages are quite similar.
The subtitles give you a running translation. -
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Is there a good source for finding these films to watch?
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You can sometimes find them at some of the big rental stores Bolckbuster, Hollywood Video, Netflix. You may not be close to these. There are also places that sell them with prices varying widely. Off-rental sales can be a good buy because they are used. Thats how I got Babettes Feast. I am a big city boy so we have easy access.
Some Scandinavian organizations may have libraries. Public libraries too.
The Immigrants PBS miniseries shows very much immigrant life of Swedes. It is based on a series of four novels by Vilhelm Moberg. He was sort of the Steinbeck of Sweden. Max VonSydow and Liv Ulman. -
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I do Netflix so will check it out, thanks. I am jealous that you are a city guy with access to things. I am in a small community in the " remote sticks" of Nebraska! Even our public library is limited. I am reading and learning all I can though. Appreciate the feedback!
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Here are the Scandinavian movies I would put on a watch list. In general I do not see many happy, cheerful, or funny movies. Some have depressing parts and some you may want to skip. Those listed show some insight into life in the time period of the story.
Immigrant Saga. (3 part mini series)
Babettes Feast mostly Danish, charming but they live gray lives
My Life As a Dog 1950s Sweden. boy dealing with death of his mother
Pelle the Conquerer Swedish widower and boy trying to make a life in Denmark 1800s vonSydows best performance in my book. He is a Swede.
Kitchen Stories batchelor Norwegian visited by a Swede survey taker somewhat funny.
if you can find the Classsic Swedish film by Ingmar Bergman, Wild Strawberrys. As all of his films, very psychological. I still dont get all of it. Shows life in mid 1900s.
Jerusalem long! based on a Swedish novel by the same name. Watch if you have the patience. Late 1800s???? (Novel was in 2 volumes)
Note that I dont differentiate much between Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. Cultures have Much in common. Languages are similar. There film industries dont have anywhere near the output of the US but they have done some good work. -
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