Swedish Voice Over Agency

Everything you never wanted to know about the Swedish language

Letters in the alphabet
There are 29 letters in the Swedish alphabet. It’s called the Svenska alphabet in Swedish. There is a letter Q, but it isn’t used much, and the letters V and W are interchangeable.

Old Norse
The Swedish language is North Germanic, and it is derived from Old Norse. You’ll hear Swedish spoken in Sweden and Finland. The longest Swedish word (it has 26 letters) when translated into English means Capital Gains Tax!

Hooks for keys
Most Swedish homes have hooks especially for their keys. This is because it is considered band luck to leave your keys on the table. Another Swedish superstition concerns Spiders. The Swedes say if you kill a spider it will rain.

Have fun with your phone
You can have fun with your phone if you head out to Stockholm’s Telefonplan Tower. All you need to do is download their app and then you can control the colours in the tower’s windows. The installation is called Colour by Numbers and the lights are visible within a 10-kilometre radius.

Mmm delicious…
On the 4th of October each year in Sweden they celebrate Cinnamon bun day. It was started off as a marketing ploy by the Home Baking Group to highlight Swedish baking traditions. Ikea celebrates the day by promoting Cinnamon buns in its stores around the globe and in Sweden they enjoy a whole day of sweet treats.

The Swedes help you to stop smoking
The famous Nicorette nicotine replacement gum was invented by Swede in Sweden. Leo Lakemedel AB invented the gum whilst working for Nicorette after he observed Swedish submariners chewing tobacco when they couldn’t smoke on duty.

Get your SAD fix
In Sweden they have less than 5 hours a day of daylight during winter months. Many people in Sweden suffer from SAD which is Seasonal Affective Disorder. In order to help people who have this type of depression Sweden has installed light boxes in bus stops so people can enjoy a little more light while they are waiting for a bus.

Waterloo
The iconic pop band Abba come from Sweden. They first came to prominence after winning the Eurovision Song Content which was held in Brighton, Sussex in the UK. The song they sang was Waterloo which then became a big hit. They went on to have 48 hit singles and they are still active in the music business.

Meatballs
Sweden is home to the well-known dish of meatballs. In Sweden they serve your meatballs with gravy, boiled potatoes, and Lingonberry jam. Lingonberries are grown on an evergreen shrub in Sweden, and it has a taste similar to a cranberry.

The Pirate King
Sweden had a King that became a pirate. His name was King Eric XIII, and he inherited the throne from his aunt Margaret. The country was in the middle of a war at the time and unfortunately the Swedes lost. Eventually Eric was deposed so he looked for a new career and he became a successful pirate in the Baltic Sea.

A short history on the Swedish language

Swedish belongs to the East Scandinavian branch of the North Germanic family of languages. Along with other Scandinavian languages, it derives from Old Norse, which was spoken by the Germanic people who lived in Scandinavia during the Viking era.

Swedish and Danish derive from the East Norse dialect group, while Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese derive from West Norse. Today, spoken Swedish is essentially mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish. These three languages are categorised as Mainland Scandinavian, while Icelandic and Faroese are classified as Insular Scandinavian.

Until the 12th century Swedish and Danish were roughly the same dialect, using the runic alphabet. In Sweden, Old East Norse is called Runic Swedish, while in Denmark it’s called Runic Danish.

Notable events in the development of the Swedish language include the establishment of the printing press in Sweden in 1484, the first print of the Swedish Bible in 1526, and the founding of the Swedish Academy in 1786. The standard language began to emerge from Central Swedish dialects towards the end of the 19th century – this period of development is called nusvenska (‘New Swedish’).

Which countries have Swedish as a national language?

Swedish is the official language of Sweden, and a co-official language of Finland. It is the only official language of Åland, an autonomous region of Finland, as well as three other Finnish municipalities – Korsnäs, Närpes and Larsmo.

How many people speak Swedish as their first language?

It is estimated that over 9 million people speak Swedish as their first language. Most of these live in Sweden.

Did you know…

• There is a high level of standardisation in the Swedish language, with few dialects. However, those dialects that do exist are so distinct and localised that they are almost incomprehensible to standard Swedish speakers.
• Swedish uses the standard 26-letter European alphabet, with three additional vowels – å, ä, and ö. The letters q, w, x and z are predominantly used in loanwords.
• There used to be significant Swedish-speaking communities in Estonia, particularly on the Baltic coast islands of Hiiumaa, Vormsi and Ruhnu. After Estonia became part of the Russian Empire in the 18th century, around 1,000 Swedish-speaking Estonians were banished to Ukraine, where they established a village called Gammelsvenskby (‘Old Swedish Village’).

The Swedish economy

Sweden has a diverse, competitive, export-driven economy, a highly skilled labour force, and a high standard of living with extensive welfare benefits.

Major industries include motor vehicles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, industrial machines, home goods and appliances, forestry, iron and steel.