Swedish is the official language of Sweden and is spoken in parts of Finland, particularly along the coast and on the Åland islands. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/language/swedish-phrases.html
Common Words and Phrases
- Hi: Hej
- Good morning: God morgon
- How are you?: Hur mar du?
- Good bye: Hej da
- Can I help you?: Kan jag hjapa dig?
- What's your name?: Vad heter du?
- Where are you from?: Var kommer du ifran?
- Congratulations: Grattis
- Yes: Ja
- No: Nej
- What time is it?: Vad ar klockan?
- I don't understand : Jog forstar inte
History
Swedish, along with Danish and Norwegian, is a descendant of Old Norse. During the 13th century, trade with Germany mixed Germanic words into the language. Some scholars date the origin of modern Swedish to 1526 when the New Testament was translated into Swedish. The Swedish Academy was established by King Gustav III in 1786 in order to ensure the "purity, strength and sublimity" of written Swedish, to develop a standard grammar and to publish a Swedish dictionary.http://www.linguaphone.com.my/swedish2.php
References
Fast Facts
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Language family
Indo-European, Germanic
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Number of speakers
Approximately 9 million in Sweden and Finland
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Official language
Sweden and Aland Ahvenanmag, Finland
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Major dialects
Northern Swedish (Norrland), Eastern Swedish (Finland Swedish, Estonian Swedish), Svea, Gutniska (Gutamal, Gotlandic, Gutnic)
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Number of letters in alphabet
28 letters; 9 vowels, 19 constants
