#swedish dialects

[clownaddict]

Old Jönköping slang translated for non-Scandinavians (and other Swedes):

Gojja - beautiful woman

Smäck - hat

Smula - beanie

Gola - speaking loudly/yelling

Osj devon - oh damn

Tjabo - guy

Kaav me moos - Hotdog with mashed potatoes

Sulle - should

Bäss - beer

Gitta - leave

[useduppaper]

Hej! I've been learning Swedish for a little over a year now, and I was just wondering if you could explain how the northern dialects differ from rikssvenska? I can always tell the difference between skånska and rikssvenska because skånska is so distinct to me but I can't figure out exactly how the north differs....

Hej! You’ve come to the right place, I’m from the northern part of Sweden myself, so I do have some knowledge in this area. Strap in, cuz this will be a long answer.As you probably already know Swedish is, like all languages I would guess, a language with MANY dialects. Like there are so many you wouldn’t know. skånska is probably the hardest one to understand, at least when it’s thick, and especially for non natives, but trust me it’s hard for us too! It’s so close to Danish, which most of us also find very hard to understand. But skånska isn’t the only thick dialect, there are others. The northern dialects are not all one and the same, there are many different. For example, my dialect is not the same as my grandparents’, and we come from the same city, they just live more in the countryside. The coast cities are the dialects closest to rikssvenska I would say, at least a lot of them. If you heard me speak, you probably couldn’t tell I’m not from for example Stockholm, but trust me, the people actually from there would definitely know.Northern dialects are often seen as charming and/or hillbilly/farmery by the rest of the country. My grandparents definitely sound like farmers, they have a slightly different pronunciation and they use some words I don’t. On thing that’s very distinct for northern Swedes is the fact that we have this inhale thing that means yes. Here’s a video about the inhale, recorded in the city I live in (not my hometown, but close) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URgdIAz4QNgSomething most northern Swedes also do is shorten words. Like saying Va ska vi gö? Instead of Vad ska vi göra? And there are also other grammatical things altered in some places. I know some dialects use Jag and Du where it’s grammatically correct to use Mig and Dig. Like Ska vi gå hem till du?Some northern dialects are often referred to as bondska - farmish. They sound very rural. Some of them remind you of Finnish. Here’s a video of dialects from Norrbotten and Västerbotten (I live in Västerbotten now, but by the coast, so my dialect is nothing like these) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnN-HIAC2cAnd don’t worry if you don’t understand them. I don’t understand it all either. And people can simplify what they say if they notice people don’t understand. Here’s one of Sweden’s greatest comedians, Robert Gustafsson, imitating some dialects. Unfortunately, only the first one, Luleå, is REALLY northern - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3mLGtOSPGEHere is a youtuber copying some accents in a video about “which part of Sweden is best”. It really shows that Stockholm and northern Sweden aren’t the same dialect-wise  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47_pWLc4EgHere’s another guy imitating dialects - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3VSfc9m6vEHe gets to Stockholm around 7.20, and then travels upward until he gets to Växjö (which is not the northern part of Sweden). Interestingly enough he has my dialect in here (Örnsköldsvik).Okay, so there you go! That’s the very diverse Swedish language in a nutshell (I’ve probably missed a lot of interesting facts). If you have any more questions, don’t be afraid to ask, on or off anon, and you can also send me a message if you’d rather that :)