Has anyone here ever studied Swedish? I’m thinking of trying to teach myself, but I have no idea what books (preferably with audio as well) would be best to start with.
In first with - this guy!
Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
Some Google suggestions:
https://www.google.com/search?q=learn+swedish+online+resources
You could perhaps start with something like Vi ses! Vi hörs! 1 - Kursbok i svenska för invandrare, which is used as entry-level course literature in the government-run “Swedish For Immigrants”-program. That one comes with a CD.
Or else I guess you could just start right here. With spaced repetition software, you could make a flashcard for each word, and get crackin’.
I hear keeping an image of Tomas Brolin under your pillow works wonders, too.
Oh and get the Hasse & Tage boxset too, while you’re at it.
My experience is that everyone in Sweden speaks phenomenal English. That said, I have heard great things about the Rosetta Stone programs. I know people who have learned various different languages, but not Swedish specifically.
Totally. If you want to learn Swedish just for shits and giggles, then by all means go ahead, but if it’s for communicating with the locals, then there’s no need.
I was gonna be a wise guy and suggest: move to Stockholm. 
bzzzt, wrong answer. I have relatives who have lived in Sweden for 50 years, and still don’t speak proper Swedish. It takes effort, not just “being there.” Just ask this one.
Also, and much, much more importantly, fuck Stockholm. If the OP wishes to move to Sweden, hen should move to Gothenburg. We don’t want hen to end up like one of those people.
I have an iphone app that teaches basic Swedish vocabulary (a word a day type thing.) There are others out there, but this is the one I have. It’s free so you’re not out anything if it’s not what you’re looking for.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/learn-swedish-free-wordpower/id293880647?mt=8
Try listening to Swedish-language music while you’re learning. Helps with pronunciation and structure.
Good idea, that. What kind of music you like, OP? I can recommend solid Swedish-language stuff in most genres. (Same with Swedish films.)
Swedish for English speakers on duolingo.com (free online instruction).
I’m 236 days into the French lessons and the site claims I can read 62% of all French articles. I’m not sure about that, since I’ve barely learned any verb tense other than present, but otherwise I do feel I’ve made a lot of progress.
I have a fairly eclectic taste in music—from groups like Celtic Women and the Irish Rovers, to the Beach Boys and the Beetles, and even some older country music (Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson type) and bluegrass. Pretty much the only things I don’t like are rap and heavy metal.
Good Swedish-language singer-songwriters (Sweden has no proper country music): Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström, Lisa Ekdahl and Erik Aschan (far less known than the others, but the dude’s got heart).
Folk-music-with-a-twist (apropos “Celtic Women and the Irish Rovers”): I’ll admit the first thing that came to mind was Nordman, who was huge in the 90’s, but is now considered a bit of a joke. The lovely Monica Zetterlund recorded some find old folk tunes, too, though. Jan Johansson played jazzy piano versions of Swedish folk songs, but his stuff is all instrumental, so not really relevant. Benny Andersson, of ABBA fame, has recorded a lot of folk music as well, with Orsa Spelmän and whatnot. Haven’t heard it, though. There is also a long tradition of visor - traditional Swedish ballads, going all the way back to Bellman - but I can’t really say I know much about that, either.
I don’t really think there’s a Swedish-language The Beach Boys, let alone a Swedish-language The Beatles. (The Hep Stars, alas, sang in English.) The 70’s is a whole different ball game – that’s when Swedish-language rock really exploded. Whole different era, though. Very political and whatnot.
Mine isn’t, but then, I deal with teenagers, children, small town factory workers, supermarket cashiers… Also, being able to communicate in English is helpful for getting around, but not for finding out what the news are saying.
When me and my coworkers asked our Swedish ones for some basic Swedish words, the answer was “oh, you don’t need to learn Swedish, everybody here speak English!” Yeah, sort of… but you didn’t answer our question!
Agreed. I have not been to Sweden, but I’ve been to Norway (same thing, right?) and everyone speaks English. Even the kid at the gas station out in the middle of nowhere spoke excellent English.
I was in Norway for several weeks on business and the folks I was working with were very helpful wrt my interest in learning some of the language, but it was completely unnecessary. Note: being a Germanic language, there are lots of cognates.
Getting off topic, but I would move to Gothenburg in a heartbeat. Beautiful city with incredibly nice (and fit) people. And the summer vacation!
There isn’t a ë and it’s börk börk börk not børk børk børk.
A couple of the bus drivers didn’t but there was also the possibility that they were playing dumb and/or trying to rip me off. No more than an hour outside of Oslo. But probably a big factor is the speaker’s age.
Swedish is the same thing as Norwegian except the writing is much different. Danish is the same thing as Norwegian except that the speaker is drunk or something. Icelandic is Icelandic.
Actually, Icelandic is about 10% Norwegian and 90% Klingon.