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Swedish has a large vowel inventory, with nine vowels distinguished in quality and to some degree in quantity, making 18 vowel phonemes in most dialects. Another notable feature is the pitch accent, a development which it shares with Norwegian. Swedish pronunciation of most consonants is similar to that of other Germanic languages.
There are 18 consonant phonemes, of which /ɧ/ and /r/ show considerable variation depending on both social and dialectal context.
Swedish has nine vowels that, as in many other Germanic languages, exist in pairs of long and short versions.[1] The length covaries with the quality of the vowels, as shown in the table below (long vowels in the first column, short in the second), with short variants being more centered and lax.[1] The length is generally viewed as the primary distinction, with quality being secondary.[2] No short vowels appear in open stressed syllables.[3] The front vowels appear in rounded-unrounded pairs: /ʏ/–/ɪ/, /yː/–/iː/, /œ/–/ɛ/ and /øː/–/eː/.
Central Standard Swedish /ʉː/ is a near-close near-front compressed vowel [ʏː] that differs from /yː/ by the type of rounding.[4] In other dialects, /ʉː/ may be central.
/ʏ/, /yː/, /œ/ and its pre-/r/ allophone [œ̞], /øː/ and its pre-/r/ allophone [œ̞ː], /ɔ/ and /oː/ are protruded [ɪʷ], [iʷː], [ɛ̝ʷ], [ɛ̞ʷ], [eʷː], [ɛ̞ʷː], [ʌʷ] and [ɤʷː].[6][7][10][11][12]
Type of rounding is the primary way of distinguishing /ʉː,ɵ/ from /yː,œ/, especially in Central Standard Swedish.
/ɛː/, /ɛ/ (in stressed syllables), /øː/ (with a few exceptions) and /œ/ are lowered to [æː], [æ], [œ̞ː] and [œ̞], respectively, when preceding /r/.[13][14][15]
The low allophones are becoming unmarked in younger speakers of Stockholm Swedish, so that läsa ('to read') and köpa ('to buy') are pronounced [ˈlæ̂ːsa] and [ˈɕœ̂ːpa] instead of standard [ˈlɛ̂ːsa] and [ˈɕø̂ːpa].[15] These speakers often also pronounce pre-rhotic /øː/ and /œ/ even lower, i.e. [ɶː] and [ɶ].[15] This is especially true for the long allophone.[15] Also, the [ɶː] allophone is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the long /ɑː/.[15]
In some pronunciations, traditionally characteristic of the varieties spoken around Gothenburg and in Östergötland, but today more common e.g. in Stockholm and especially in younger speakers, [œ] and [ɵ] merge, most commonly into [ɵ] (especially before [r] and the retroflex consonants). Words like fördömande ('judging', pronounced /fœrˈdœ̌mandɛ/ in Standard Swedish) and fördummande ('dumbing', pronounced /fœrˈdɵmandɛ/ in Standard Swedish) are then often pronounced similarly or identically, as [fɵˈɖɵmːandɛ].[16][17]
In Central Standard Swedish, unstressed /ɛ/ is slightly retracted [ɛ̠], but is still a front vowel rather than central [ə]. However, the latter pronunciation is commonly found in Southern Swedish. Therefore, begå 'to commit' is pronounced [bɛ̠ˈɡoː] in Central Standard Swedish and [bəˈɡoː] in Southern Swedish. Before /r/, southerners may use a back vowel [ɔ]. In Central Standard Swedish, a true schwa [ə] is commonly found as a vocalic release of word-final lenis stops, as in e.g. bädd[ˈbɛdːə] 'bed'.[18]
In many central and eastern areas (including Stockholm), the contrast between short /ɛ/ and /e/ is lost.[19] The loss of this contrast has the effect that hetta ('heat') and hätta ('cap') are pronounced the same.
In Central Standard Swedish, long /ɑː/ is weakly rounded [ɒ̜ː].[1][7][20] The rounding is stronger in Gothenburg and weaker in most North Swedish dialects.[20]
One of the varieties of /iː/ is made with a constriction that is more forward than is usual. Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson describe this vowel as being pronounced "by slightly lowering the body of the tongue while simultaneously raising the blade of the tongue (...) Acoustically this pronunciation is characterized by having a very high F3, and an F2 which is lower than that in /eː/." They suggest that this may be the usual Stockholm pronunciation of /iː/.[21]
There is some variation in the interpretations of vowel length's phonemicity. Elert (1964),[22] for example, treats vowel quantity as its own separate phoneme (a "prosodeme") so that long and short vowels are allophones of a single vowel phoneme.
Patterns of diphthongs of long vowels occur in three major dialect groups. In Central Standard Swedish, the high vowels /iː/, /yː/, /ʉː/ and /uː/ are realized as narrow closing diphthongs with fully close ending points: [ɪ̝iʏ̝yɵ̝˖ʉ̟ʊ̝u].[23] According to Engstrand, the second element is so close as to become a palatal or bilabial fricative: [ɪ̝ʝʏ̝ʝʷɵ̝˖βʲʊ̝β].[7] Elsewhere in the article, the broad transcription ⟨iː yː ʉː uː⟩ is used.
In Central Standard Swedish, /eː/, /øː/ and /oː/ are often realized as centering diphthongs [eə], [øə] and [oə].
In Southern Swedish dialects, particularly in Scania and Blekinge, the diphthongs are preceded by a rising of the tongue from a central position so that /ʉː/ and /ɑː/ are realized as [eʉ] and [aɑ] respectively. A third type of distinctive diphthongs occur in the dialects of Gotland. The pattern of diphthongs is more complex than those of southern and eastern Sweden; /eː/, /øː/ and /ʉː/ tend to rise while /ɛː/ and /oː/ fall; /uː/, /iː/, /yː/ and /ɑː/ are not diphthongized at all.[24]
Consonants
The table below shows the Swedish consonant phonemes in spoken Standard Swedish.[25]
/t,l/ are dental [t̪,l̪],[26] but /n,d,s/ can be either dental [n̪,d̪,s̪] or alveolar [n,d,s].[27] If /d/ is alveolar, then /n/ is also alveolar.[28] Dental realization of /n,d/ is the predominant one in Central Standard Swedish.[28]
Initial fortis stops (/p,t,k/) are aspirated in stressed position, but unaspirated when preceded by /s/ within the same morpheme.[7] Hence ko ('cow') is [kʰuː], but sko ('shoe') becomes [skuː]. Compare English[kʰuːɫ] ('cool') vs [skuːɫ] ('school'). In Finland Swedish, aspiration does not occur and initial lenis stops /b,d,ɡ/ are usually voiced throughout.[29][30] Word-medial lenis stops are sometimes voiceless in Finland, a likely influence from Finnish.[30]
Preaspiration of medial[31] and final fortis stops,[32] including the devoicing of preceding sonorants,[33] is common,[34][35] though its length and normativity varies from dialect to dialect, being optional (and idiolectal[36]) in Central Standard Swedish but obligatory in, for example, the Swedish dialects of Gräsö,[37]Vemdalen and Arjeplog.[38] In Gräsö, preaspiration is blocked in certain environments (such as an /s/ following the fortis consonant[39] or a morpheme boundary between the vowel and the consonant[33]), while it is a general feature of fortis medial consonants in Central Standard Swedish.[33] When not preaspirated, medial and final fortis stops are simply unaspirated.[40] In clusters of fortis stops, the second "presonorant" stop is unaspirated and the former patterns with other medial final stops (that is, it is either unaspirated or is preaspirated).[41]
The phonetic attributes of preaspiration also vary. In the Swedish of Stockholm, preaspiration is often realized as a fricative subject to the character of surrounding vowels or consonants so that it may be labial, velar, or dental; it may also surface as extra length of the preceding vowel.[42] In the province of Härjedalen, though, it resembles [h] or [x].[42] The duration of preaspiration is highest in the dialects of Vemdalen and Arjeplog.[43] Helgason notes that preaspiration is longer after short vowels, in lexically stressed syllables, as well as in pre-pausal position.[31][44]
The Swedish fricatives /ɕ/ and /ɧ/ are often considered to be the most difficult aspects of Swedish pronunciation for foreign students. The combination of occasionally similar and rather unusual sounds as well as the large variety of partly overlapping allophones of /ɧ/ often presents difficulties for non-natives in telling the two apart. The existence of a third sibilant in the form of /s/ tends to confuse matters even more, and in some cases realizations that are labiodental can also be confused with /f/. In Finland Swedish, /ɕ/ is an affricate: [t͡ɕ] or [t͡ʃ].[29]
The Swedish phoneme /ɧ/ (the "sje-sound" or voiceless postalveolar-velar fricative) and its alleged coarticulation is a difficult and complex issue debated amongst phoneticians.[48] Though the acoustic properties of its [ɧ] allophones are fairly similar, the realizations can vary considerably according to geography, age, gender as well as social context and are notoriously difficult to describe and transcribe accurately. Most common are various sh-like sounds, with [ʂ] occurring mainly in northern Sweden and [ɕ] in Finland. A voiceless uvular fricative, [χ], can sometimes be used in the varieties influenced by major immigrant languages like Arabic and Kurdish. The different realizations can be divided roughly into the following categories:[49]
"Dark sounds" – [x], commonly used in the Southern Standard Swedish. Some of the varieties specific, but not exclusive, to areas with a larger immigrant population that commonly realizes the phoneme as a voiceless uvular fricative[χ].
"Light sounds" – [ʂ], used in the northern varieties and [ʃ], and [ɕ] (or something in between) in Finland Swedish.
Combination of "light" and "dark" – darker sounds are used as morpheme initials preceding stressed vowels (sjuk 'sick', station 'station'), while the lighter sounds are used before unstressed vowels and at the end of morphemes (bagage 'baggage', dusch 'shower').
/r/ has distinct variations in Standard Swedish. For most speakers, the realization as an alveolar trill occurs only in contexts where emphatic stress is used.[citation needed] In Central Swedish, it is often pronounced as a fricative (transcribed as [ʐ])[50] or approximant (transcribed as [ɹ]),[7] which is especially frequent in weakly articulated positions such as word-finally[29] and somewhat less frequent in stressed syllable onsets, in particular after other consonants.[50] It may also be an apico-alveolar tap.[29] One of the most distinct features of the southern varieties is the uvular realization of /r/, which may be a trill [ʀ],[51] a fricative [ʁ] or an approximant [ʁ̞]. In Finland, /r/ is usually an apical trill [r], and may be an approximant [ɹ] postvocalically.[52]
In most varieties of Swedish that use an alveolar /r/ (in particular, the central and northern forms), the combination of /r/ with dental consonants (/t,d,n,l,s/) produces retroflex consonant realizations ([ʈ,ɖ,ɳ,ɭ,ʂ]), a recursive sandhi process called "retroflexion".[54][55] Thus, /ˈkɑ̂ːrta/ ('map') is realized as [kʰɑ̂ːʈa], /nuːrd/ ('north') as [nuːɖ], /ˈvɛ̂ːnern/ ('Vänern') as [ˈvɛ̂ːnɛɳ], and /fɛrsk/ ('fresh') as [fæʂːk]. The process of retroflexion is not limited to just one dental, and e.g. först is pronounced [fœ̞ʂʈ].[56] The combination of /r/ and /l/ does not uniformly cause retroflexion, so that it may also be pronounced with two separate consonants [rl], and even, occasionally in a few words and expressions, as a mere [l]. Thus sorl ('murmur') may be pronounced [soːɭ], but also [soːrl].[57]
In Gothenburg and neighbouring areas (such as Mölndal and Kungälv) the retroflex consonants are substituted by alveolar ones, with their effects still remaining. For example: /kvɑːrn/ is [kvɑːn] not [kvɑːɳ], /hoːrd/ is [hoːd], not [hoːɖ]. However, /rs/, unlike what many other Swedes believe, is not [s] but [ʃ], i.e. /fɛrs/ is [fæʃː], not [fæsː].[citation needed]
As the adjacent table shows, this process is not limited by word boundaries, though there is still some sensitivity to the type of boundary between the /r/ and the dental in that retroflexion is less likely with boundaries higher up in the prosodic hierarchy.[58] In the southern varieties, which use a uvular /r/,[59] retroflex realizations do not occur.[56] For example, /ˈkɑ̂ːrta/ ('map') is realized as [ˈkʰɑ̌ʁta] (note that Tone 2 in Malmö sounds like Tone 1 in Stockholm), etc.[60] An /r/ spelled ⟨rr⟩ usually will not trigger retroflexion so that spärrnät/ˈspæ̂rˌnɛːt/ ('anti-sub net') is pronounced [ˈspæ̂rːˌnɛːt].[61] Retroflexion also does not usually occur in Finland.[62][63]
Variations of /l/ are not as common, though some phonetic variation exists, such as a retroflex flap[ɽ] that exists as an allophone in proximity to a labial or velar consonant (e.g. glad ('glad')) or after most long vowels.[64]
In casual speech, the nasals tend to assimilate to the place of articulation of a following obstruent so that, for example, han kom ('he came') is pronounced [haŋˈkʰɔmː].[65]
/v/ and /j/ are pronounced with weak friction and function phonotactically with the sonorants.[56]
In Swedish, stress is not fixed. Primary stress can fall on one of the last three syllables in a word’s stem.[66][67] This can lead to surface contrasts based solely on difference in position of stress:
formel/ˈfɔrmɛl/ 'formula'
formell/fɔrˈmɛl/ 'formal'
Primary stressed syllables are always metrically heavy, i.e. contain either a long vowel or a short vowel followed by a consonant.[67] In phonological analyses of Swedish, stressed syllables in underived forms are assumed to be associated with a basic moraic trochaic foot [μ μ]σ ,[68] e.g. bˈil 'car' (stress marked as (ˈ)). More whole-word based analyses of metrical structure where affixes are included also assume other foot types, in particular, syllabic trochaic feet [σ σ]Ft, bˈil-ar 'cars'.[67][69] Affixes affect stress to a considerable degree in the sense that inflectional suffixes can never receive primary stress (bˈil-ar-na 'the cars'), whereas many derivational suffixes can tent-ˈabel 'examinable'. Disyllabic words with accent 2 like ˈandˌe ‘spirit’, kvˈinnˌa ‘woman’, bˈilˌar 'cars' have secondary stress on the second syllable. In the Swedish Academy's lexicon ,[70] these disyllables are transcribed with the stress pattern 3 2, e.g. kvin3a2 where (3) stands for primary stressed syllable with accent 2 and (2) represents a ‘secondary stressed’ syllable in words with accent 2). This secondary stress is assumed to have existed in Old Norse (see [71] and references therein). Compound words have primary stress on the first element and secondary stress on the last element bˈil-dels-butˌiken 'car-part shop' (secondary stress marked as (ˌ)).[66][67]
Pitch accents
Stressed syllables carry one of two different tones, often described as pitch accents, or tonal word accents.[72][73][68] They are called acute and grave accent, accent 1 and accent 2. The actual realization of these two tones varies from dialect to dialect.[74] In the central Swedish dialect of Stockholm, accent 1 is characterized by a low tone at the beginning of the stressed syllable (fìsken 'the fish') and accent 2, by a high tone at the beginning of the stressed syllable (mátta 'mat').[73] When the word is in a prominent/focused position, a high tone often occurs following the word accent (fìskén). In accent 2 words, this results in two high tones within the word (e.g. máttá), hence the term "two-peaked" for this dialect. In southern Swedish, a "one-peaked" dialect, accent 1 is realized as a high tone at the beginning of the stressed syllable (físken) and accent 2, by a low tone (màtta).[74]
Generally, the grave accent is characterized by a later timing of the word accent pattern as compared with the acute accent.[73]
The phonemicity of this tonal system is demonstrated in the nearly 300 pairs of two-syllable words differentiated only by their use of either grave or acute accent. Outside of these pairs, the main tendency for tone is that the acute accent appears in monosyllables (since the grave accent cannot appear in monosyllabic words) while the grave accent appears in polysyllabic words.[75] Polysyllabic forms resulting from declension or derivation also tend to have a grave accent except when it is the definite article that is added. This tonal distinction has been present in Scandinavian dialects at least since Old Norse though a greater number of polysyllables now have an acute accent. These are mostly words that were monosyllabic in Old Norse, but have subsequently become disyllabic, as have many loanwords.[76] For example, Old Norse kømr ('comes') has become kommer in Swedish (with an acute accent).[75]
The distinction can be shown with the minimal pair anden 'the mallard' (tone 1) and anden 'the spirit' (tone 2).
Acute accent: /ˈǎnden/ (realized [ˈa᷇ndɛ̀n] = [ˈan˥˧dɛn˩]) 'the mallard' (from and 'mallard')
In Central Swedish, this is a high, slightly falling tone followed by a low tone; that is, a single drop from high to low pitch spread over two syllables.
In Central Swedish, a mid falling tone followed by a high falling tone; that is, a double falling tone.
The exact realization of the tones also depends on the syllable's position in an utterance. For instance, at the beginning of an utterance, the acute accent may have a rising rather than slightly falling pitch on the first syllable. Also, these are word tones that are spread across the syllables of the word. In trisyllabic words with the grave accent, the second fall in pitch is distributed across the second and third syllables:
Grave-accent trisyllable: flickorna/ˈflɪ̂kʊɳa/ (realized [ˈflɪ᷆kːʊ᷇ɳà] = [ˈflɪ˧˩kːʊ˥˧ɳa˩]) 'the girls'
The position of the tone is dependent upon stress: The first stressed syllable has a high or falling tone, as does the following syllable(s) in grave-accented words.
In most Finland-Swedish varieties, however, the distinction between grave and acute accent is missing.
A reasonably complete list of uncontroversial so-called minimal pairs can be seen below.[77][circular reference] The two words in each pair are distinguished solely by having different tone (acute vs. grave). In those cases where both words are nouns it would have been possible to list the genitive forms of the words as well, thereby creating another word pair, but this has been avoided. A few word pairs where one of the words is a plural form with the suffix -or have been included. This is due to the fact that many Swedish-speakers in all parts of Sweden pronounce the suffix -or the same way as -er.[citation needed]
Acute accent (accent I)
Grave accent (accent II)
Translation acute
Translation grave
akter
akter
stern (of boat/ship)
acts
almen
allmän
the elm
public, general
A:na
ana
the As
suspect
anden
anden
the mallard
the spirit
backen
backen
the reverse gear, the crate
the slope
balen
balen
the ball (dance event)
the nest
ballen
ballen
the bulb (on horse)
the dick (slang for penis)
B:na
bena
the Bs
parting (hair)
binder
bindor
binds
sanitary towels
biten
biten
the piece
bitten
boken
boken
the book
overripe, spoilt (of fruit)
bona
bona
the nests
polish
bonas
bonas
the nests' (genitive of 'bona')
be polished (passive of 'bona')
borsten
borsten
the bristles
the brush, the broom
brassen
brassen
the brace (sailing)
the Brazilian
breven
brevvän
the letters
pen pal
brister
brister
breaks (present tense of 'brista')
flaws
brunnen
brunnen
the well
burnt (past participle of 'brinna')
brynen
brynen
the edges (of for example forest)
whetstones
brynet
brynet
the edge (of for example forest)
the whetstone
buren
buren
the cage
carried (past participle of 'bära')
busen
busen
the pranks
the hooligan
dragen
dragen
the trolling spoons
drawn (past participle of 'dra'), tipsy
draget
draget
the draught, the trolling spoon
drawn (past participle of 'dra')
drivet
drivet
the speed, the energy
drifted, driven (past participle of 'driva')
E:na
ena
the Es
unite, unify
Enar
enar
male name
junipers
fallen
fallen
the falls
fallen (past participle of 'falla')
fallet
fallet
the fall
fallen (past participle of 'falla')
fäster
fester
fastens
parties
fisken
fisken
the fish
acts of fishing
F:en
FN
the Fs
The UN
fonen
fånen
the phone (in phonetics)
the idiot
fången
fången
the armfuls
the prisoner
fånget
fånget
the armful
caught (past particple of 'fånga')
fällen
fällen
the rug
places where trees have been felled
fäller
fällor
fells, cuts down
traps (plural of the noun 'fälla')
festen
fästen
the party, the feast
places where something has been attached
fören
fören
the bow (on ship/boat)
conditions of the ground for travelling (plural of 'före')
förut
förut
towards the bow (on ship/boat)
before, earlier
gifter
gifter
marries
poisons (plural of 'gift')
giftet
giftet
the poison
the marriage
J:na
gina
the Js
tackle (sailing), take a shortcut
given
given
the deal (in card games)
given
ljusen
gjusen
the candles
the osprey
gripen
gripen
the griffin
grabbed, gripped (past participle of 'gripa')
gången
gången
the walkway
gone (past participle of 'gå')
heden
heden
the heath
heathen (adjective)
hinner
hinnor
has the time to do something
coatings
huggen
huggen
the cuts (made with a heavy object like an axe)
chopped (past participle of 'hugga')
hållen
hållen
the directions
held (past participle of 'hålla')
hållet
hållet
the direction
held (past participle of 'hålla')
H:na
håna
the Hs
mock, taunt
högre
högre
higher
the man to the right (as in 'den högre')
iden
iden
the ide
bears' dens for hibernation
I:na
Ina
the Is
female name
inför
inför
ahead of, in front of
introduces, introduce (present tense or imperative of 'införa')
ljuden
juden
the sounds
the Jew
karaten
karaten
the carat
the karate
katten
katten
the cat
a profanity (as in for example 'Katten också!')
knallen
knallen
the bang
the small hill, the pedlar
knuten
knuten
the knot
tied (past participle of 'knyta')
kubben
kubben
the bowler hat
the chopping block (for wood)
kullen
kullen
the litter (group of newborn animals)
the hill
kåren
kåren
the corps
the breeze
laven
laven
the lichen
the headframe
leder
leder
leads (present tense of 'leda')
joints (anatomy)
lumpen
lumpen
the military service
contemptible, lousy
malen
malen
the moth
ground, milled (past participle of 'mala')
mjölken
mjölken
the milk
the fish seed
modet
modet
the courage
the fashion
moppen
moppen
the mop
the moped
namnen
namnen
the names
the namesake
normen
norrmän
the norm
Norwegians
nubben
nubben
the tack
the shot (alcohol)
nyper
nypor
pinches (present tense of 'nypa')
Grips made with the thumb against one or more of the other fingers (plural noun)
Oden
oden
name of a Norse God
odes
oret
orätt
the mite
injustice
packen
packen
the rabble (definite plural of 'pack')
the bale
pajas
pajas
clown
be destroyed (passive of 'paja')
panter
panter
panther
deposits
perser
pärser
Persians
ordeals
Polen
pålen
Poland
the pole (thick wooden stick)
pollen
pållen
pollen
the horsey
radar
radar
radar
present tense of 'rada', as in 'rada upp' (=list something)
raster
raster
grid
breaks (in school or at a workplace, i.e. for example coffee breaks)
regel
regel
rule
latch
reser
resor
travels (present tense of 'resa')
journeys, trips
rivet
rivet
the melee, the fighting
torn
roller
roller
cylinder that rotates and is used for painting
roles
ruter
rutor
diamonds (in card games)
squares, (window) panes
rutten
rutten
the route
rotten
rågen
rågen
the rye
the overmeasure
råna
råna
the nymphs
rob
räcken
räcken
the horizontal bars (gymnastics)
railings
räcket
räcket
the horizontal bar (gymnastics)
the railing
ränner
rännor
runs
chutes
sabbat
sabbat
sabbath
destroyed, sabotaged (past participle of 'sabba')
ceder
seder
cedar
customs (traditions)
C:na
sena
the Cs
late (plural of 'sen'), sinew
cider
sidor
cider
pages
sikten
sikten
the view
sights (on rifles, plural of 'sikte')
skallen
skallen
the barks (dog sounds)
the skull
skeden
skeden
the spoon
stages (of time)
skiftet
skiftet
the shift
the change
skiften
skiften
the shifts
changes
skjuten
skjuten
the ejaculations
shot (past participle of 'skjuta')
skjutet
skjutet
the speed, the ejaculation
shot (past participle of 'skjuta')
skotten
skotten
the shots
the Scotsman
skuren
skuren
the (rain) shower
cut (past participle of 'skära')
skytten
skytten
the gunner
acts of shooting
slagen
slagen
the battles, the hits
beaten
slaget
slaget
the battle, the hit
beaten
slitet
slitet
the toil
worn
sluten
sluten
the ends
closed (past participle of 'sluta')
slutet
slutet
the end
closed (past participle of 'sluta')
släkten
släkten
the (extended) family
genera (biology)
snuten
snuten
the cop
past participle of 'snyta' (=blow one's nose)
zoona
sona
the zoos
expiate
spaden
spaden
the stocks (cooking)
the spade
spana
spana
the spas
watch, observe, search
spricker
sprickor
bursts, cracks (present tense of the verb 'spricka')
cracks (plural of the noun 'spricka')
stegen
stegen
the steps
the ladder
strider
strider
fights (present tense of 'strida')
fights, battles (plural of the noun 'strid')
stråken
stråken
the moving patches/bands (of something)
the bow (for a violin)
stubben
stubben
the stubble
the tree stump
ställen
ställen
the racks
places (locations)
stället
stället
the rack
the place
sugen
sugen
the sucking device
sucked (past participle of 'suga'), in the mood for something
suget
suget
the urge
sucked (past participle of 'suga'), in the mood for something
säden
säden
the seed, the grain
things intended for sowing (plural of 'säde')
cellen
sällen
the cell
the brute
tagen
tagen
the grips
taken
taget
taget
the grip
taken
tanken
tanken
the tank
the thought
toner
toner
toner
tones
traven
traven
the trot
the pile, the stack
tomten
tomten
the plot (of land)
Santa Claus, the gnome
tummen
tummen
the inch
the thumb
tecken
täcken
sign
bed covers
udden
udden
the point, the cusp
the headland
uppför
uppför
uphill
present tense or imperative of 'uppföra' (=set up a theatre play, behave)
utför
utför
downhill
present tense or imperative of 'utföra' (=carry out)
vaken
vaken
the hole in the ice
awake
valen
valen
the whale
stiff, numb
vanten
vanten
the shrouds (sailing)
the mitten
vasen
vasen
the vase
the bundle of brushwood
viken
viken
the bay
folded (past participle of 'vika')
viner
viner
makes a whistling sound (of for example wind)
wines
vreden
vreden
the knobs
the rage, the wrath
värden/världen
värden
the host/the world
values
Oskar
åskar
male name
present tense of 'åska' (=thunder)
ören
ören
the gravel
pennies (plural of the monetary unit 'öre' used when no numeral immediately precedes the word)
öret
öret
the gravel
the penny (1/100 of a Swedish krona)
Note that karaten/karaten is the only pair with more than two syllables (although we would get a second one if we used the definite forms of the pair perser/pärser, i.e. perserna/pärserna). The word pair länder ('countries', plural of land) and länder ('loins', plural of länd) could have been included, but this one is controversial.[78][circular reference] For those speakers who have grave accent in the plural of länd, the definite plural forms will also constitute a three-syllable minimal pair: länderna (acute accent, 'the countries') vs. länderna (grave accent, 'the loins'). Although examples with more than two syllables are very few in Standard Swedish, it is possible to find other three-syllable pairs in regional dialects, such as Värmländska: hunnera (acute, 'the Huns') vs. hunnera (grave, 'the dogs'), ändera/ännera (acute, 'the mallards') vs. ändera/ännera (grave, 'the ends'), etc.
Prosody in Swedish often varies substantially between different dialects including the spoken varieties of Standard Swedish. As in most languages, stress can be applied to emphasize certain words in a sentence. To some degree prosody may indicate questions, although less so than in English.
Phonotactics
At a minimum, a stressed syllable must consist of either a long vowel or a short vowel and a long consonant.[79] Like many other Germanic languages, Swedish has a tendency for closed syllables with a relatively large number of consonant clusters in initial as well as final position. Though not as complex as that of most Slavic languages, examples of up to 7 consecutive consonants can occur when adding Swedish inflections to some foreign loanwords or names, and especially when combined with the tendency of Swedish to make long compound nouns. The syllable structure of Swedish can therefore be described with the following formula:
(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)
This means that a Swedish one-syllable morpheme can have up to three consonants preceding the vowel that forms the nucleus of the syllable, and three consonants following it. Examples: skrämts/skrɛmts/ (verb 'scare' past participle, passive voice) or sprängts/sprɛŋts/ (verb 'explode' past participle, passive voice). All but one of the consonant phonemes, /ŋ/, can occur at the beginning of a morpheme, though there are only 6 possible three-consonant combinations, all of which begin with /s/, and a total of 31 initial two-consonant combinations. All consonants except for /h/ and /ɕ/ can occur finally, and the total number of possible final two-consonant clusters is 62.
In some cases this can result in very complex combinations, such as in västkustskt/ˈvɛ̂stˌkɵstskt/ⓘ, consisting of västkust ('west coast') with the adjective suffix-sk and the neuter suffix -t.[80]
Central Standard Swedish and most other Swedish dialects feature a rare "complementary quantity" feature[81] wherein a phonologically short consonant follows a long vowel and a long consonant follows a short vowel; this is true only for stressed syllables and all segments are short in unstressed syllables.[34][37] This arose from the historical shift away from a system with a four-way contrast (that is, VːCː, VC, VːC and VCː were all possible) inherited from Proto-Germanic to a three-way one (VC, VːC and VCː), and finally the present two-way one; certain Swedish dialects have not undergone these shifts and exhibit one of the other two phonotactic systems instead.[82] In literature on Swedish phonology, there are a number of ways to transcribe complementary relationship, including:[83]
A length mark ː for either the vowel (/viːt/)[84] or the consonant (/vitː/)[85]
Gemination of the consonant (/vit/ vs. /vitt/)
Diphthongization of the vowel (/vijt/ vs. /vit/)
The position of the stress marker (/viˈt/ vs. /vitˈ/)
With the conventional assumption that medial long consonants are ambisyllabic (that is, penna ('pen'), is syllabified as [ˈpɛ̂n.na]), all stressed syllables are thus "heavy".[83] In unstressed syllables, the distinction is lost between /u/ and /o/ or between /e//ɛ/.[29] With each successive post-stress syllable, the number of contrasting vowels decreases gradually with distance from the point of stress; at three syllables from stress, only [a] and [ɛ] occur.[80]
The sample text is a reading of The North Wind and the Sun. The transcriptions are based on the section on Swedish found in The Handbook on the International Phonetic Association, in which a man in his forties from Stockholm is recorded reading out the traditional fable in a manner typical of Central Standard Swedish as spoken in his area. The broad transcription is phonemic, while the narrow is phonetic.[86]
Nordanvinden och solen tvistade en gång om vem av dem som var starkast. Just då kom en vandrare vägen fram, insvept i en varm kappa. De kom då överens om att den som först kunde få vandraren att ta av sig kappan, han skulle anses vara starkare än den andra. Då blåste nordanvinden så hårt han någonsin kunde, men ju hårdare han blåste, desto tätare svepte vandraren kappan om sig, och till slut gav nordanvinden upp försöket. Då lät solen sina strålar skina helt varmt och genast tog vandraren av sig kappan, och så var nordanvinden tvungen att erkänna att solen var den starkaste av de två.
^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 292. The symbols "i" and "e" used in the original citation were changed to /iː/ and /eː/ to keep this article consistent.
^Those south of Kalmar, Jönköping and Falkenberg; a little north of these cities, a uvular rhotic appears in initial position and as a long consonant (Andersson 2002, p. 273).
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Further reading
Bolander, Maria (2001), Funktionell svensk grammatik (1st ed.), Liber AB, ISBN9789147050543
Dahlstedt, Karl-Hampus (1967), Svårigheter i svenskans uttal, Modersmålslärarnas förening
Garlén, Claes (2003), Svenska Språknämndens Uttalsordbok, Svenska Språknämnden, ISBN978-9172273092
Hedelin, Per (1997), Norstedts Svenska Uttalslexikon, Norstedts Ordbok, ISBN9789119711229