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Articles by Elin Asklöv
5 Tips To Learn Swedish From A Polyglot
Swedish is one of the easier languages for an English native speaker to learn, with a lot of vocabulary and grammar in common. Still, there are some tricky components, from the melodic rhythm to complicated compounds.
The 20 Most Common Adjectives In Swedish
Adjectives are like spices: you’d survive without them, but life would be awfully bleak. That’s why we’ve created this list of some of the most common Swedish adjectives to spice up your sentences with.
7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Valentine’s Day In France
In the city of love, Valentine’s Day is actually exclusively for lovers. February 10, 2023 Although Valentine’s Day is, for the most part, a global holiday with certain localized traditions, Valentine’s Day in Minnesota doesn’t look all that different from Valentine’s Day in France — on the surface, at least. You’ll see florists selling red roses, couples out on fancy restaurant dates and storefronts decorated in hearts and cupids. What’s not to love?
The 20 Most Common Norwegian Verbs (And How To Use Them)
Language learning is hard and involves a lot of complicated grammar rules, right? Not when it comes to Norwegian verbs! Here’s some good news about Norwegian: its verbs are actually really easy to master. (Really? Yes, really!) Norwegian verbs are not conjugated according to who or what is doing the action. Unlike in English or other European languages you may have experience with, they stay the same regardless of the subject. On top of that, Norwegian has just one form for the present tense.
Swedish ‘Hen’ Is Here To Stay: The Success Of A Made-Up Gender-Neutral Pronoun
For a long time in Swedish, you had to choose between the masculine ‘han’ and feminine ‘hon’ pronouns. The Swedish ‘hen’ is changing that. June 2, 2022 This is the story of a very special little neologism, born in Sweden to Finnish parents: hen. The term — loved, hated, debated and famous worldwide — has become a symbol for Sweden as a pioneer in gender and LGBTQ rights. But what is its actual impact? Is it merely a trend, or is it here to stay? And, at the end of the day, what’s in a word?
Gender-Neutral English, Dear? We’ve Been Using It For Centuries!
If you might’ve noticed, there’s a war going on. A war of words — about words. The debate is taking place on many fronts, in many languages — from Miami to Mecca and Beirut to Berlin. In the press, at universities, in politics, online and in the bedroom, speakers of Arabic, French, Spanish and German (to name just a few), are campaigning for a linguistic revolution.
14 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Valentine’s Day Traditions Around The World
Black noodles, suggestive spoons and pig presents? Sign us up. February 6, 2023 In the grander scheme of Valentine’s Day around the world, this celebration of love wasn’t always the commercial holiday we celebrate today — nor is it always presently accompanied by the classic American Valentine’s Day traditions of roses, cards, chocolates and inflated prix fixe menu prices.
The 6 Best Films To Learn Swedish
From children’s films to black comedy, period dramas and, of course, crime series, there are Swedish movies for anyone interested in learning Swedish — especially if you like something outside of mainstream cinema. Here at Babbel, we’ve chosen eight of our favorites to help you learn about Swedish language and culture. Who knows — maybe they’ll even open up a (Swedish) dialogue to help you practice the words and phrases you’re learning! Pass the popcorn, and let’s get started.
A History Of Valentine’s Day Words And Symbols
February 14 is a day people either excitedly look forward to or dread for weeks in advance. Its focus on romantic love can be annoying to anyone not in a relationship, and even happily coupled people may find the expectations stressful. This hasn’t stopped Valentine’s Day from becoming one of the most commercialized and symbol-heavy holidays. While greeting card companies are the biggest drivers of Valentine’s Day decor today, the holiday stretches back hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
12 Romantic Movies From Around The World For Valentine’s Day
There are lots of great movies out there with love as the central theme. And as it turns out, quite a few of them come with subtitles. With a little help from Babbel’s international team, we’ve compiled a list of must-watch romantic movies that happen to be in another language. We’ve also included where to find them if they’re currently available for streaming in the United States (because it varies by country).
How To Compliment Someone In Swedish
At some stage in your language learning journey, and likely at an early one, you’re going to find yourself reaching for more linguistic skills to help you make friends, navigate real-life interactions and leave a good impression on people you’ve met. Unless you’re only learning Swedish to know how to better insult people, learning a few Swedish compliments will always be worth your time.
Can The French Language Adapt To Gender-Neutral Pronouns?
For many languages that don’t already have gender-neutral pronouns built into their grammar — the most common exceptions being languages like Indonesian and Turkish, which only have one pronoun for everyone to begin with — gender-neutral pronouns are often fairly recent inventions that are in various stages of gaining traction and widespread acceptance.
5 Very Good, Very Specific Tips To Learn Danish
Have you always wanted to watch The Bridge without English subtitles or maybe order your danish in Danish (see what I did there)? Maybe you’ve fallen in love with Copenhagen or are moving there soon and want to master the language. Whatever your motivation, here are my top five tips to learn Danish for English speakers. The Best Tips To Learn Danish Focus On The Similarities One of the perks of learning a language as an adult is that you already know how to read.
What Does It Mean To Be Bilingual?
Depending on where you live, bilingualism can be either the norm, a special talent certain people have, a mark of identity or any number of other things. It might seem like being bilingual is a simple idea: it’s just someone who speaks two different languages. Yet what it really means to be bilingual culturally and psychologically has a lot more nuance, and it deserves some exploration. What Is Bilingualism? Everybody’s got a different opinion on what being bilingual really means.
Winter Traditions In Sweden And Russia
In northern Europe, certain winter traditions are crucial for surviving the dark, cold season. Imagine waking up and going to work in pitch darkness. Just before lunchtime, the sun is rising, only to set again some time after your lunch break. You go home from work in darkness and wake up again fourteen hours later — still in the dark. It may not sound very appealing, but this is what winter is like for large parts of northern Europe.
The Scandinavian Languages: Three For The Price Of One?
Illustration by Victoria Fernandez. Ah, Scandinavia! Vast, untouched nature. Dried, pickled fish everywhere you turn. Was that a blonde mermaid riding by on a moose? It’s hard to see with all the Alexander Skarsgård-lookalikes walking around and speaking such a characteristically melodic language. But what is this language or, rather, languages? What, exactly, is the difference between Swedish, Danish and Norwegian?
13 Extremely Useful Swedish Words And Phrases (And How To Use Them)
Speaking a language is about more than knowing enough words and mastering the grammar — it’s also about those strange yet specific phrases and sayings that your teacher wouldn’t tell you. That’s why we’ll try to explain here what it means to be sugen, when you ask Läget? And why — trust me on this one — personal taste is like a person’s backside. Here are some of the most useful Swedish phrases if you want to sound like a native.
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