The SAS | EuroBonus Forum Kafé
Aug 21, 2016, 8:23 am
#3481
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Absolutely and a logical development as the world gets smaller. Swedes will benefit from having a good grip on the English language considerably more than when their second language would be Danish.
Aug 21, 2016, 8:49 am
#3482
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I often find that Swedes have more difficulty with Danish than vice versa. But it also depends a bit how much they are hearing the opposite language, and where they are from.
The numbers are a funny case, if people interact on a fairly regular basis with Danes I find it weird that they don't get used to the numbers. The logic is different, but then again learning a new language it usually only takes the first lesson or two to get the numbers.
The numbers are a funny case, if people interact on a fairly regular basis with Danes I find it weird that they don't get used to the numbers. The logic is different, but then again learning a new language it usually only takes the first lesson or two to get the numbers.
However, with German and now Danish comprension, I can read Swedish pretty well to understand it - although understanding spoken Swedish would be more of a problem. However, I haven't had much exposure to Swedish, and our Swedish clients speak English with us - especially when we try to speak in Danish!
Well - numbering in Danish is a bit off-putting, especially if you use logical languages such as German and English as your languages for numbering...halvtreds, for instance!
Icelandic and Faroese can understand each other, you can hear them arguing about sheep vs reindeer herding in Danish dormitory. I asked my tour guide while I was on a local tour in Iceland about Icelandic and Faroese and he said they can talk to each other and understand each other, I gues it's like Swedish and Danish.
Both Icelandic and Faroese can kind of speak Danish as it's their second language. I was told that Icelandic is ancient Danish that Danes spoke about 1000 years ago. It's true because you can see Jelling stone and some other Viking ruin had those old words on it.
Both Icelandic and Faroese can kind of speak Danish as it's their second language. I was told that Icelandic is ancient Danish that Danes spoke about 1000 years ago. It's true because you can see Jelling stone and some other Viking ruin had those old words on it.
I have a hard time with people calling Swedish and Danish similar languages or that two people who speak both can communicate with each other. I don't find that to be the reality today, perhaps with older generations but at least folks from Stockholm and specifically younger ones really struggle with spoken Danish. To the extend that most meetings between Swedish and Danish businesses is typically done in English today, at least in my experience.
There is a considerably smaller gap between spoken Swedish and Norwegian than there is between spoken Swedish and Danish. Folks from the rural southern parts of Sweden will be having an easier time with Danish because the dialect is closer.
Written the languages are very similar but it is amazing how some countries/regions have developed dialects that butcher the languages into barbarian grunting.
There is a considerably smaller gap between spoken Swedish and Norwegian than there is between spoken Swedish and Danish. Folks from the rural southern parts of Sweden will be having an easier time with Danish because the dialect is closer.
Written the languages are very similar but it is amazing how some countries/regions have developed dialects that butcher the languages into barbarian grunting.
That is not my experience. The younger Skanska dialect types seem to struggle with Danish in a way their parents or grandparents didn't. The exception are those who work/study in or have family/friends from Denmark. It's the Stockholm and Gothenburg Swedes who seem to publicly take less issue with understanding Danish, when sort of controlling for prior exposure to Danish in their social life.
I think part of the issue is that even as the bridge has closed the gap between the countries, media consumption has become more Swedish+English when several decades ago it was more Swedish+Danish than it is now.
I think part of the issue is that even as the bridge has closed the gap between the countries, media consumption has become more Swedish+English when several decades ago it was more Swedish+Danish than it is now.
In fact, I have found that the Jysk dialect incorporates Swedish sayings - but now that the younger generation has been exposed to their national Danish due to technology/ease of communication, etc., they now would not have *any* exposure to Swedish unless they work/live in the summer vacation/beach areas where the Swedes might visit. (Or travel/work there and/or live near CPH, which apparently is overrun by Swedes from the north...)
I wonder why you would say this - I can understand vaguely based on my comment above, but can you elucidate on this point?
Last edited by SuperFlyBoy; Aug 21, 2016 at 9:03 am
Aug 21, 2016, 11:26 am
#3483
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CPH
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That is not my experience. The younger Skanska dialect types seem to struggle with Danish in a way their parents or grandparents didn't. The exception are those who work/study in or have family/friends from Denmark. It's the Stockholm and Gothenburg Swedes who seem to publicly take less issue with understanding Danish, when sort of controlling for prior exposure to Danish in their social life.
I think part of the issue is that even as the bridge has closed the gap between the countries, media consumption has become more Swedish+English when several decades ago it was more Swedish+Danish than it is now.
I think part of the issue is that even as the bridge has closed the gap between the countries, media consumption has become more Swedish+English when several decades ago it was more Swedish+Danish than it is now.
I often find that Swedes have more difficulty with Danish than vice versa. But it also depends a bit how much they are hearing the opposite language, and where they are from.
The numbers are a funny case, if people interact on a fairly regular basis with Danes I find it weird that they don't get used to the numbers. The logic is different, but then again learning a new language it usually only takes the first lesson or two to get the numbers.
The numbers are a funny case, if people interact on a fairly regular basis with Danes I find it weird that they don't get used to the numbers. The logic is different, but then again learning a new language it usually only takes the first lesson or two to get the numbers.
Danish numbers is like German numbers - which is difficult if you are not used to the system - unit comes before the tens. However the halvtreds and halvfems are just unique.
When Mr. has meeting with fellow Scandinavians, they will only switch to English if there are Finns present - otherwise they will use their own language and they seem to be able to understand each other.
Mr. did use some Swedish textbook for university courses - he said it took longer to read but no problem in understand it and to pass an exam.
So if Swedish belong to Eastern Scandinavian language, what about Finnish? Also what about the language the people from Lapland uses? Scandinavian?
Aug 21, 2016, 11:38 am
#3484
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Finnish is not a Scandinavian language. It's in the Finno-Ugric group and was more closely related to Estonian and even Hungarian (and some may jokingly say even Japanese) than it is to Swedish.
Aug 21, 2016, 12:12 pm
#3485
Join Date: Sep 2005
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(Okay, he did spend time in Japan, but...)Here's an interesting post: http://blogs.transparent.com/swedish...t-about-skane/
Are they Danes at heart??
Aug 21, 2016, 1:33 pm
#3486
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The relationship between Finnish and Japanese must be in very theoretic linguistics. Or highly jokingly...
Aug 21, 2016, 2:16 pm
#3487
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I think so. If they have a referendum now to whether stay in Sweden or be part of Denmark, I think I know the outcome.
Skane has been under Danish rule for a long time, and for people in Skane, Copenhagen is a lot closer than Stockholm. With the Swedish government's crazy policy of checking ID between Swedish and Danish border and the other side of the oresund is more prosperous I think a lot of people here are not exactly happy with the politician in Stockholm.
Aug 21, 2016, 3:42 pm
#3488
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The police haven't checked my ID/passport on arrival by train in Sweden on most of my trips this month. The ID checking by train company-retained contractors at CPH? Yes, that continues. Amusingly, a few days ago they asked some passport-presenting American parent if the accompanying English-speaking child was the parent's; they didn't check the child's ID/passport; right thereafter the kid burst out laughing and said: "that's funny, don't they know you're my dad?".
I used to hang out with a bunch of academic linguistic research types. Became rather useful for me in other contexts. 
Last edited by GUWonder; Aug 21, 2016 at 3:50 pm
Aug 22, 2016, 12:25 am
#3489
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I'll have look in to that, speaking Japanese and knowing a bit about the grammatical flows of Finnish I am getting curious about that link. I guess it would lie in rhythm and intonation of the languages.
Aug 22, 2016, 1:18 am
#3490
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But others argued that the comparisons were a joke and a result of a fabricated Altaic language grouping.
Last edited by GUWonder; Aug 22, 2016 at 1:24 am
Aug 22, 2016, 2:51 am
#3491
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,979
Unbelievable... the CPH lounge lunch buffet is again a total disgrace (next to total overcrowding with a zoo a people). Not a single hot choice besides the mushy soup. Not even cup noodles.
And the cold options are as Scandinavian as it gets but remove the fun part... i.E. replace salmon with can tuna and make sure there are absolutely no cold cuts or cheeses available.
And the cold options are as Scandinavian as it gets but remove the fun part... i.E. replace salmon with can tuna and make sure there are absolutely no cold cuts or cheeses available.
Aug 22, 2016, 2:57 am
#3493
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,979
EDIT:// Okay, got cup noodle. At least... (just to rant... they replaced the old brand with a new one. Still decent and better than the curry soup.). And interessting enough, it seems most of the Danish people here seem to enjoy the 'frokost'... for me that's not even 'frukost'
Last edited by fassy; Aug 22, 2016 at 3:03 am
Aug 22, 2016, 3:22 am
#3495
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Unbelievable... the CPH lounge lunch buffet is again a total disgrace (next to total overcrowding with a zoo a people). Not a single hot choice besides the mushy soup. Not even cup noodles.
And the cold options are as Scandinavian as it gets but remove the fun part... i.E. replace salmon with can tuna and make sure there are absolutely no cold cuts or cheeses available.
And the cold options are as Scandinavian as it gets but remove the fun part... i.E. replace salmon with can tuna and make sure there are absolutely no cold cuts or cheeses available.