How many people speak swedish

Wikijunior:Languages/Swedish

Contents

What writing system(s) does this language use? [ edit | edit source ]

The Swedish alphabet uses the 26 letters of English, and å, ä, and ö being categorised as separate letters, alphabetised after z. This is the alphabet, then:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Å Ä Ö

The letters q, w, and z are more often seen in names and foreign words than in words that are native to Swedish.

How many people speak this language? [ edit | edit source ]

Swedish is spoken natively by about 10 million (10,000,000) people.

Where is this language spoken? [ edit | edit source ]

Swedish is spoken primarily in Sweden, where it is the native language. However, it is a minority language in Finland because Finland was once part of Sweden and a part of the Finnish population speaks both Finnish and Swedish as a native language. Sweden has Swedish as their official language, while Finland has Swedish as their official language alongside with Finnish.

What is the history of this language? [ edit | edit source ]

Around the 9th century, Old Norse began to split into Old West Norse (which was spoken in Norway and Iceland) and Old East Norse (spoken in Sweden and Denmark). In the 12th century, the dialects spoken in Denmark and Sweden began to diverge even more, becoming Old Danish and Old Swedish in the 13th century: Old Swedish developed into the Swedish spoken today.

Who are some famous authors or poets in this language? [ edit | edit source ]

Probably the best known Swedish children’s book is Pippi Longstocking (Pippi Långstrump in Swedish) by Astrid Lindgren. This book has been translated into 70 languages! Astrid Lindgren also wrote Karlsson-on-the-Roof (Karlsson på taket), Mio, my Mio (Mio, min Mio), and many other stories for children.

Tove Jansson was from Finland, but she wrote books in Swedish. She created a series of children’s books about the Moomins (Mumintrollen), a family of creatures called Moomin trolls. The Moomins live in their house in the Moomin valley (Mumindalen), though in the past their residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre.

Some authors writing for an adult audience are:

What are some basic words and phrases in this language that I can learn? [ edit | edit source ]

What is a simple song/poem/story that I can learn in this language? [ edit | edit source ]

The national anthem of Sweden [ edit | edit source ]

In Swedish [ edit | edit source ]

Du gamla, Du fria, Du fjällhöga nord
Du tysta, Du glädjerika sköna!
Jag hälsar Dig, vänaste land uppå jord,
Din sol, Din himmel, Dina ängder gröna.

Du tronar på minnen från fornstora dar,
då ärat Ditt namn flög över jorden.
Jag vet att Du är och förblir vad Du var.
Ja, jag vill leva jag vill dö i Norden.

In English [ edit | edit source ]

You ancient, You free, You mountainous north
You serene, You – full of joy and beauty!
I greet You, fairest land on earth,
Your sun, Your sky, Your green landscapes.

You dwell on the memories of great ancient days,
when, honoured, Your name flew across the earth.
I know that You are and will remain what You were.
Yes, I want to live, I want to die in Norden.*

*Norden is the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian name of the Nordic countries.

Du har tappat ditt ord, a poem from Bartfotabarn (1933) by Nils Ferlin [ edit | edit source ]

* I livet («in life») can also mean alive.

How Many People Speak Swedish and Its’ Different Dialects? (Stats)

You probably know that Sweden isn’t a very common language in the rest of the world, but do you know how many people actually speak Swedish and its’ different dialects?

If you’d like to find out, I’ve gathered all the latest data on how many speakers of Swedish and all of the Swedish dialects there currently are. Let’s dive right in!

How Many People Speak Swedish in the World?

Around 10.85 million people around the world speak Swedish as their first language as of March 2022, with almost all of them (10.45 million) living in Sweden and the others scattered around in Finland (263 000), USA (76 000), Åland (26 000), Canada (17 000), and Estonia (13 990). This makes Swedish one of the 100 most spoken languages in the world.

Sources: SCB, World Bank, ISOF, Institute for Nordic languages at Uppsala University (data collected in March 2022)

In addition to the above, there is an estimated 26 000 people studying Swedish around the world, primarily in Germany.

How Many People Speak Swedish in Sweden?

There are an estimated 10.45 million people who speak Swedish in Sweden, as of March 2022.

How Many Swedish Dialects are There?

There are six main dialect categories within the Swedish language, each containing more specific regional variations:

Gotland dialects (Gutnish or Gutemål):

Number of speakers: 60 001

Gotland, an island located off the east coast of Sweden, has its own dialects that are unique from the rest of Sweden. The dialects on Gotland stem from Old Gutnish, while Swedish primarily stems from Old East Norse.

Götaland dialects (Geatish or Götamål)

Number of speakers: 2 985 559

The Götaland dialects are spoken in the western parts of the country, and include Götamål (Geatish), Göteborgska (Gothenburg dialect), Bohuslänska (Bohuslan dialect), and Mellansvenska (Middle Swedish).

Norrland dialects

Number of speakers: 1 185 781

Norrland dialects are spoken in the northern parts of Sweden. There are several different dialects that are spoken in Norrland, and they all have their own unique features. Varieties include Norrbottensmål, Västerbottniska, Nybyggarmål, Ångermanländska, Jämtmål, Medelpadsmål

Svealand dialects

Number of speakers: 4 232 319

Svealand dialects are spoken in the eastern parts of Sweden. Uppland is the center of the Sveamål dialects, and the Svea area can be divided into four different sub-groups: Uppsvenska, Bergslagsmål, Mellansvenska, and Dalmål.

South-Swedish dialects (Skånemål/Scanian, Halländska, Blekingemål, Sydsmåländska)

Number of speakers: 1 402 425 (Scanian), 340 243 (Halländska), 158 937 (Blekingska)

The Scanian dialects are spoken in the southern parts of Sweden, and are usually split into three groups: Skånska, Blekingska, and Halländska. Skånska is spoken in the region of Scania, Belkingska in Blekinge, and Halländska in the region of Halland.

East-Swedish dialects (Finland & Estonia)

There are a few different Swedish dialects spoken in Finland and Estonia. The Finnish dialects are spoken in the western parts of Finland, while the Estonian dialects are slowly dying as most Swedish-speakers left Estonia during the second world war.

How Many Languages are Spoken in Sweden?

Swedish is the primary and most popular language spoken in Sweden, with around 97% of the population speaking it either as their first or second language.

Sweden also has numerous minority languages that are considered national languages: Finnish, Sami, Meänkieli, Yiddish, and Romani as minority national languages in Sweden. They have been spoken for so long in Sweden that they are considered part of the Swedish cultural heritage at this point.

In all, there are an estimated 200 languages spoken by minorities in Sweden, including English, German, Arabic, Polish, Spanish, Kurdish, Somali, Danish, and Norwegian.

This rich linguistic diversity is a reflection of Sweden’s recent immigration policies which have brought people from all over the world to live in Sweden.

Is Swedish a Dying Language?

There are currently around 10.85 million people in the world who speak Swedish as their first language, so it’s fair to say that Swedish is still a fairly common language. Swedish is mutually intelligible to Danish and Norwegian (at least in written form), and also the most commonly spoken North Germanic language.

Out of all European languages, Swedish is the 14th-most spoken language, just behind Greek.

It should be noted that the Nordic region as a whole is seeing increasing use of English as a common language instead of learning each other’s Nordic languages properly.

This is following the global trend of embracing English as a lingua franca of the world (a global means of inter-community communication), but does not mean that the Swedish, Danish or Norwegian languages are going anywhere.

What Languages Are Spoken In Sweden?

Swedish is the official language of Sweden.

In the past, Sweden occupied greater territory than what it does today. Hence, the modern linguistic landscape of the country is greatly different from its historic linguistic landscape. The Swedish language, treated as the official language of Sweden evolved around the 14th and 15th century from Old Norse. The language has several dialects spoken in various parts of the country. The formally recognized minority languages spoken in Sweden include Finnish, Meänkieli, Yiddish, Sami, and Romani. German was the most important foreign language of Sweden prior to the Second World War after which English replaced German as the dominant foreign language spoken in the country.

Official Language Of Sweden

Swedish is the official language of Sweden and is held in high regard in the country. Nearly the entire population of Sweden speak Swedish with most speaking it as a first language and the rest as a second language. The Swedish language is a North Germanic language that closely resembles Norwegian and Danish. The language is also given an official status in Finland where it is spoken by the ethnic Swedes of Finland. Swedish is also spoken in other countries by the ethnic Swedes. In the US, Swedish is spoken by about half a million people with a Swedish ancestry.

Several different dialects of Swedish are spoken in various parts of Sweden. These include:

Minority Languages Of Sweden

Five minority languages have been formally recognized in Sweden since 1999. They are as follows:

Finnish

The Finnish language has been spoken for many generations of ethnic Finns in Sweden. The fact that Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom for centuries makes Finnish one of the oldest minority languages of Sweden. About 5% of the population of Sweden comprises of ethnic Fins and Finnish is spoken by about 470,000 speakers in the country. A majority (about 16,000) of the Finnish speakers of Sweden reside in Norrbotten.

Meänkieli

The Meänkieli is a Finnic language so closely related to Finnish that it is often treated as a dialect of Finnish. The language is spoken as a first language by about 40,000 to 70,000 speakers in the Torne Valley region of Sweden. These people are called the Tornedalian people.

The Sami languages are spoken by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. These languages are Uralic languages. The Sami languages feature a significant number of loanwords from Germanic languages like Finnish, Swedish, etc. Three different Sami languages are spoken in Sweden. These languages are spoken by about 9,000 of the 15,000 to 20,000 Sami people living in Sweden. The Sami language speakers of Sweden are mainly found in the municipalities of Kiruna, Arjeplog, Jokkmokk, and Gällivare.

Romani

The Romani language is a language spoken by the Romani people. These people are a nomadic group tracing their origins to northern India. The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language and is closely related to the languages spoken in northern India. Since the Romani people have a nomadic lifestyle, no particular area in Sweden can be designated as a Romani-speaking region. The language is, however, given significant importance in the country with the Swedish government promoting plans to preserve the Romani language.

Yiddish

Yiddish is a Germanic language spoken mainly by the Ashkenazic Jews. Traditionally, Sweden served as the home of the Sephardic Jews but the Ashkenazic Jews immigrated to the country after the 18th century and introduced the Yiddish language in the country. The language is written using a variant of the Hebrew Alphabet. The Swedish government gives considerable attention to the preservation of this language in the country. Most of the Yiddish speakers in Sweden are adults. 2,000 to 6,000 of the 20,000 strong Jew population in Sweden claim to have some knowledge of Yiddish. The Society of Yiddish and Yiddish Culture in Sweden has been established with the aim of promoting the use of the language in the country.

Immigrant Languages Spoken In Sweden

Immigrants to Sweden speak their native languages. Sweden attracts a large number of workers, especially from the countries of Southern Europe. Thus Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Turkish are some of the languages spoken by the immigrant settlers in Sweden. These languages are known as the immigrant languages of Sweden.

Foreign Languages Spoken In Sweden

German

The German language was quite popular in Sweden for the period extending from the Middle Ages to the end of the Second World War. During this time, Sweden had close connections with Germany. Many Swedish pioneering intellectuals were educated in the universities in Germany and they helped spread the knowledge of German in Sweden. However, all changed after World War II and the defeat of the Germans. Sweden now attempted to maintain a distance with Germany and the huge popularity of the German language in the country was lost. Soon English became a more popular foreign language of Sweden. Currently, German is no longer a compulsory second language taught in schools but is usually offered as an elective language in educational institutions.

English

A large section of the Swedish population speaks English. The language is most commonly spoken by the younger generations who were born after the Second World War. The trade links of Sweden with English-speaking nations, the strong American influence, overseas travel to English-speaking countries, and cultural interchange have increased the popularity of English in Sweden. Since 1952, studying English has been made compulsory for all students in the country.

Other Foreign Languages Spoken In Sweden

French and Spanish are offered as additional languages in school. There are also plans to introduce Mandarin as an additional language. Danish and Norwegian is also taught on certain occasions to native Swedish speakers.

Should I Learn Swedish or Norwegian? (Answered with Data & Graphs)

When you’re deciding to learn a Scandinavian language the choice is usually between Swedish and Norwegian, as Danish is a lot harder to learn and understand. I’ve seen many who battle with this decision so I wanted to go through some areas that can help you choose.

I put my own biases aside and set out to look for relevant data from the Nordic region to find which language would be of most use to anyone who is looking to learn a Scandinavian language. I looked at which language was most widely understood in the Nordic region, most widely spoken natively, perceived as most beautiful, and most likely to lead to opportunities in general.

So which language should you learn, Swedish or Norwegian?

Swedish is the most useful Scandinavian language to learn as it’s the most widely understood among young Nordics, who also perceive it as the most beautiful language. Swedish also offers more opportunities to practice and utilize the language, with twice as many native speakers than any other Nordic language.

Norwegian is not far behind in usefulness though and is slightly easier to learn, but it comes in just behind Swedish in how widely understood it is in the Nordics and how beautiful it is perceived. There are plenty of lower-income Norwegian jobs for foreign workers, but ultimately there is only half the number of native speakers.

Why You Should Learn Swedish Instead of Norwegian

1. Swedish is understood by more young people in the Nordics

Let’s take a look at which language would be of most use for you. Let’s assume that the most useful is the same as the one that is most widely understood. Over 2000 young people in the Nordic countries were recently asked how well they understand the different Nordic languages, and Swedish clearly stood out as the language most understood across the region.

Get in to the Viking spirit at home

Learn the meaning of the Viking runes with this full set of 16 + 1 Old Norse rune prints.

Get Them Now

“Which languages in addition to the main national language do you speak and/or write?”

Source: Nordic Council 2021

19% of young Nordics answered that they speak and/or write Swedish in addition to their main national language, compared to Norwegian at 6% and Danish at 4%.

Swedish being more widely spoken among the younger Nordic population is influenced by Finland having a Swedish-speaking minority as well as Swedish as a recognized minority language, but also the relatively high number of Swedish speakers in both Norway and Denmark.

In comparison, only 7% and 2% of Swedes claim to speak and/or write Norwegian and Danish respectively.

2. More people speak Swedish than any other language in the Nordics

There are about 10 million people speaking Swedish natively, which is the most out of all the Nordic languages. Having more native speakers, you’ll likely find more opportunities for expats and foreigners in general with Swedish, compared to any of the other Nordic languages.

With more Swedish native speakers you’ll have more opportunities to practice, learn, and use the language, you will be more likely to find learning resources, and you’ll likely find more media you can consume such as tv series, movies, and books.

Source: WorldData 2021

3. There are more Swedish career opportunities than Norwegian

Sweden has plenty of multinational businesses such as Volvo, IKEA, H&M, Spotify, or Ericsson offering an unusually (for the region) high amount of career opportunities for expats, making it a good choice for professionals looking to relocate or look for jobs abroad.

Number of English-speaking jobs available

Source: Glassdoor & LinkedIn 2021

Looking at the number of English-speaking jobs available in each country, at the time of writing there are 569 in Sweden and 88 in Norway listed on Glassdoor, and 302 in Stockholm (capital of Sweden) compared to 53 in Oslo (capital of Norway) listed on LinkedIn.

This should give a good idea of how many job opportunities there are for foreign workers in each respective country (even though your goal of course would be to find any type of job, not just English-speaking ones).

4. Swedish is perceived as the most beautiful Scandinavian language

A group of mixed Scandinavian students studying abroad at a Scandinavian language school was asked how they thought each Scandinavian language sounded, and overall they thought Swedish sounded best, followed by Norwegian, Finland-Swedish, and Danish.

78.2% of respondents described Swedish as sounding “very nice”, 13% thought it sounded “average”, and finally 4.3% described Swedish as sounding “very ugly”. The Norwegian language sounded slightly more average to the respondents, with 60.8% saying it sounded “very nice”, 26.1% “average”, and 8.7% “very ugly”.

“How do you think other Scandinavian languages sound?”

Source: Nordisk grannspråksförståelse i en skandinavisk skola utomlands, Hidayet Yalcin 2015

Although the sample size was quite small in the study, my general experience is that these preferences are largely mirrored in the general Scandinavian population. Swedes and Norwegians do not find Danish very beautiful, whereas both Swedish and Norwegian respectively are generally well-liked in the other two Scandinavian countries.

5. Swedish is easy to learn for English speakers

This one goes in both languages’ favor, to be fair. The Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian) are all comparably easy to learn for an English speaker, as they are also part of the Germanic language group, and considered Category 1 languages according to FSI (meaning they would take around 23-24 weeks to reach fluency).

Norwegian and Swedish specifically were ranked as the easiest and second easiest language to learn when language-learning resource Babbel ranked the easiest languages to learn for English-speakers, making them a perfect choice for someone who wants to dabble with a second (or third) language.

What Are the Languages Spoken in Sweden?

Written by Bernadine Racoma

Languages

February 19, 2021

While many people call the country Sweden, its official name is the Kingdom of Sweden, which covers the 4th largest land area in Europe. Sweden is home to more than 10 million people. The country is attractive to many people from Europe and other countries because it has one of the world’s highest standards of living.

The country was once one of the greatest military powers in the world, feared by neighboring countries. Despite that, Sweden remained a neutral country during WWI and WWII. Although most of the world is at peace, Swedish law requires its citizens from age 19 to complete military service for 15 months. A prosperous country, Sweden has several prominent technology and manufacturing companies, such as Electrolux, IKEA, Saab, Volvo, Ericsson, and Scania trucks.

What are the languages spoken in Sweden?

Sweden has an official language, several minor languages, and a variety of immigrant languages.

The official language is Swedish, which most inhabitants of the country speak. However, English is also widely spoken.

Swedish is a North Germanic language, which is similar to Norwegian and Danish. Many Swedes are multilingual. Considering the other regional, immigrant and indigenous languages such as the Sámi languages, about 200 languages are spoken in Sweden.

The Minority Language Committee of Sweden formally declared five minority languages in 1999.

The Swedish parliament (Riksdag) recognized Swedish as the country’s main and common language only in 2009, as well as confirming the official status of the five minority languages declared in 1999, with Swedish Sign Language included in the confirmation.

Many Swedes are fluent in English, especially those who were born at the end of the First World War.

Some people want to include Mandarin Chinese. And there were continuing and contradicting proposals to make English a transcultural language or the country’s second language.

Whether English becomes a second language in Sweden officially, the Swedes are undeniably the best English speakers in the world, which was recognized by EF English First, a language proficiency company in 2012 and 2013.

Can you live in Sweden by only speaking English?

The answer to the question is yes and no.

If you are an expat, it is all right because there are several places where people speak and understand English. In fact, some places use English as a second language. And mind you, the English they speak is of a high standard.

However, it is likewise more convenient to learn some important Swedish words and phrases. For example, learn to say kan vi gör det här på engelska, which is Swedish for “can we do this in English” and kan vi gör det här på engelska or can you speak English.

Many shows on TV are popular shows from England and the United States. The same is true for radio stations and popular music. Further, many of the shops have staff that speak English, so, you can still get by.

When it comes to public transport, the situation is different because it is dependent on where you choose to go. On the SL transport network, most of the workers speak English, and transport information is available in English and Swedish.

However, if you are planning to stay in Sweden for six months or longer, the Swedes expect you to know and understand the language. The Swedes will forgive you if you are not that fluent, but you should make the effort to learn the official language.

You can learn Swedish easily. The government supports two programs meant to help non-Swedes learn their language. You can access free basic and intermediate courses from Swedish as a Second Language (SaaS) and Swedish for Immigrants (SFI).

Learning the Swedish language

While you can get by without speaking Swedish if you’re staying in Sweden, it is necessary to learn the language so that you can know the Swedish people deeper. At the same time, you will understand their culture and the things that are happening each day.

Here are more reasons:

Are Swedish and German languages the same?

German and Swedish belong to the Indo-European language family. However, German is from the West-Germanic branch while Swedish is from the North Germanic branch. Since they are from the same language family, the two languages are related, but they are not mutually intelligible, like most of the languages from the same language family where English belongs.

In fact, Swedish is more similar to English. However, German and Swedish share some common vocabulary terms because they come from similar roots. Swedish has two genders while German has three. There are no cases in Swedish. German has four. Typically, German is spoken monotonously while Swedish pronunciation is akin to ”singing.”

The two languages differ in the pronunciation of the alphabet. Many letter combinations in German are pronounced separately. Likewise, some Swedish letter combinations produce unique sounds.

Regarding vocabulary, the two languages have similarities. For example, apple in English is äpple in Swedish and Appfel in German. Ship in English becomes Shiff in German and skepp in Swedish. Do you see the pattern? Some letters, like F, D, T, Z, and K replace the specific letters in the other language. Both languages differ in gender, the use of articles, cases, verb inflections, and predicate adjectives.