Learn how to talk about your nationality
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Jasmine: Hej, och hallå, this is Jasmine. |
| Morten: Hej, allihopa and welcome back. This is SwedishPod101.com. Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 4 - Talking Nationalities in Swedish. As usual, we have an exciting lesson ahead of that. |
| Jasmine: True that. |
| Morten: In this lesson, we'll look at how to talk about countries and nationalities. |
| Jasmine: Since this is pretty irregular in Swedish, we picked a few to focus on. |
| Morten: You'll find more examples and helpful links in the lesson focus. |
| Jasmine: The conversation takes place at James and Ewa's flat at Ostkupan student halls in Gothenburg. |
| Morten: Ostkupan, that's the name of the student halls, right? |
| Jasmine: Yes, it means cheese dish cover. |
| Morten: Wow, I supposed that says something about Swedish food stuffs. |
| Jasmine: That's right, but that's not what we're here to talk about, is it? |
| Morten: In this lesson James and talking to Ewa. |
| Jasmine: They're getting to know each other, so they talk casually over coffee. Let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Ewa: Hej, jag heter Ewa och kommer från Polen. Vad heter du? |
| James: Mitt namn är James, jag är engelsman. Och du är polack. |
| Ewa: Ursäkta, men vad betyder det? |
| James: På svenska säger man polack till folk från Polen. Och till mig från England, engelsman. |
| Ewa: Jaså, det visste jag inte. Så, jag är polack. Och till folk från Sverige, vad säger man då? |
| James: De kallas för svenskor. |
| Ewa: Jaha, jag hoppas jag får träffa många av dem snart. |
| Morten: Let's hear it slowly now. |
| Jasmine: Nu ska vi lyssna på den sakta versionen. |
| Ewa: Hej, jag heter Ewa och kommer från Polen. Vad heter du? |
| James: Mitt namn är James, jag är engelsman. Och du är polack. |
| Ewa: Ursäkta, men vad betyder det? |
| James: På svenska säger man polack till folk från Polen. Och till mig från England, engelsman. |
| Ewa: Jaså, det visste jag inte. Så, jag är polack. Och till folk från Sverige, vad säger man då? |
| James: De kallas för svenskor. |
| Ewa: Jaha, jag hoppas jag får träffa många av dem snart. |
| Morten: And now with the translation. |
| Jasmine: Och nu översättningen. |
| Ewa: Hej, jag heter Ewa och kommer från Polen. Vad heter du? |
| Morten: Hi, I am Ewa and I'm from Poland. And you? |
| James: Mitt namn är James, jag är engelsman. Och du är polack. |
| Morten: My name is James and I am an Englishman. And you're a Pole. |
| Ewa: Ursäkta, men vad betyder det? |
| Morten: I'm sorry, but what does that mean? |
| James: På svenska säger man polack till folk från Polen. Och till mig från England, engelsman. |
| Morten: In Swedish you say "Pole" for someone from Poland. And for me, from England, "Englishman." |
| Ewa: Jaså, det visste jag inte. Så, jag är polack. Och till folk från Sverige, vad säger man då? |
| Morten: OK, I didn't know that. So I am a Pole. And what do you call people from Sweden? |
| James: De kallas för svenskor. |
| Morten: They're called Swedes. |
| Ewa: Jaha, jag hoppas jag får träffa många av dem snart. |
| Morten: All right, I hope I will meet a lot of them soon. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Morten: So, we're back at the flats. This time, it's James and his new Polish flatmate. |
| Jasmine: Ewa, yes. And what do you need to do when you are new somewhere? |
| Morten: Meet people, make friends? |
| Jasmine: And for that, you'll have to make a bit of an effort. |
| Morten: How come? I thought Swedes are always open and easy to talk to. |
| Jasmine: They are, largely. |
| Morten: Okay, but what you're saying is that getting to know someone takes more effort and initiative than a quick conversation at some chance meeting. |
| Jasmine: Exactly. Swedes are open and friendly, but they tend to have fairly tight at social networks. |
| Morten: More so than other people? |
| Jasmine: Well, that's hard to judge, but yes. Many Swedes are in the same class with the same people for nine years or more. |
| Morten: Wow, that's a long time. I guess they get to know each other pretty well. |
| Jasmine: Yes. On top of that, Sweden is a small country. |
| Morten: Come on, it's huge. |
| Jasmine: In land area, maybe, but it's a small society. Mobility is still somewhat restricted. |
| Morten: As in people from the countryside have a tendency to stay there? |
| Jasmine: Yeah. Of course, some people do move to the big cities to work or study. |
| Morten: But they retain close contact with their old school friends? |
| Jasmine: A lot of people do, yes. |
| Morten: But what does this mean for our listeners? |
| Jasmine: Just get out there, be proactive in meeting people and don't give up. |
| Morten: Especially not after only a short while. |
| Jasmine: Keep trying and things will fall into place for you. |
| Morten: Good luck making new Swedish friends. And now, let's take a look at the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| First we have. |
| Jasmine: Mitt namn (ett) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: My name. |
| Jasmine: Mitt namn (ett) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Mitt namn (ett) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Säger (säga) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: To say (gerund form) |
| Jasmine: Säger (säga) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Säger (säga) [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Kalla för [natural native speed] |
| Morten: To call (something, not someone). |
| Jasmine: Kalla för [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Kalla för [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Polack [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Pole. |
| Jasmine: Polack [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Polack [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: An Engelsman [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Englishman. |
| Jasmine: An Engelsman [slowly - broken down by syllable]. An Engelsman [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Snart [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Soon. |
| Jasmine: Snart [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Snart [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: Vad betyder det? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: What does that mean? |
| Jasmine: Vad betyder det? [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Vad betyder det? [natural native speed] |
| Morten: Next, we have. |
| Jasmine: På svenska säger man... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: In Swedish you say... |
| Jasmine: På svenska säger man... [slowly - broken down by syllable]. På svenska säger man... [natural native speed] |
| Morten: And finally, we have. |
| Jasmine: Jag hoppas [natural native speed] |
| Morten: I hope. |
| Jasmine: Jag hoppas [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Jag hoppas [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Morten: We are looking at some more useful phrases in this lesson. |
| Jasmine: Yes. These phrases are very versatile in their potential use. |
| Morten: First up, we have the Swedish for, what does that mean? |
| Jasmine: Vad betyder det? |
| Morten: Please, listen again and repeat. |
| Jasmine: Vad betyder det? |
| Morten: When can you use this phrase? |
| Jasmine: Whenever there's something you don't understand. |
| Morten: A word, phrase or concept? |
| Jasmine: Yes. You can use this phrase freely. |
| Morten: Of course, you'll always sound like you're new. |
| Jasmine: Right, new to the place, new to the language, but it's absolutely okay to use when needed. |
| Morten: Next, we have another phrase that will help fish for words in Swedish. |
| Jasmine: You know what to call just about everything in your native language. |
| Morten: But how do you ask for its name in Swedish? |
| Jasmine: Vad säger man på svenska? what do you say in Swedish? |
| Morten: And you would then reply. |
| Jasmine: På svenska säger man... |
| Morten: So you can use this phrase to respond if you know the answer? |
| Jasmine: Or you can ask Vad säger man på svenska? |
| Morten: The great thing about this phrase is that you could use it and point to stuff, can't you? |
| Jasmine: Yes. There are other ways to ask for words in Swedish, but with this phrase you can point and ask. |
| Morten: Great. One more phrase to go. |
| Jasmine: When talking about yourself or saying Goodbye to others, you will often want to use a phrase like I hope. |
| Morten: And in Swedish that is? |
| Jasmine: Jag hoppas. |
| Morten: Give us some examples, please? |
| Jasmine: Okay. This one uses a word from the last lesson, Jag hoppas jag hittar. |
| Morten: I hope, I will find a way or perhaps Jag hoppas på bra väder. |
| Jasmine: Yes, I hope for a good weather or Jag hoppas du hittar. |
| Morten: I hope you will find the way. This is versatile indeed. |
| Jasmine: Absolutely. You can also use it on its own as a response. |
| Morten: Soon, you will all speak Swedish. |
| Jasmine: Jag hoppas. |
Lesson focus |
| Morten: Now, let's move on to the grammar section. In this lesson focus, we're looking at two things. |
| Jasmine: Yes, to give your name in Swedish you say. |
| Morten: Jag heter Morten. |
| Jasmine: But I could also say Mitt namn är ... |
| Morten: My name is Morten. Which one should I use? |
| Jasmine: Jag heter is the best to use because it's the least marked or formal. |
| Morten: Mitt namn är Morten is more formal? |
| Jasmine: A little perhaps, but it's definitely okay to use. |
| Morten: How would you for someone's name? |
| Jasmine: Definitely using vad heter du? |
| Morten: I see. Anything else would sound way too formal right? |
| Jasmine: Precisely, but let's move on to our main focus. |
| Morten: Right on. In this lesson we are looking at countries and nationalities. |
| Jasmine: Unfortunately, this is not always straightforward in Swedish. |
| Morten: In the dialogue we had England, engelsman and Poland, polack. |
| Jasmine: England, Englishman and Poland, Pole. |
| Morten: Are these common ways to call countries and nationalities? |
| Jasmine: Yes and no. But let's have a few more examples, Frankrike, Fransman. |
| Morten: France, Frenchman. And how do you say, I am French. |
| Jasmine: Jag är en fransman. |
| Morten: Okay, let's practice this. Listen again and repeat. |
| Jasmine: Jag är en fransman. |
| Morten: Jag är en fransman, that's right. And I am American, Jag är amerikan. Please listen and repeat. |
| Jasmine: Jag är amerikan. |
| Morten: Jag är amerikan, well done. And how would you say, I am English? |
| Jasmine: Okay, that's a bit different. You would usually say jag är från England. |
| Morten: But you could also say, Jag är engelsman, right? |
| Jasmine: Yes, but it's a little less common. |
| Morten: So instead of saying Jag är en fransman, you could also say Jag är fransk. |
| Jasmine: Yes, that's correct, please repeat after me. Jag är fransk. |
| Morten: Jag är fransk. And what about Australia? |
| Jasmine: That's not an easy one. As for England, you'll probably say, Jag är från Australien. |
| Morten: I am from Australia. So you don't say I am an Australian. |
| Jasmine: Perhaps not. You could say Jag är australienare. |
| Morten: That is I'm an Australian. Unfortunately, we couldn't cover all the nation and country names here. |
| Jasmine: But we hope you got the basic idea. Listeners, can you understand Swedish TV shows, movies or songs? |
| Morten: How about a friends' or love ones' conversations in Swedish? |
| Jasmine: If you want to know what's going on, we have a tool to help. |
| Morten: Line-by-line audio. |
| Jasmine: Listen to the lesson conversations line by line and learn to understand natural Swedish fast. |
| Morten: It's simple really. |
| Jasmine: At the click of a button, listen to each line of the conversation. |
| Morten: Listen again and again and tune your ear to natural Swedish. |
| Jasmine: Rapidly understand natural Swedish with this powerful tool. |
| Morten: Find this feature on the lesson page under premium member resources at SwedishPod101.com. Okay, tack and bye-bye. |
| Jasmine: Hejdå, vi ses. |
Comments
Hide