One of the most intriguing aspects about the Swedish language is that it is a very musical one. There are certain letters in the alphabet that must be pronounced in a certain way and even if you've said an entire sentence correctly, if you haven't used the proper intonations and pitch you may not make any sense.
Then of course you have to consider what letters come before the letter you have to pronounce correctly. For example, if the letter 'r' is in front of the letter 's' - together they make a 'shhh' sound, or if a 'k' is in front of an 'i' or other Swedish letters I don't have on my keyboard it becomes a very swiftly pronounced 'hhhh' noise (or 'shhhh' depending on where in Sweden you're from). And not to mention that there are 'short' pronounced words as there are long - for example 'mat' (food) should be pronounced with a low pitch 'a' that is dragged out, e.g. 'moaaaaat' whereas 'katt' should be pronounced with a quick 'a' because it has two 't's after the 'a'. Makes perfect sense really.
Here's a random video I found to exemplify some Swedish sounds, excuse the guys somewhat disturbing voice:
Then of course you have to consider what letters come before the letter you have to pronounce correctly. For example, if the letter 'r' is in front of the letter 's' - together they make a 'shhh' sound, or if a 'k' is in front of an 'i' or other Swedish letters I don't have on my keyboard it becomes a very swiftly pronounced 'hhhh' noise (or 'shhhh' depending on where in Sweden you're from). And not to mention that there are 'short' pronounced words as there are long - for example 'mat' (food) should be pronounced with a low pitch 'a' that is dragged out, e.g. 'moaaaaat' whereas 'katt' should be pronounced with a quick 'a' because it has two 't's after the 'a'. Makes perfect sense really.
Here's a random video I found to exemplify some Swedish sounds, excuse the guys somewhat disturbing voice:
I used to learn Swedish as a kid..the only thing I can really remember how to say is asking for a whiskey,why a child learnt that I do not know. Actually I lie I randomly understand stuff without meaning to in movies etc but mainly cause it sounds like Norwegian. I think that the best way to learn is to get drunk all the time, then you just don't give a fuck. People can't really appreciate just how terrifying it is to try and speak to them in a new language, then when they reply in English you feel like a retard. Don't give up, seriously I gave up and regret it badly. Fuck them and their expected perfect pronunciation, or start correcting their accent when they speak English. Make them all speak Australian or gtfo.
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