I will update this as I go along - if I remember, but learning Swedish (for those of you who know me outside of this blog, yes I know I'm banging on about it a LOT) is absolutely FASCINATING!!!
For those of you who know nothing about the history of the British Isles, about a thousand years ago, we got invaded by the Vikings. And where did the Vikings come from? Scandinavia: Aka Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
We didn't really want them here but they settled anyway and as I'm going along I can see SO MANY links to our Viking past in the language of today!
For example -
Grått - means Grey in Swedish. Pronounced 'Grot'. Over here, we have a saying that something is 'grotty'.. it's a 'grotty day outside'.. meaning it's grey, damp and miserable. Incidentally, Gråt with only one t, also means 'crying'.
Andra Hand - literally means ‘other’ and ‘hand’ but used in conjunction means 'alternative' in Swedish. We say 'on the other hand' when we talk about alternatives. 'On one hand,I love coffee- but on the other hand I'm allergic to it'
I will update more when I can think of more, but right now it's late and I should be asleep, not getting excited about learning things!
Update: 14/10/10
Swedish ‘Barn’ = child. Scottish slang word for a child is ‘bairn’
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