Teach Yourself Swedish - Audio CDs and Book
Brand New 2 CD's and Book
* learn to speak, understand and write swedish
* progress quickly beyond the basics
* explore the language in depth
Teach Yoursef Swedish is the course for anyone who wants to progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Swedish with confidence. Although aimed at those with no previous knowledge, it is equally suitable for anyone wishing to brush up existing knowledge for a holiday or business trip. Key structures and vocabulary are introduced in 18 thematic units, progressing from basic greetings and introductions and dealing with everyday situations to writing a formal letter and business communications.
The emphasis is on communication throughout, with important language structures introduced through dialogues on the accompanying recording. There are plenty of exercises to practise the language as it is introduced and tips throughout to help with pronunciation and grammar. Cultural information boxes give useful advice and information for anyone planning a trip to Sweden.
About the Swedish Language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by more than nine million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the Åland islands. It is to a considerable extent mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish (see especially "Classification"). Along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era.
Standard Swedish is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well-established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the older rural dialects still exist, the spoken and written language is uniform and standardized. Some dialects differ considerably from the standard language in grammar and vocabulary and are not always mutually intelligible with Standard Swedish. These dialects are confined to rural areas and are spoken primarily by small numbers of people with low social mobility. Though not facing imminent extinction, such dialects have been in decline during the past century, despite the fact that they are well researched and their use is often encouraged by local authorities.
The standard word order is Subject Verb Object, though this can often be changed to stress certain words of phrases. Swedish morphology is similar to English, i.e. that words have comparatively few inflections; there are two genders, no grammatical cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are also inflected according to gender, number and definiteness. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes (endings), complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles. The prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a comparatively large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme.
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