For the last few weeks, you may recall, I have been learning Swedish at the Lutheran Cafe in Goulburn Street. I have found some aspects of the course quite easy, and others quite difficult. I think I have a good ear for the language and I think my pronunciation has been quite good. My comprehension is generally quite good, seeing similarities in English and German. I have found it sometimes hard, though, knowing how to respond verbally.
Our homework for the week was to write a short introductory essay about ourselves, based on the work we have done so far. It’s really hard to say something interesting in the present tense – as we haven’t moved on to past and future tenses yet – without sounding like a complete nong. Here is an excerpt…
Jag vackner klocken fyra eller fem och stiger upp klocken fem eller sex. Jag dricker en kopp kaffe til frukost. Jag duschar klocken sju. Jag arbeter fran atta til fem eller sex.
Sedan komma hem och jag lyssna till musik. Jag lyssna pa Agnetha Faltskog, Annifrid Lyngstad och manga andra artister.
Jag ar inte gift, och inte barn.
Jag laser svenska pa en kvallskurs. Jag vill resa till Sverige.
As you can see, I’m not really ready for sophsticated conversations about life, the universe and everything yet.
OK, so I got a “Bra!” for my homework, which means good.
My mistakes were that in the present tense, Swedish verbs finish with ar, or if it’s an irregular verb, with er.
Also, it should be “lyssna pa Agnetha Faltskog” and not “till Agnetha Faltskog”.
And I need to learn how to do the Swedish vowels with the funny bits attached.
But I still got “Bra!”, so that’s okay I guess.
Next week’s homework is to write a more expansive piece about how I spend my week, and to more fully include in the piece what we’ve learned about adjectives and nouns.
I thought of you James when this turned up in my Bloglines today — in case you want to brush up on your Swedish sociolects!
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2008/03/daycare_sociolects.php
Hi –
i was just wondering if they still have Swedish classes at the church. I’d be very interested in attending as i’ve been teaching myself but only progressing slowly.
Thanks!
Austen, yes, they resume on February 10, as I recall. The classes are great fun, and Marianne is a really good teacher. I have her email address which I can send to you privately if you like.
Hi James,
thanks for the quick reply!
That would be great if you could forward me her email. If possible are you able to send me any details regarding cost/times/etc…anything that comes to mind.
Thanks again James.
Austen
Hej James, hur mår du?
Jag har läst din blog om din svenska klass. Mycket fin att du kan lära dig svenska och dela den med allihopa.
Jag heter Pedro och jag kommer from Spanien, jag har bott 3 år i Sverige och nu studerar jag SAS (Svenska som andra språk). Jag har också min blog vilken använder jag för att visa vad jag läser. Kanske kan vi bli vänner genom svenska språket.
Hoppas att du fortfarande laser svenska och kan förstå vad jag skrev här.
Ha det så bra James.
Vi hörs!
Pedro.
Hej Pedro! Tack för din kommentar :) Det skulle vara roligt att se din blog också. Jag ska aker till Sverige i mars och jag måste leva varje dag tills dess. James