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SWEDISH LANGUAGE

Sweden’s official dictionary completed after 140 years

The definitive record of the Swedish language has been completed after 140 years, with the dictionary's final volume sent to the printer's last week.

Published: 26 October 2023 05:31 CEST

Sweden's official dictionary completed after 140 years

Some of the Swedish dictionary's editors with a stack of all the books in the series. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

The Swedish Academy Dictionary (SAOB), the Swedish equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary and drawn up by the Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, counts 33,111 pages across 39 volumes.

“It was started in 1883 and now we’re done. Over the years 137 full-time employees have worked on it,” its editor, Christian Mattsson, told AFP.

Despite reaching the major milestone, their work is not completely done yet: the volumes A to R are now so old they need to be revised to include modern words.

“One such word is ‘allergy’ which came into the Swedish language around the 1920s but is not in the A volume because it was published in 1893,” Mattsson said.

“Barbie doll”, “app”, and “computer” are among the 10,000 words that will be added to the dictionary over the next seven years.

The SAOB is a historical record of the Swedish language from 1521 to modern day. It is available online and there are only around 200 copies published, used mainly by researchers and linguists.

The Academy also publishes a regular dictionary of contemporary Swedish.

The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III to promote the country’s language and literature, and work for the “purity, vigour and majesty” of the Swedish language.

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Seven Swedish expressions which will make you sound like a local

Finns det hjärterum finns det stjärterum

This phrase literally translates as “if there’s room in your heart, there’s room for a bum”, and it essentially means that you can always make room for one more if you really want to.

If there were three of you sitting on a sofa and another guest arrives but there’s nowhere for them to sit, you might say this phrase while you all scooch up to make space for them to join you.

Kasta ett getöga (på något)

You would be forgiven for thinking this phrase has something to do with goat eyes – a goat in Swedish is en get, and an eye is ett öga.

However, this phrase doesn’t mean “to throw a goat’s eye (at something)”. Rather the word get here comes from the Old Norse verb geta, which means to watch, care for or guard something.

So rather than throwing bits of goats at someone, the phrase can be better translated as “to keep a watchful eye” on something.

Mycket snack och lite verkstad

This phrase directly translates to “a lot of talk and not much workshop”, and you might be able to figure out what it means.

It’s similar to the phrase “all talk and no action” or “all talk and no trousers” which you would use when someone or a group of people spend a lot of time discussing something but never actually do it.

It’s often used in a sports context if players talk a lot about strategy and beating the other team, but never quite manage to pull it out of the bag.

Små grytor har också öron

This expression can be confusing at first, as it contains a play on the word öron, which means both pot handle and ear in Swedish. It literally translates to “small pots also have ears”, and it essentially means that you should be careful of what you say around children.

It can be used in a couple of different ways. You could use it to remind someone that children are present if they’re about to tell you something that isn’t family-friendly, like the juicy details of their sex life.

It can also be used as a reminder to whoever you’re talking to that if they say anything in front of a child, it’s likely to be repeated somewhere else. So maybe save the discussion about how much you can’t stand one of the parents or teachers at preschool for somewhere your child can’t hear it.

Träsmak i röven

The word röv in Swedish is a vulgar term for the backside, roughly similar in strength to English “arse” or American “ass”.

It originally comes from the Old Norse word rauf meaning gap, rift or hole, used in words like raufarsteinn (a stone with a hole drilled through it) and raufartrefjur (cloth filled with holes).

The word in its modern meaning exists in Swedish as röv, in Danish as røv and in Norwegian as ræv or rauv.

Träsmak i röven (literally: “the taste of wood on your arse”) is a great phrase which describes the feeling you get when your bottom starts hurting from sitting down for too long.

Less offensive alternatives to the word röv which you can use in this phrase include rumpa, bakdel, ända, stjärt and gump.

Kratta manegen

The Swedish phrase kratta manegen is roughly equivalent to “pave the way” or “set the stage” in English, essentially to make it easier for someone to do something.

You could, for example, use it about some sort of pioneer: hon krattade manegen för kvinnor i politiken (she paved the way for women in politics). It can also be used about something other than an individual: lagen krattade manegen för landets tillväxt (the law paved the way for the country’s growth).

Literally, a kratta refers to a rake and manegen to a circus ring or riding arena, so imaging someone raking the sand in the ring before it’s used by riders and performers.

I grevens tid

A greve in Swedish is a count – as in the noble title – so this phrase literally translates to “in the count’s time”.

It refers to doing something at the last possible moment, similar to the phrases “in the nick of time” or “not a minute too soon” in English.

It’s believed to refer to a specific count, Per Brahe the Younger, who was Governor-General of Finland in the mid 17th century. During this time he reformed the administration of the country, introduced a new postal system, founded a large number of new towns and promoted education, for example by founding the Royal Academy of Turku.

The Finns were a fan of Count Brahe, which is why the phrase I grevens tid also exists in Finnish as kreivin aikaan, where it refers to arriving at the right time or the best possible time.

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