Have you ever wondered if the people of the Nordic countries swear? Finland and Denmark take turns being the happiest country in the world, and Iceland, Norway and Sweden are not far behind on the same metric.

So, do Nordic people even have reason to curse? If you ask them, the answer would probably be: of course! Across the Nordic countries, swearing is a widespread practice, from teenagers to jaunty grandmothers. Even younger children are known to throw in a swearword once in a while (sometimes under their breath, depending on the proximity of their parents).

If you鈥檙e curious about this perhaps controversial language practice as performed in the Nordic countries, then this article is for you. Read on to get an idea of the nature of profanity in this part of the world, as well as specific examples of swearwords from each country.

So, hva faen are you waiting for? Have fun learning a bit about Nordic foul language!

The nature of Nordic swearing

As in other parts of the world, swearing in the Nordic countries is often done to let off steam. For instance, when you鈥檙e angry with someone, you want to express annoyance at something, or you seek to (mentally) relieve the pain of stubbing your toe (we鈥檝e all been there!).

Just like swearing in other languages, swearwords in the Nordic languages reference things that are taboo in the local culture. However, swearing in the Nordic countries does seem to differ from swearing in the UK or the US, for example, in two particular areas: the perceived offensiveness of swearing and the themes of the swearwords.

Perceived offensiveness of swearing in the Nordic countries

Studies on the perceived offensiveness of swearing in English-speaking countries as well as the Nordic countries have been conducted and compared. The results suggest that Nordic people swear more freely than their English-speaking counterparts.

In general, Nordic people have a laissez-faire attitude towards swearing, and to many, swearing is an integral part of their everyday language. Whilst many in the UK share the same attitude, Nordic people often go further, swearing in contexts even Brits would find unacceptable.

To many Nordic people, swearing is an integral part of everyday language.

This laid-back relationship with bad words is evident when watching TV for instance. Even when guests on Nordic TV shows are instructed not to swear while on air, some just can鈥檛 help doing so 鈥� and the swearwords themselves aren鈥檛 censored or bleeped out.

Although Nordic people tend to swear more freely, swearing is not considered good form. Given that swearing is a rather informal use of language, there are of course certain situations in which it would be inappropriate to do so.

At a job interview, for example, you鈥檇 probably be better off keeping the swearing to a minimum 鈥� or just refrain from doing it at all. That way you don鈥檛 risk coming across as unprofessional.

However, if your potential employer is blown away by your wit, skills and vision, you might just get the job anyway.

Themes of Nordic swearwords

Some of the themes present in English-language swearing also exist in the Nordic languages.

Religion as a theme, or the incorporation of God, the devil or hell when swearing, is a prime example of this. In Sweden, for instance, many people use the swear word fan, which literally means 鈥榯he devil鈥�, as an exclamation for when something goes wrong.

You can also swear by 鈥榟ell鈥� in all five Nordic languages. In Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish, you would exclaim Helvetti!, 贬别濒惫铆迟颈!, Helvete! and Helvete!, respectively, whilst you would say For helvede! in Danish.

One theme that is not present in English-language swearing today is that of diseases. In Danish, this theme contains swearwords with reference to serious illnesses such as cancer.

Kraftedeme is an example of this as it is a contraction of Kr忙ften 忙de mig, which translates into 鈥榤ay cancer eat me鈥�. This swearword acts as an oath: a curse that is used to strengthen a statement and underline the seriousness of the speaker. For example, Det er kraftedeme ikke i orden!, means 鈥楾his is not okay 鈥� may cancer eat me if it is okay!鈥�.

Another theme that is exclusive to the Nordic languages as compared to English is numbers. In Sweden, you can exclaim Sjutton! or Attans! when something doesn鈥檛 go according to plan. Meaning 鈥榮eventeen鈥� and 鈥榚ighteen鈥� respectively, these words are technically classified as euphemisms in Swedish, which makes them very unloaded and safe to use in any situation.

Danish has a similar euphemism 鈥� For syv sytten!, literally meaning 鈥楩or seven seventeen!鈥� 鈥� which is used in a similar way to its Swedish counterparts.

The influence of English on Nordic swearing

Like other societies, the Nordic countries are heavily influenced by American culture in the form of TV, films, music and, as a consequence of this, language use.

In Denmark, code-switching (the act of alternating between languages in the same conversation) is not unheard of, especially within the younger generations. The occasional 鈥榣iterally鈥�, 鈥榟onestly鈥�, 鈥榮orry鈥� or even typical English syntax often enter the conversation.

This English-inspired language use has also found its way into swearing across the Nordic languages.

The Nordic countries and their swearing are heavily influenced by American culture and English-language use.

Apart from swearwords originating from Nordic languages, the use of 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榝ucking鈥� can be heard and seen in each of the Nordic countries 鈥� 鈥榮hit鈥� has also been adopted by many Nordic people. Both four-letter words are used in much the same way as they are in the English-speaking countries, i.e. when something goes wrong.

In Danish, for instance, you could say Fuck, jeg har glemt mine n酶gler!, meaning 鈥楩uck, I forgot my keys!鈥�. You could easily use 鈥榮hit鈥� instead of 鈥榝uck鈥� in this example 鈥� the swearwords are interchangeable in most situations.

Just like in English, the swearword 鈥榝ucking鈥� is used descriptively to emphasise a negative attitude the speaker has towards someone or something. In Danish, Han er en fucking idiot! means 鈥楬e is a fucking idiot!鈥�.

The perceived offensiveness of English swearwords amongst Nordic people compared to Americans or Brits has been debated, as it seems that the aforementioned four-letter specimens don鈥檛 have the same impact when used in the Nordic countries.

It could be that the theme of sex is just not as taboo as in the English-speaking countries鈥� or maybe swearing in a foreign language doesn鈥檛 feel as bad as in your mother tongue.

In any case, 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榮hit鈥� have become an integral part of the Nordic vocabulary of swearwords. So much so that certain countries have developed their own spellings of 鈥榝uck鈥� and 鈥榝ucking鈥�. Icelanders, for instance, spell the words fokk and fokking, respectively, whilst the Norwegians often spell 鈥榝uck鈥� either fakk or 蹿酶办办.

Swearwords from each Nordic country

Are you curious to learn some bad language from each of the Nordic countries? Below is a list of the most common or remarkable swearwords from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Denmark

Finland

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

Now that you know more about the controversial linguistic practice of swearing in the Nordic languages, you鈥檒l be able to show off what you鈥檝e learnt. Nordic people tend to have a great sense of humour and they鈥檒l probably enjoy hearing a foreigner swear like a native!

Just remember to keep the swearing to informal situations 鈥� Sandberg takes no responsibility for any lost job opportunities due to foul language!

Christina Bjerggaard is a Danish translator at Sandberg. She wrote her master鈥檚 thesis on the translation of swearwords from English to Danish and, with her additional research for this article, is now our in-house profanity expert!

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In part 1, we introduced the ideas of digital minoritisation and domain loss and talked about how they are affecting Icelandic. We also looked at the language鈥檚 history up until the turn of the millennium. In this part, we鈥檒l look at the current state of affairs and what the Icelandic government is doing to try and secure the future of the Icelandic language.

Unprecedented pace of change

In recent decades, a sea change has occurred in Iceland. The country has the of anywhere in Europe, at 97% in 2014. A staggering 93% of Icelanders have a Facebook account, and other (a majority of Icelanders use Snapchat, YouTube and Spotify). Never before has Iceland been so exposed to foreign languages and cultures to the extent it is now, and never on such an intimate level at all levels of society.

Over the past five years or so, growing use of smart devices has also prompted concerns about the youngest generation. Icelandic children play games and watch foreign-language YouTube videos on tablets before they have even reached fluency in Icelandic, and there are fears that this may have an impact on their native language skills in later life.

The University of Iceland is currently into the impact that digital devices are having on Icelandic, including Icelandic children鈥檚 ability to master their native language. While the results have not yet been published, there is a firm belief that the study will show digital devices have a significant negative impact on Icelandic children鈥檚 abilities in their mother tongue.

This is crucial for many reasons. Mastery of one鈥檚 first language is a prerequisite of being able to learn a second language fluently. The Icelandic education system addresses this issue for children of immigrants by providing them with classes in their first language (e.g. Polish children are ), enabling them to reach a better level of fluency in Icelandic than they otherwise would. The government has yet to react and implement a plan for bolstering Icelandic children鈥檚 first language skills, however.

The time for action

If Icelandic is to have a bright future in the digital era, then action needs to be taken, and quickly. There are signs of positive developments ahead. The Icelandic government recently committed funds to boosting the use of Icelandic online. 础濒尘补苍苍补谤贸尘耻谤 is the organisation tasked with securing the digital future of the language.

Speaking in a , Stefan铆a Gu冒r煤n Halld贸rsd贸ttir, the chairman of the organisation, emphasised the need to press ahead: 鈥淲e have now come to the point when we actively need to decide to do this鈥� This is a big decision, and a big project. We are ready and everyone is ready with us.鈥�

The organisation has set its sights high. One of the key strategies for securing the digital future of Icelandic is to collaborate with the tech giants. Without participation from the private sector, the project is unlikely to succeed. On this, Stefan铆a says: 鈥淚f we imagine that you are creating some program and can choose from a list and have it translated into Icelandic: [the tech] industry does that. Microsoft wants to come out in 60 languages, this is our ambition, [to be among them].鈥�

The scale of the challenge is immense, however. Take the example of digital assistants like Alexa and Siri. To add a new language to a service like this, a gargantuan amount of data is required. First of all, the system needs to convert speech sounds into words a computer can interpret. This requires creating a speech recognition system able to cope with myriad different voices, speaking styles and contexts.

Secondly, the system needs to be able to extract meaning from the sentence it is given. This requires complex software able to analyse different parts of speech. Then to produce coherent output, the system needs to have an understanding of Icelandic grammar and syntax. Finally, to speak the reply, the system needs an Icelandic text-to-speech engine, which is no mean feat to develop.

Progress has been made in all of these areas, but a usable solution has yet to become commercially available. The work goes on, and every day time is running out. Perhaps with the government鈥檚 renewed commitment to language technology, Icelandic stands a chance of not only surviving in the digital age, but truly thriving.

Learn more about STP’s Icelandic translation services here.

The post Language vitality in the digital age: a look at Icelandic (part 2) appeared first on sa国际传媒.

This is perhaps surprising given the overall number of Swedish speakers on a global scale. Hindi for example, with its 295 million native speakers, ranks 39th with a 0.1% share. It鈥檚 fair to say that Swedish punches well above its weight, as do Danish, Norwegian and Finnish, all of which rank significantly higher than Hindi in terms of usage online.

These statistics give us some idea that language use online does not necessarily reflect actual language use in the real world. There are many factors that play into this: levels of economic development in various countries, access to the internet and technology more widely, and attitudes to language, to name but a few.

But what about the situation in the Nordic region as a whole? While the 鈥渂ig鈥� languages mentioned above are used proportionally more online than in the real world, what about smaller Nordic languages like Icelandic, Faroese, Greenlandic and the S谩mi dialects?

In this two-part article, we鈥檙e going to focus on one of these languages in particular: Icelandic. It鈥檚 spoken by around 340,000 people, a drop in the ocean in terms of world population, but actually one of the more widely spoken languages in the grand scheme of things.

The case of Icelandic is fairly well documented, and Icelanders are aware of the situation they face in terms of outside pressure from English, and are taking action to make sure their language blossoms in the digital era. However, the language still faces immense challenges and obstacles which are not easily overcome.

Shrinking spheres of influence

The phenomenon by which languages with a solid footing in the real world are neglected online is known as digital minoritisation. In the case of Icelandic, it鈥檚 a majority language in the real world: despite its small number of speakers, it鈥檚 the main language of communication and business in Iceland and the vast majority of Icelanders speak it natively.

Online, however, it could be argued that Icelandic is a minority language. Icelanders are forced to use English online for many things, for example looking up information on Wikipedia, shopping online or when watching foreign media. Icelanders are diligent about using Icelandic online for interpersonal communication and most of them post on their social media accounts in their native language. Outside of this though, Icelanders are forced to use a foreign language (namely English) to access the material they鈥檙e looking for.

Digital minoritisation is part of larger trend known as domain loss that has affected various languages at different points in time. This is where speakers stop using one language within a certain field, e.g. at work, and start using another. A common example of this is the use of English in business in Scandinavia. Many larger Scandinavian companies with an international presence , aware that limiting their potential pool of candidate employees to speakers of the Nordic languages may impede their ability to succeed globally.

This situation is analogous to the case of Icelandic online. Aware that the vast majority of information online is in English, it鈥檚 only natural that Icelanders look up information on the English-language version of Wikipedia first, instead of trying the Icelandic-language version (especially if the topic doesn鈥檛 relate to Iceland). Iceland also has a small media and creative sector compared to other countries (in absolute terms at least 鈥� relatively, it punches well above its weight), meaning Icelanders are pushed to consume music, films and TV programmes from abroad, most of which are inevitably in English.

Icelandic before the digital era

Within a European context, Icelandic is a unique language in that it is the sole official language of a nation-state whose population is roughly equivalent to that of the English city of Leicester. The next smallest European nation-state in a similar position is Estonia, with its 1.1 million Estonian speakers.

Historically, the unique status of Icelandic was guaranteed by the island鈥檚 geographical location. Cut off from the rest of Europe, Icelanders were free to use their language without outside interference, despite being colonial subjects of Norway and later Denmark. Foreign influence was relatively limited, peaking in the 17th century with the import of a large number of Danish loanwords, the majority of which were later eradicated by purists.

With the rise of nationalism, which took off in Iceland in earnest in the second half of the 19th century (somewhat later than the rest of Europe), Icelandic鈥檚 status as a national language was crystallised and formalised. Eventually, Icelanders gained their political independence in 1944, but culturally, the tide was starting to turn.

British and American troops were stationed in Iceland throughout the second world war, bringing Icelanders into intimate contact with a foreign culture for the first time. The Americans were regarded more fondly and their cultural influence was more enduring than that of the Brits. This explains the very visible American influence in Iceland compared to the rest of the Nordic countries that lasts to this day.

Before the advent of the internet, the linguistic authorities in Iceland were able to keep American cultural influence in check. Foreign films and TV shows were meticulously given Icelandic titles and subtitled prior to being shown in cinemas or broadcast (e.g. Star Wars is called 厂迟箩枚谤苍耻蝉迟谤铆冒), imported goods were repackaged and new terms were created for all the technological innovations of the era. This meant that foreign influence on Icelandic was relatively limited, and the public at large were not exposed to a great deal of English in their everyday lives.

In part 2 of the this article, we鈥檒l look at the current situation of Icelandic in a digital context and what actions the Icelandic government is taking to secure the language鈥檚 future.

Learn more about STP’s Icelandic translation services here.

The post Language vitality in the digital age: a look at Icelandic (part 1) appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Nordic dialect map

Learn about the languages and dialects of the entire Nordic region with our interactive map.

Nordic dialect map

Learn about the languages and dialects of the entire Nordic region with our interactive map.

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