Tag: språk

28 Dec. – Swedish course participation

start cracking the dictionary?
pic: glosbe.com

One of the 73 points in the Policy Agreement between the Social Democratic, Center, Liberal and Green parties – aka the January Agreement (januariavtalet) – back in the beginning of 2019, was that some Swedish language criteria would be implemented for citizenship, and even for financial social assistance (försörjningsbidrag). A proposition (lagförslag) specifying language course participation has now been sent out to various authorities, agencies, departments and bureaus for their consideration and comments (remissvar).

In point 40 of the agreement, under the somewhat disconcerting heading Integration and Honor-related Violence (integration och hedersvåld), the agreement states that “Sweden has an integration problem. Those who get a residency permit should quickly be given the opportunity to become a part of our country, stand on their own two feet and learn Swedish.” Later on in point 40, it states that they have agreed to “implement a duty of language (språkplikt) for the person who seeks asylum or who receives social assistance.”

The proposition that is being sent out proposes that the law on social services (socialtjänstlagen) is changed so that a person seeking social assistance should have to participate in language training or SFI if the authority deems it necessary. “If you are going to be able to support oneself in the long run, you need a job. And if you are going to try and get into the job market, you need knowledge of Swedish” Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Lena Hallengren, said in a statement. “It is therefore reasonable to require participation in a basic course in Swedish in order to receive social assistance (SvD.se).

At the moment, different municipalities have different requirements to receive assistance. Some require participation in a language course, others don’t. The idea behind the proposition is that language course participation requirements for social assistance eligibility will be the same for the whole country.

This does not mean, however, that a certain level of Swedish is required to be eligible for social assistance. The premise (utgångspunkten), Hallengren stated, is that it will be “a duty to take Swedish language training if Swedish language knowledge is considered to be lacking.” “Assistance is only supposed to be temporary” she continued. “In the end, one has to find a way to support oneself, and for that, language is absolutely necessary” (SvD.se).

Comments, questions and concerns on the proposition will be received until the 27th of March, 2020. The law is expected to go into effect sometime in 2021.

By the way, point 41 in the January agreement discusses a language requirement – as in passing a language test – as well as some kind of civics test, for citizenship eligibility. The current proposal, above, is not there, but can be seen, perhaps, as a step in that direction.

27 Dec. – 2019’s new words

the official dictionary additions for 2019 is finally here
pic: svenskaakademin.se

The list is out! Gretaeffekten (the Greta effect), smygflyga (flying in secret) and tågskryta (train brag) are just a few examples of the new 35 words for 2019. The list is put together by the Language Council (Språkrådet), a division of the government’s Institute for Language and Folklore.

English speakers will often recognize a “new” word (immersiv, and sharenting, for example), and other languages also often make an appearance: This year, a new word is “benim” which is a Turkish pronoun for I or me, and is found largely in Swedish rap.

However, one of the reasons for a large number of new words is the ability of the Swedish language to easily form compound words. “Compound” is not actually a correct description as, in English, two words that are put together should form an entirely new word – like “brain” and “storm” become brainstorm. In Swedish, compound words (sammansatta ord) are very much dependent on the two (or more) words they’re made up of for their meaning – see nagellackborttagningsmedelsradioreklam.

For Swedish radio, the author Mara Lee described the Swedish language’s ability to admit compound words as characteristic of Sweden’s flexibility and adaptability. On one side, she says, there is the Swedish nature, which is largely monosyllabic (skog, mark, äng – forest, field, meadow), and which is often reflected in Swedish poetry. But on other side, Swedish is also known for its innovation, which expresses itself also verbally – taking the best of what’s around and putting it together.

“Funktionshinderombudsman” (public advocate for physically challenged persons) may be an awkward word, Lee suggests, but it reflects a complex reality. “I’d rather live in a land that has the word funktionshinderombudsman than in a country that doesn’t have it.” A literary linguistic undertaking is never just about reflecting reality, she continues, “it’s about creating reality” (sverigesradio.se).

The new word list for 2019 is just that – reflecting reality, as well as helping to create it, by giving it recognition and a platform. Here are the new words, in all their glory:

Animoji, Antivaxxare, Artdöden, ASMR, Aspludd, Benim, Beteendedesign, Cybersoldat, Deepfake, Deplattformering, Digital tvilling, Dra åt helvete-kapital, Eldost, Fimpomat , Gretaeffekten, Grönt körfält, Hjärtslagslag, Hundvissla, Hybridkrig, Ikigai, Immersiv, Klimatdiktatur, Klimatnödläge, Klimatstrejk, Källtillit, Lågaffektivt bemötande, Menskonst, Nattborgmästare, Popcornhjärna, Sharenting, Smygflyga, Syssna, Tågskryta, Växtbaserat kött, Övervakningsekonomi.

(source: språkrådet http://www.isof.se/sprak/nyord/nyordslistan-2019.html )