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Swedish phonetics
Thread poster: Ramsés Cabrera Olivares
Ramsés Cabrera Olivares
Ramsés Cabrera Olivares
Španija
Local time: 04:12
English to Spanish
+ ...
Jan 12, 2013

Dear colleagues from Proz,

I have just started to study Swedish on my own, and there's a certain topic that I find kind of difficult. What is the exact pronunciation of syllables containing the vowels "ö", "i", "y" and "u"?

I am aware that you pronounce them differently depending on whether the vowel precedes two consonants or not. For example, I have read that the vowel "u" is pronounced like "über" in German when it is followed by only one consonant, and like "boo"... See more
Dear colleagues from Proz,

I have just started to study Swedish on my own, and there's a certain topic that I find kind of difficult. What is the exact pronunciation of syllables containing the vowels "ö", "i", "y" and "u"?

I am aware that you pronounce them differently depending on whether the vowel precedes two consonants or not. For example, I have read that the vowel "u" is pronounced like "über" in German when it is followed by only one consonant, and like "boo" in English when it precedes two or more letters.

Could anybody be so kind to give me some advice in this regard, please? ▲ Collapse
 
Kristian Andersson
Kristian Andersson  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:12
English to Swedish
Link Jan 13, 2013

Here's a link that you may find useful:

http://www2.hhs.se/isa/swedish/chap9.htm
 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finska
Local time: 05:12
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Difficult Jan 13, 2013

The Swedish U is between German U and Ü, but we neighbors usually get away with pronouncing it as U or English Oo. The Swedish Y is between German Ü and I, more sharp. Swedish A is between German A and O, and then there is the Å, which is definitely like the vowel in Law.

Swedish has to be sung, not spoken, only then do you get near the real thing. Fortunately there are many Swedish movies on dvd, to learn from.
 
Magdalena Psiuk
Magdalena Psiuk  Identity Verified
Poljska
Local time: 04:12
English to Polish
+ ...
Any useful websites? Jan 13, 2013

It happens I've just started learning Swedish, too (my New Year's resolution:), and one thing I found out is that the sounds I am supposed to hear according to the rules of pronunciation stated in the book are not the sounds I actually hear when I listen to recordings on CDs. I hope it'll only get easier.
By the way, could you recommend any useful website for beginners of Swedish? I know too little yet to read full articles or understand films.
 
George Hopkins
George Hopkins
Local time: 04:12
Swedish to English
Link 2 Jan 13, 2013

Here's a link that you won't find useful...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkWMcRlE1mQ
 


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Swedish phonetics






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