Question 6b: How does it affect you if people make language mistakes?

8 of the 15 people I stayed with in Sweden are "language police" which is a common expression in Swedish for someone who gets annoyed if people use the language in the wrong way.

But only 4 of the 15 people i stayed with in England are bothered about mistakes.

What the "language police" in Sweden said:

"I'm a bit of a language snob unfortunately. I get anxious if I've sent a text with spelling mistakes and can't take it back. I can also get turned off if a guy writes a sloppy text."

"I notice how language is used and if it's not used according to the norm I react. If someone makes a mistake on Facebook I'll write an ironic comment. It's fun to take the piss. I also have this obsession if someone writes an exclamation mark or put dots at the end of a sentence I have to count the exclamation marks or dots."

"If someone makes spelling mistakes, I think they're stupid. Or if they split a compound word ... Then I can't be their friend. I'm very honest, I feel bad if I've spelt something wrong."

What the "language police" in England said:

"I do notice when people make mistakes. I immediately wonder how educated they are, what class they are, it’s terrible."

"I’m a bit of a pedant when it comes to written English, partly being a teacher. Whenever I read I pick up mistakes, I'm an unpaid proof-reader."

"I’m quit sensitive to people who make mistakes and I correct them. Especially English people" (said by Swede in England.)

And there are some English language rebels:

"I like the damage of language and how new things develop. That "google" * can be used as a verb and people using “literally” in the wrong way."

"I’m not bothered at all. Languages are evolving. Without changes there’s no revolution. If you’re strict about language it’ll never change. There wouldn’t be words like "LOL"."

What I say:

I think the language police exists to a bigger extent in Sweden because Swedish is such a small language and hasn't been as influenced by other cultures. Both Swedish people and English people are tolerant if foreigners make mistakes though. The biggest case for the language police in Sweden is the splitting of compound words, e.g. in English you would write "police station" - in Swedish you world write "policestation".

I really don't care about language mistakes. After having lived in England for many years I now struggle with both English and Swedish! My English will never be perfect and I've lost some of my Swedish from living abroad. When I was interviewed on telly about my novel I kind of spoke English in Swedish. I said that I was from a small town. In Swedish you'd say "I'm from a smalltown".

PÅ SVENSKA

*Although the Swedish invention "ungoogleable" was disliked by Google!

 The picture is from Matilda's blog and is hard to translate, but can possibly be compared to the language difference between "You and I" or "You and me".

This study is by no means scientific, the answers to this question are based on interviews with 15 people in England and 15 people Sweden, aged 22-59. Next question: What's your favourite word?

Question 6a: What does language mean to you?

The best thing I have and know of. I hear language in colours. It’s a system of noises.

Communication. That’s the word most people mentioned. In general the people in England found it a very difficult, abstract question to answer. But once they answered they gave thoughtful answers about colours and sounds. The Swedes found it easier to talk about language. My theory is that this is due to English people often being able to speak their language when they go abroad, but Swedish people are forced to speak another language (read English) as soon as they leave Scandinavia.

WHAT LANGUAGE MEANS TO PEOPLE IN ENGLAND:

“I like it when foreigners speak, their different ways of constructing a sentence. I adore the sound of another language. But I feel alienated if I hear a lot of foreign languages on a bus, and long to hear English.”

“It allows me to communicate. I’m lucky to be born in Britain, the international language for travelling, it’s horrible to say but it’s the best language to know. You can go anywhere and do anything.”

“I like to know grammatical structure. I don’t like being in a country, not being able to speak to the people, I’d like to break the tradition of English people thinking that everyone knows English.”

“Communication. I like playing with language when I write, I like changing it, describing things in a way you normally wouldn’t.”

“I went on date and went round to his house and he had the telly on the whole time, saying he wasn’t a good conversationalist, so language is really important to communicate.”

“It represents communication, keeping in contact with people.”

“I hear language in colours, when people speak, I see it in bits of colour.”

“It’s a system of noises. If we decided not to speak we would develop a sign language. We have to accept evolution of language, developing sounds to mean something.”

“It’s a variation of what chimpanzees do, but a bit more elaborate than that. Another part of me loves it when it’s used well, like a drama that has a good script. And I can sometimes use it in a way that entertains people.”

“It’s the main thing that gives my life meaning. I have a facility for learning language and that also goes into creative language.”

“Dialogue means a lot, I like to remember things, and quote them word by word.”

“It’s a source of fun and amusement, a constant hobby, definitely something I’m forever fascinated by. I love learning new words in other languages.”

“It gives you your cultural identity.”

“Sometimes it drives me mad and I want to get right away from it, get into music or painting or whatever, but it’s just essential to me. It’s like asking what blood or water means to you.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a tool, it pre-exists us, it’s the air we breathe, the medium through which we spin. It gives a chance for everyone to be creative with it. It’s used in law, politics, government. Power can be played cause we can play with language, it’s a structure we can’t escape.”

WHAT LANGUAGE MEANS TO PEOPLE IN SWEDEN:

”There’s something special about your mother tongue, the language you can express yourself best in.”

”When you live in Sweden, I don’t think it means that much, but when you’re abroad it means much more. It’s nice to listen to Swedish songs and understand what they sing about. That you can actually communicate in a language that no one else knows where you are.”

”When I write poems I always return to Swedish. It’s easier to express complicated things. But song lyrics I find impossible to write in Swedish, everything sounds so naff in a way.”

”In my everyday life I seldom reflect over what language I speak. The times I’m aware of my relationship to language is when I write lyrics. I’ve chosen to write in English even though I’m better at Swedish. In Swedish the lyrics would be in your face and I don’t want the words to take that space.”

”It’s natural as you speak it and have it in yourself. But Swedish is a difficult language to learn. Many dialects, variations, influenced by other languages as well. It’s a good way of communicating with other Swedes, a very small language.”

”It’s an important tool, communication. I find dialects amusing. The language I speak is important, but then it doesn’t matter that much that it’s Swedish in particular. It’s exciting that Eskimos have so many words for snow, but no word for sun. And that “lagom” doesn’t really translate.”

”I’m so bad at other language so in that aspect, Swedish means a lot. I like reading and writing and argumentation and interpret words, to describe reality or distort reality with words.”

”Swedish is the only language I master. It means very much. I like the words, to write and use the language.”

”It means everything, it’s the best thing I have and know of. Whatever happens I can always write something.”

”It’s about understanding and being understood. I’m fascinating by the way people write, I love enjoying a book that just flows, it’s like seeing a painting or hearing music.”

”I don’t like translations, some words annoy me. Every language has its own sentence structure, it can’t really be translated. I’m often hit by Swedish authors – often it’s just the language that does it.”

”My feeling is that Swedish and English aren’t just different because they are different language, but the whole structure, how you express yourself and make your voice heard is very different. That creates one English identity and one Swedish identity.”

WHAT LANGUAGE MEANS TO ME:

Language is my life! I’m hyper aware of what words people use and it can annoy me to see or hear words I don’t like. Now that I’ve been in Sweden for a while I notice that I’m a bit more relaxed when I use the language. I don’t worry about making mistakes in the same way as I do when I’m in England. I feel less tense when I have conversations, because I don’t stop to think about if my accent sounds terrible. 

But as a contradiction I feel more shy in Swedish. In English I feel more cheeky, there’s more space for making a joke – often on my own behalf; I can get away with things because I’m Swedish. So there’s definitely such a thing as having one Swedish identity and one English identity.

This study is by no means scientific, the answers to this question are based on interviews with 15 people in England and 15 people Sweden, aged 22-59. Next question: Do you mind if people use the language incorrectly?

PÅ SVENSKA

Week20: A bit of England in Sweden

I’m jealous of my current host. She gets to speak and hear English everyday because she’s brought a bit of England to Sweden in the form of an Englishman. They live in a beautiful house on Österlen, the famous flatland in the south of Sweden where the sky is big and you’re surrounded by a special light.

Everyday I’ve been for walks, walking for half an hour in each direction and I’ve come across a church and a few art galleries, but mostly there are fields and tractors among the scattered villages where people live. I pointed out that in England it would be unusual to walk for half an hour in the countryside and not come across a pub, and that I missed it. Not that I would go to the pub everyday, but just knowing that I had the option would make me feel less isolated. This turned into a heated discussion between my hosts about whether the Swedish countryside has a heart ... Of course it has! It’s just different from England, perhaps to do with the population. Sometimes I find there’s a freedom in the fact that you can’t walk to a pub – there’s nothing to escape to and you’re forced to deal with yourself.

 Apart from the English sausages in the fridge there’s nothing particularly English about the lifestyle of my hosts, it’s just the language really. After three days of having conversations in English I’ve gone back to thinking and dreaming and writing in English. In my head I switched to Swedish just a few weeks ago after having had English as my main thinking and dreaming and writing language for the past few years. Now I’m confused!

My host’s feeling is that Swedish and English aren’t just different because they’re different languages, but the whole structure, how you express yourself and make your voice heard is different and creates one English identity and one Swedish identity. Because her boyfriend doesn’t yet master Swedish she needs to keep her English identity even if she lives in Sweden. He in his turn misses to be able to speak in his Geordie accent with people from the same area.

If I decide to live in Sweden I hope to make some English friends because I miss my English persona and if I decide to live in England I’ll make more of an effort to hang out with Swedish people – something I hated when first moved to Brighton. It can be confusing, but also enriching to keep two languages alive.

PÅ SVENSKA

Where My Life in England Started

I was nineteen years old and had just graduated from school  in Sweden. All I wanted was to leave my boring hometown (Nässjö) and have an adventure. Signing up for a 3 month English course might not sound like a classical adventure, but it changed my life forever. From the moment I got off the coach at Pool Valley, I knew I wanted to stay in Brighton.

Yesterday I went back to Loxdale Centre in Portslade where I did the previously mentioned English course back in 2001. For the fifth (!) time I was invited to do a talk, titled "Life after Loxdale" where I told the students about my experiences of living and working and writing in England. I also introduced them to performance poetry through my stage persona Lou Ice. Even though most of the students were Swedish, I did the talk in English which is quite nerv-racking as I feel more "judged" than if the audience had been English. (Most Englishmen seem impressed that people can speak English at all as they're not very interested in learning languages themselves, but this is one of the stereotypes I want to explore through my Swenglish project)

I have really fond memories of Loxdale and still remember my time there vividly. Some bizarre things stick out in my mind, like my teacher's voice when she read us an extract of Dorian Gray from our textbook. I thought she had the most perfect English accent and could happily have listened to her reading all day. (In the window you can spot Gill and Sue who were two of my teachers.)

So, ten years later I'm still in Brighton & Hove, but the question is: do I stay or do I go? To quote from The Journal of a Recovering Taiwanoholic:  "After 10 years you either stay or go. Become a lifer or get a life."

"30-year OId Crisis"

In my previous post I mentioned that there's no word for "please" in Swedish. In English there's no word for "30-year Old Crisis" but such a word does exist in Swedish. Even though I escaped my own country, I've been unable to escape this cultural concept. But out of my crisis Swenglish was born, so it's all good.

Yesterday I went to my workmate's 30th, and it was a relief that no-one behaved like 30 which gives me hope for my upcoming birthday.

Because of being born in the 80s the party was 80s themed. I dressed up as ... guess who ...?

Axl Rose!

Please take care, thank you.

I had to laugh seeing this sign in the Prince of George pub in Brighton ...

English is definitely a more polite language than Swedish.
We don't even have a word for "please" ...
so in Sweden this sign would simply say "Mind the Step"
or more likely ... there wouldn't be a sign at all!