Igelkott

Ok thank you, that makes sense. Unfortunately I don't live in Sweden (I really wish I did!) but speaking the language whenever I can for one month sounds like a great idea. My husband is learning Swedish too but it didn't occur to us to start conversing in it with each other. (We do try to write our shopping lists in Swedish though haha). So there is nothing stopping us speaking it exclusively at home, other than our confidence I suppose. I do already find myself sometimes thinking of things in Swedish without...well, thinking about it. For instance on TV the other day there was a turtle and the word "sköldpadda" came into my head even though I wasn't actively thinking in Swedish.

One thing I keep pondering during my quest to learn Swedish, is this: for those of you who are fluent in a second language, how do you read/listen to that language? Do you translate it mentally into your native language as you're reading/hearing it, or do you just know what the words mean without having to translate it? It's something that keeps bothering me (I don't know why, it just does!) - I guess I'm unsure whether I'm "doing it right" - because I translate the words I read/hear into English (in my head) in order to understand them, but I'm not sure if I should just be automatically understanding them instead. Does this make sense? I guess I just want to understand what it's like for someone who is fluent in more than one language. Hopefully this doesn't come across as a completely daft question.

Duolingo is one of the tools in my 'Swedish Toolbox' as it were... I came across it a few weeks ago and since then I've been using it every day for 10-30 minutes at a time. I think it's a wonderful way to learn; if you make mistakes the little owl keeps encouraging you, and the variety of ways of learning seem to stick better in one's mind, I think. One minute you're typing the English equivalent of Swedish words on the screen, then you're speaking Swedish to see if you can pronounce it right, next you're typing the Swedish equivalent of English words... it chops and changes and keeps you on your toes and I think that cements it in your mind, you know? That really sounds like I have a 'stake' in Duolingo - I honestly don't - I just think it's a great tool and I would definitely recommend it.

Well, the way I see it is that, just like our native languages, there are 'idioms' and different ways of saying things, slang and what-have-you. I too have found that the online translation tools can be confusing - one thing I find sometimes helps, is taking what it has given you as the translation, and putting that back in to translate it back the other way... so if you type in something in (say) Spanish and get an English translation, try sticking that English translation back in and getting the Spanish output... sometimes that gives you a better idea of what it is trying to say. Does that help? I personally don't worry too much (certainly at the stage I'm at with Swedish) with figuring out all these different combinations - I am aware of them, I'm aware that there are different ways of saying the same thing, and the more I delve into the language and learn from different tools and books etc, the more the differences and 'idioms' become clear. That's why I like to learn from a variety of sources because I feel I get a more 'rounded' knowledge of the language that way. Hope that helps

Hello DogDadChris, nice to meet you I'm finding Swedish to be very interesting, and enjoyable! Some of the words are so much more logical than English, but then on the other hand I struggle with their plurals and yes, as you say with Spanish, word order. Guess I'll get there eventually. I too think in English word order like you. That's good if you have native speakers that you can talk to. I don't have that option so I'll have to make do with my books, online stuff and music! I think the main thing is that you enjoy it - if you enjoy something you're more likely to stick at it and learn it, that's what I think anyway. And it's good that you have a definite goal in mind, I think that also helps as it is something to aim for. Good luck!

Hallå allesammans! I began teaching myself Swedish at the beginning of the year, using online tools and books, as well as picking up some words and phrases from music I like (I also dabble in listening to Swedish radio but I can't follow much of it yet; by the time I've recognised one or two words I've missed the next two sentences!) I began learning the language because there are some videos online that I really want to understand. I am keeping that as my main goal but the more I get into the Swedish language I find I am enjoying it just for itself, it is a wonderful language and I love the occasional "oh!" moments when I realise how perfectly obvious some of the words are. It's great fun. But, I like to learn things by gaining information from a variety of sources. Hence my arrival on these fine shores, where I hope I can further my skills by practising and getting help. Maybe I'll even get to the point where I can help others... although that perhaps is some way off. Anyway, that's me... I look forward to meeting you all.