Customer Reviews

Say It in Swedish (Revised) (Dover Language Guides Say It Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I suspect it has been some time since the author visited Sweden or even watched a Swedish movie. A quick glance through the phrases and translations gives me the feel of reading a novel from the 1940s. Using these phrases in Sweden will make you seem either comical or positively moronic.
A few examples: Hardly anyone uses the antiquated polite form "Ni" any more. It might even be taken as an insult. This book uses it consistently. No Swede would ever say "Var så god och ge mig resväskan", which translates to something like "You had better give me that suitcase". The translation of "may I introduce miss Svensson" will sound hilarious in modern Sweden, unless you are auditioning for a part in a period movie from the second world war. If you are in search of an adaptor and ask for a "transformator" as suggested in this book, you would probably just get funny looks.
Surely it must be possible to come up with something better than this?
(For your information, I am Swedish.)

I actually purchased this book a few years ago. As a high school student into Swedish culture, I bought this book because it looked fun and easy to read. I was very impressed with this pocket sized text.

I felt as though I started learning Swedish right away. I learned my phone number, days of the week and greetings. I taught my friends. They all borrowed the book.

I went to Sweden and Finland about a year later. I found it useful. It is not the be all and end all of the Swedish language by any means, but I loved it. I do wish it had an audio tape.

I lost the book recently and I have decided to repurchase the same book because I have found none better for the price and quick information it provided.

A good way to get familiar with Swedish if you are a beginner. This book contains practical phrases for a variety of situations. The pronunication of every word is written underneath each phrase phonetically, which is especially helpful/needed when learning Swedish. A handy little book, and even if you end up using it as a coaster you still haven't lost at this price!

This book is mini and light in weight, but it was first published in the 80's, so a lot of the phrases are kindda out dated. I bought this book when I went to study in Sweden for 2 years, and that is not how young people speak anymore. But the vocabulary is still usefull.

Myself being a second (father's side)and third generation (mother's side)Swedish-American, I find the suggested pronunciations to be inaccurate. Some of the sounds described in this book are not as my parents tried to teach me.

Disappointed in Dallas.

This is a good book for what it is intended for. The only thing against it is that we didn't need it in Sweden. Nearly everyone speaks English, at least to some extent, even in the small fishing villages along the coast. The only time we didn't find someone that could speak Englishat a restaurant, we just guessed and were able to order anyway. Ended up with Lasagna, which isn't exactly Swedish fare, but the word they had on the menu looked similar, so we guessed well!