User:Tuomas/Phonology

Phonology

The Swedish phonology is known for its melodic accent, a trait shared with few other Indo-European languages, but not by all Swedish dialects. Swedish is also notable for having a large vowel inventory, with 17 different phonemes considered to be monophthongs by the Swedes, although they in fact often may be realized as diphthongs. One of the Swedish /u/ sounds is sometimes argued to be unique for Swedish and Norwegian. On the other hand, Swedish pronunciation of consonants is similar to that of most other Germanic languages, including English, as is most of the basic phonological patterns.

A major problem for students of Swedish is what can be perceived as a lack of standardisation of pronunciation:

• The pronunciation of vowels, and of some consonant sounds (particularly sibilants), demonstrates marked differences in spoken prestige dialects.
• Many varieties of Swedish, also common in national broadcasts, assimilate the /r/-sound producing retroflex consonants.
• In addition, the melodic accent of South-Sweden is strikingly different from that of the capital-region (including Åland), which in turn differs clearly from provincial dialects of Dalecarlia and Gotlandia. In Finland-Swedish, melodic accent isn't used at all, as is also typical for those parts of northernmost Sweden, where Finnish dominated less than a century ago.

Standard pronunciation

Contrary to the situation with German, Danish, or Finnish there can't be said to exist any nation-wide spoken Standard Swedish. Instead there are (at least) three "regional standard varieties" (acrolects or prestige dialects), i.e. the most intelligible or prestigious forms of spoken Swedish, each within their area. No commonly accepted terms exist, not even in Swedish, but in this article they will be designated as (in order of significance):

• Central Swedish Standard
• South Swedish Standard
• Finland Swedish Standard

These may in turn be further divided, the prestige dialects of Gothenburg and Luleå may in some contexts be added to the list, and border areas may show some mixed characteristics. The Central Swedish Standard, that of the Swedish capital, is the largest and the most dominant of these.

Speakers of certain dialects, as for instance Gutnish and Dalecarlian, do not really fit into this scheme, and may by many Swedes be considered to speak an accented Standard Swedish, preserving traits of their dialect's phonology, unless they've acquired the phonology of any of the better known regional standards, which typically would be expected from for instance actors.

The differences in the phonology of these various forms of Standard Swedish can be quite considerable, although as a rule less marked than between varieties of lower registers, including major differences in:

• prosody
• fricatives
• diphtongs
• assimilation
• the realization of the /r/-phoneme

The differences may be compared with those between General American, Australian English, and the British Received Pronunciation.

In Swedish, the Central Swedish Standard may go under the name of rikssvenska, that however also is a term comprising all Swedish spoken in Sweden contrary to the Swedish spoken in Finland (or formerly elsewhere). Similarly, the Finland Swedish Standard may go under the name of högsvenska that however has become a controversial and emotionally loaded term that also has changed meaning in the course of the 20th century.

Some Swedes, particularly in the capital region, may consider all other varieties of Swedish than the Central Swedish Standard as "dialects". On the other extreme, some, not the least dialectologists, may reserve the term dialect for what they consider genuine rural dialects uncompromised by influence from the standard language, excluding also town dialects.

The most significant difference between the way people speak prestigeous Swedish is prosodic, which is hard to describe in text. There are however also some marked differences with regard to the realization of particular phonemes and assimilations:

	Finland Swedish Standard	Central Swedish Standard	South Swedish Standard
characteristics
/ r /	[ r ]	[ r ~ ʐ ~ ɹ ~ ɾ ]	[ ʀ ~ ʁ ]
[ r ]-assimilations	-	[ ʂ ], [ ʈ ], [ ɖ ], [ ɭ ]	-
/ ʃ / ("sje") [initial] / ʃ / ("sje") [final]	[ ɕ ]	[ ʂ ~ ʃʷ ] [ ʃʷ ~ xʷ ] [ ʂ ~ ʃʷ ] [ xʷ ]	[ xʷ ~ χʷ ], [ fʷ ]
/ ç / ("tje")	[ ʨ ]	[ ɕ ]	[ ɕ ~ ç ]
diphtongs	-	inward directed	outward directed

/ ɧ / and [ ɧ ] are often used by Swedish linguists to designate the Swedish / ʃ /-sound, in Swedish known as the /"sje"/-sound. The phonetic symbol [ ɧ ] can be used to cover the whole range of labialized realizations [ ʃʷ ~ xʷ ~ χʷ, fʷ ], to contrast against [ ʂ ] in Sweden and [ ɕ ] in Finland-Swedish. Academic works may be inconclusive, but is seems highly likely that the most prestigeous realization of this phoneme in the capital region of Stockholm is changing from [ ʂ ~ ʃʷ ] towards the more contrasting [ xʷ ]. In northern Sweden [ ʂ ] dominates.

Vowels

graphemes	phoneme	phones	examples	American equivalent	comments
< i >	/ i: /	[ iː ]	is, , "ice"	"ee" in "see"
	/ i /	[ ɪ ]	imma, , "steam on window"	"i" in "pit"
< y >	/ y: /	[ yː ]	yla, , "howl"
	/ y /	[ ʏ ]	ylle, , "wool" (fabric or yarn)
< ö >	/ ö: /			like "i" in "sir"
	/ ö /
< u >	/ u: /
	/ u /
< o >	/ o: /			"oo" in "zoo"
	/ o /
< å >	/ å /			"au" in "caught"
	/ å: /			"oo" in "floor"
< a >	/ a: /	[ ɑː ]	glas, [glɑːs], "glass" tak, [tʰɑːkʰ], "roof" al, , "alder"	"a" in "father"
	/ a /	[ a ]	glass, [glasː], "ice cream" tack, [tʰakʰː], "thank", "Thank you!" ark, , "ark"; "sheet of paper"
< e >	/ e: /			"ai" in "pail"
	/ e /			"e" in "pet"
< ä >	/ ä /			"a" in "pat"
	/ ä: /			"ai" in "air"

prior version

Like many other Germanic languages, Swedish has long and short versions of each vowel. As a general rule, a vowel followed by two consonants is short; otherwise it is long. For example, the Swedish word "glas" (glass) has a long "a", while "glass" (ice cream) has a short "a". To indicate a short vowel preceding a "k", "ck" is used instead of "kk". For example, "tak" (roof) vs. "tack" (thank you).

Long Vowels

Letter	IPA	Closest General American English Equivalent	Swedish pronunciation
a	ɑː	"a" in "father"
e	eː	"ai" in "pail"
i	iː	"ee" in "see"
o	uː	"oo" in "zoo"
u	ʉː	like "e" in "roses", but with rounded lips
y	yː	like "ee" in "see", but with rounded lips alternately, "ü" in the German "für" or "u" in the French "sur"
å	oː	"oo" in "floor"
ä	ɛː æː¹	"ai" in "air"
ö	øː œː¹	like "i" in "sir" alternately, "ö" in the German "schön" or "eu" in the French "ceux"

¹ When followed by 'r' (eg. "här", "hör"). However, this rhoticity of sorts does not occur in all dialects, whereas the second pronunciation is used throughout in others (especially with 'ö').

Short Vowels

Letter	IPA	Closest General American English Equivalent	Swedish pronunciation
a	a	"u" in "putt"
e	ɛ	"e" in "pet"
i	ɪ	"i" in "pit"
o	ʊ	"u" in "put"
u	ɵ	like "ir" in "bird"	-
y	ʏ	like "i" in "pit", but with rounded lips alternately, close to "ü" in the German "hübsch"
å	ɔ	"au" in "caught"
ä	æ	"a" in "pat"
ö	œ	like "e" in "pet", but with rounded lips alternately, "ö" in the German "Löffel" or "eu" in the French "heure"	-

In addition, an "e" in an unstressed syllable may have a schwa [ə] sound.

Isotalo's version

Like many other Germanic languages, Swedish has long and short versions of each vowel. As a general rule, a vowel followed by two consonants is short; otherwise it is long. For example, the Swedish word "glas" (glass) has a long "a", while "glass" (ice cream) has a short "a". To indicate a short vowel preceding a "k", "ck" is used instead of "kk". For example, "tak" (roof) vs. "tack" (thank you). Stressed vowels can be either long or short, but unstressed onees can never be long.

Long vowels

Phoneme (IPA)	Grapheme	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
iː	i	is, [iːs], "ice"
yː	y	yla, [ˈˈyːla], "howl"
ʉː	u	ut, [ʉ̟ːt], "out"
eː	e	ek, [eːk], "oak"
ɛː	ä	läs, [lɛːs], "read" (imperative)
ɑː	a	al, [ˈɑːl], "alder"
øː	ö	öl, [øːl], "beer"
uː	o	oro, [ˈuːruː], "unease", "worry"
oː	å, o	åka, [ˈoːka], "travel", "go"

/ɛː/ and /øː/ are lowered when followed by /r/, /l/ dental consonants or by their retroflex counterparts. In Central Swedish, especially younger speakers are increasingly using [ɶː] in other phonotactic contexts as well. Words like fördömande ("judging") and fördummande ("dumbing") often are pronounced similarly, if not identically.

[ɛː] -> [ˈæː] ( ära, [æːra] "honor").

[øː] -> [œ̟ː] ( öra, [œ̟ːra], "ear").

Short Vowels

Phoneme (IPA)	Grapheme	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
ɪ	i	imma[ˈɪma], "mist"
ʏ	y	ylle, [ˈʏlə], "wool" (textile)
ɵ	u	ull, [ɵl], "wool" (material)
œ	ö	kött, [çœt], "meat"; "flesh"
ɛ	e, ä	est, [ɛst], "estonian"
a	a	"ark", [ark], "ark"; "sheet" (of paper)
ɔ	å, o	åtta, [ˈɔta], "eight"}
ʊ	o	ort, [ʊʈ], "(geographic) place"

Just like the long vowels, the short ones exhibit the same allophonic pattern when preceding supradental consonants.

[œ] -> [ɶ̟] ( dörr, /dœ̟r/, "door"). The

[ɛ] -> [æ] ( ärt, /æʈ/ , "pea").

Unstressed "e"s are pronounced [ə] ( stele, /bəˈgoː ˈsteːlə/, "commit", "stela"), i.e. a basic schwa.

Consonants

prior version

Swedish pronunciation of consonants is similar to that of most other Germanic languages, including English.

Some consonants and consonant combinations have both "hard" and "soft" sounds. These consonants are hard when preceding a back vowel (a o u å), and soft when preceding a front vowel (e i y ä ö).

Consonants

Letter	Hard (IPA)	Soft (IPA)	English equivalent
b	b	-	"b" in "bad"
c	k	s	hard = "c" in "cat", soft = "c" in "cent" (not hard preceding ä or ö)
d	d	-	"d" in "dog"
f	f	-	"f" in "fat"
g	g	j	hard = "g" in "good", soft = "y" in "yes"
h	h	-	"h" in "hat"
j	j	-	"y" in "yes"
k	k	ɕ	hard = "k" in "kill", soft = "sh" in "marsh"
l	l	-	"l" in "lap"
m	m	-	"m" in "map"
n	n	-	"n" in "nap"
p	p	-	"p" in "pat"
r	r ~ ʀ ~ ʁ	-	"r" in "red", but rolled in most parts of Sweden and Finland
s	s	-	"s" in "sap"
t	t	-	"t" in "tap"
v	v	-	"v" in "vat"
w	v	-	"v" in "vat"
x	ks	-	"x" in "box"
z	s	-	"s" in "sap"

Notes:

• T, N, L, and to a lesser extent D are pronounced dentally (with the tongue touching the teeth instead of the hard palate).
• Following a long vowel, the combination R + an alveolar consonant (T, D, N, L, S) may be pronounced as a single retroflex consonant (ʈ, ɖ, ɳ, ɭ, ʂ). This change occurs in northern and middle Swedish dialects, and is not hindered by word-boundaries.

Consonant Combinations

Letters	Hard (IPA)	Soft (IPA)	English equivalent
ch	ʂ ~ ɧ ~ ɸ	ɕ	hard = "sh" in "marsh", soft = "sh" in "shoe"
dj gj hj lj	j	-	"y" in "yes"
kj tj	ɕ	-	"sh" in "shoe"
lg	lj	-	"lli" in "billiards"
ng	ŋ	-	"ng" in "sing" but never as in "finger"
rg	rj	-	"r" in "red" followed by "y" in "yes"
sch sj skj stj	ʂ ~ ɧ ~ ɸ	-	"sh" in "marsh"
sk	sk	ʂ ~ ɧ ~ ɸ	hard = "sk" in "ski", soft = "sh" in "marsh"

Notes:

• The sound "sj" or soft "sk", (IPA ʂ ~ ɧ ~ ɸ) is listed here as "sh" as in "marsh", although there is considerable variation inbetween speakers of Swedish. See Voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative for more details.

Isotalo's version

Plosives

Phoneme (IPA)	Graphemes	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
p	p	pall, /pal/, "stool"
b	b	bok, /buːk/, "book"
t	t	stor, tand/stuːr tand/, "big", "tooth"
d	d	dag, /dɑːg/, "day"
ʈ¹	rt
ɖ¹	rd	hård, /hoːɖ/, "hard"
k	k	kort , skal, /koʈ skɑːl/, "short", "shell"
g	g	gas, /gɑːs/, "gas"

Fricatives

Phoneme (IPA)	Graphemes	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
f	f	full, /fɵl/, "full"
v	v	vak, /vɑːk/, "hole in the ice"
s	s	sist, /sɪst/, "last"
ʂ²	rs, sch	kors, schlager, /koʂ ˈʂlɑːgɛr/, "cross", "hit" (song)
ɧ²	sj, stj,	sju, stjärna, skjul, /ɧʉː ˈɧæːrnaa ɧʉːl/, "seven", "star", "shed"
ɕ	k, tj	tjur, kind, /ɕʉːr, ɕɪnd/, "bull", "cheek"
j	j, g	jord, /juːɖ/, "earth"; "soil"
h	h	hård, /hoːɖ/, "hard"

Trills

Phoneme (IPA)	Graphemes	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
r	r	rak, /rɑːk/, "straight"

Laterals

Phoneme (IPA)	Graphemes	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
l	l	lila, /liːla/, "purple"
ɭ	rl	sorl, /soːɭ/, "murmur"

Nasals

Phoneme (IPA)	Graphemes	Pronunciation sample, IPA and translation
m	m	mal, /mɑːl/, "moth"
n	n	nål, /noːl/, "needle"
ɳ¹	rn	garn, /gɑːɳ/, "yarn"
ŋ	ng, gn	gång, /gɔŋ/, "path", "(style of) walk"

¹ The combination of "r" with "t", "d" or "n" results in retroflex consonants, which are not limited by word boundaries. Example: Vi går nu ("we're leaving now") and vi går till sta'n ("we're going downtown (to the city)") are rendered [vɪˈgoːɳʉː] and [vɪgoʈɪˈstɑːn].

² Most variations distinguish betweeen /ɧ/ and [ʂ], but both are rendered [ʂ] in northern Sweden and in Finland-Swedish. Although the differentiated use of the two fricatives have distinct rules in the dialects that use both, they should be considered allophones.

The letter "r" has many quite distinct variations in Standard Swedish. In the southern variants the sound is rendered with [ʀ]. In Central Swedish the "r"s can vary greatly depending on social and phonotactic context. The "correct" pronunciation is usually considered to be [r] but in reality the variations are considerable. At the beginning of words, the /r/ is often pronunced as a the fricative [ʐ], in consonant clusters often as [ʂ] and especially in Stockholm as the approximant [ɹ]. Uses of taps like [ɾ] are also common.