Swedish Language History

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Questions and Answers

How does modern language differ from the proto-language?

There is a greater difference in how people speak today compared to when everyone spoke the same way during the Proto-Nordic period.
Languages today are more coherent across larger areas. (correct)
People have always spoken the same way.
There is less variation in dialects today. (correct)

Which factors contributed to Swedish becoming a standard language for everyone in the 20th century?

Swedes became more inclined to move. (correct)
Swedes started traveling more. (correct)
Radio and TV broadcasted a standard language that everyone could listen to. (correct)
Telephones allowed Swedes to communicate with people in other parts of the country.

How did Gustav Vasa's Bible impact the Swedish language?

Children learned to read and write.
It created more uniform spelling in Sweden. (correct)
It created a more uniform grammatical structure in Sweden.
It introduced more foreign loanwords into Swedish.

Which languages are related to Finnish?

Estonian (B), Hungarian (C), Sami (E) Signup and view all the answers

What contributes to a more intimate use of language today?

People are on first-name terms with their boss. (A), The Prime Minister can publicly talk about a private situation. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following words are considered German loanwords?

fönster (A), betala (D), köpman (H), räkna (I) Signup and view all the answers

Why are there numerous sources from the younger Old Swedish period?

Several statutory laws were written down. (A), Trade in the cities gave rise to writings related to administration and accounting. (D), Many religious writings were produced in monasteries. (F), There were several political chronicles. (G) Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by 'domänförlust' (domain loss)?

Swedish can no longer be used within a certain activity. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following are sources from the Old Swedish period?

Äldre Västgötalagen (A), Magnus Erikssons landslag (B), Heliga Birgittas uppenbarelser (D), Karlskrönikan (F), Engelbrektskrönikan (G) Signup and view all the answers

What became the task of language purists during the 18th century?

Bring spoken and written language closer together. (A), Counteract foreign influence. (B), Promote the purity, strength, and beauty of the Swedish language. (E), Focus on correct language use. (F) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following applies to the 20th century?

Spoken and written language have come closer together. (A), Formal language relaxes and becomes increasingly intimate. (B), The 'sje' sound breaks through as a new phoneme. (D), Hv and fv are replaced with v. (F), Dialects diminish. (H), New technology affects language. (I), Dt is replaced with tt. (J), Sentence structure becomes simpler. (K) Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristics are related to the 19th century?

It becomes more important for ordinary people to take part in news and participate in debates. (B), It is decided that all Swedish children should learn to read and write. (C), Newspapers begin to be published. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following words contains a diphthong?

biorn (A), rauk (C) Signup and view all the answers

How many characters did the runic alphabet contain?

16 (E), 24 (F) Signup and view all the answers

What does 'futhark' mean?

a runic alphabet (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following are examples of formal language use today?

Legal texts (C), News reading on TV (D), Written language in a scientific paper (E) Signup and view all the answers

Which changes did Christianity give rise to during the Old Swedish period?

The Latin alphabet came to replace the runes. (A), The languages in the Nordic countries got their first loanwords. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which languages have most influenced Swedish?

French, German, English (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following languages belong to the Indo-European language group?

engelska (A), grekiska (B), svenska (D), hindi (E), ryska (G) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following words are classified as inherited words (arvord)?

gå (A), björn (C), mor (E), dag (F) Signup and view all the answers

What causes some languages that are geographically close to be more different than those that are farther apart?

Larger groups of people have moved around and settled in different places. (D) Signup and view all the answers

How was grammar different during the Old Swedish period?

There were more inflections than there are today. (B), Nouns had three genders. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following can be seen as a general language development that applies to most language periods?

Language tends to become simpler and more vernacular with shorter sentences. (D), Language receives many foreign impulses with loanwords from different languages. (E), Words generally become shorter. (F) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following became distinctive of Gustav Vasa's language policy?

He wanted to distinguish Swedish from Danish. (B), He wanted the Swedes to feel Swedish. (E) Signup and view all the answers

Why has English had such a great influence?

It is the foreign language that one learns first in school. (B), It is the dominant language in the world. (C) Signup and view all the answers

How did the language change during the younger Old Swedish period?

Th becomes a common letter combination. (A), New spellings with x, q, and z are introduced. (C) Signup and view all the answers

In what way has the internet changed our reading and writing habits?

We have all become public writers. (A), Images and fonts have gained greater significance. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following relates to the older Early Modern Swedish period?

The Chancery Swedish develops. (A), The 'sje' sound comes in from foreign languages. (B), Weekly magazines start to be published in Sweden. (C) Signup and view all the answers

In Then Swänska Argus it was written that Swedish should be kept pure from 'makeup and French flies'. What is meant by this?

People did not like French loanwords in Swedish. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What contributed to dialects diminishing in the 20th century?

Influence of mass media. (B), Increased migration and mobility. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of how new technology influences language?

Vocabulary expands to include new technical terms. (A) Signup and view all the answers

How did the translation of the Bible in Gustav Vasa's time contribute to national identity?

By making religious texts accessible to all social classes. (C), By standardizing the language used across different regions. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of language was language purism most concerned with during the 18th century?

Focusing on the aesthetic qualities of language. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What can be inferred about the relationship between language and society from the rise of newspapers in the 19th century?

The elite's control over public discourse diminished. (A), Literacy rates increased as more people sought to engage with news and debates. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Modern language vs. Proto-Norse

Modern Swedish shows less dialectal variation, with languages more unified across larger regions.

Causes of standardized Swedish

Increased travel, migration, and the spread of radio and TV helped establish Standard Swedish.