What Do You Know About Sweden?

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Edumacate me. :)

(This started off as a question from Piddy, was starting to morph into a free-form fact fest courtesy of Toose and Tea... but I think it needs its own thread because you know.. it's a whole country.

Right?)
;)

[Sir Toose]

Nyuck, Nyuck!~

:D

They have a Loch Ness type monster there and the Scots want some eggs so they can hatch a companion for Nessie.

Also, Swedish Fish, the candy, is pretty darn flavorful.

[MyRobotSuit]

Clocks and Pidd.

I'm so ignorant. I want some facts too.

[Yoda]

It's full of blonde meatball-consuming bikini models.

[Ophelia]

You can see the Aurora Borealis there.

Everyone in Goteborg drives a SAAB.

The people are lovely.

Everytime you walk into a restaurant they steal your coat and hold it for ransom.

[SmegFirk]

Serial woman-bedder and occasional England manger, Sven-Göran Eriksson, is rubbish.

Sorry, i meant Swedish.

[SamsoniteDelilah]

So I'm not a total slacker, I did a little research:
swedenIt's slightly larger than California, and similarly shaped.

Hasn't been in a war in 2 centuries.

Population: just over 9 million

Religion: Lutheran. 87% of the population!!

Currency: Swedish krona

Budget: revenues: $201.3 billion
expenditures: $199.6 billion

Capitol: Stockholm

Independence: 6 June 1523

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Serial woman-bedder and occasional England manger, Sven-Göran Eriksson, is rubbish.

Sorry, i meant Swedish.
Are you trying to end their no-war streak, Smeg?

[Equilibrium]

They have a cool flag and such.

[Blister]

There are a great number of metal bands

[Darth Stujitzu]

I know loads, although I've never been there!
Absolut vodka,Abba, Henrik Larsson, Johan Mjallby, Freddie Lungberg, saunas, Saabs, lovely swedish blonde women, Roxette, oh I could go on all day....but sooner or later Pidd would expose me for the fraud I am!!!
Would love to go to Stockholm and see a little bit of Sweden, it's on my todo list!

[Golgot]

It's one of those countries which disproves the theory that high social spending must lead to lower economic growth.
[see Martin Wolf's analysis of the OECD's historical findings in this article: "More public spending does not lead to slower growth" - Financial Times - March 23 2005]

For a certain scale of 'creativity', it's considered the most creative country in the world.
[see "Where it's at" - New Scientist - October 29 2005]

It's residents can be unremittingly blond.
[See Pidz ;)]

[Equilibrium]

officially Kingdom of Sweden Area: 173,732 sq mi (449,964 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 8,924,000. Capital: Stockholm. The population is largely homogeneous, although there are Finnish and Sami minorities and 10% of the inhabitants are immigrants or their descendents. Language: Swedish (official). Religions: Church of Sweden (Lutheran), Islam, Roman Catholicism, Pentacostalism. Currency: Swedish krona. Sweden has three traditional regions. Mountainous Norrland covers about three-fifths of the country and has vast forests and large ore deposits. Svealand has undulating glacial ridges and contains most of the country's 90,000 lakes. Götaland comprises the stony Småland highlands and the rich Skåne plains. About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle. The economy is largely based on services, heavy industries, and international trade. Sweden has large deposits of iron ore; industries include mining, lumbering, steel manufacturing, and tourism. Important agricultural products include grains, sugar beets, potatoes, and livestock. One of the world's richest countries, Sweden is known for its comprehensive social welfare system. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. The first inhabitants were apparently hunters who crossed a land bridge from Europe c. 12,000 BC. During the Viking era (9th–10th centuries AD), the Swedes controlled river trade in eastern Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea; they also raided western European lands. Sweden was loosely united and Christianized in the 11th–12th centuries. It conquered the Finns in the 12th century, and in the 14th century it united with Norway and Denmark under a single monarchy. Sweden broke away in 1523 under Gustav I Vasa. In the 17th century it emerged as a great European power in the Baltic region, but its dominance declined after its defeat in the Second Northern War (1700–21). It became a constitutional monarchy in 1809 and united with Norway in 1815; it acknowledged Norwegian independence in 1905. Sweden maintained its neutrality during both World Wars. It was a charter member of the UN but abstained from membership in NATO and the European Union until the 1990s. A new constitution drafted in 1975 reduced the monarch's powers to those of a ceremonial head of state. In 1997 Sweden began the controversial shutdown of its nuclear power industry. By the early 21st century it had emerged as a European centre of telecommunications and information technology.

Sweden." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 30 Nov. 2005 <http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9379994>

That islam part is something i didn't know.

[Ophelia]

That islam part is something i didn't know.

Yeah...especially in a multi-cultural society. Bizarre. :eek:

[SmegFirk]

...Roxette..
Ah yes, good times

[Equilibrium]

Yeah...especially in a multi-cultural society. Bizarre. :eek:

You have no idea who you're talking to. Shut it.


:D

[Piddzilla]

Wow! This thread is awesome!!! Keep it coming!!!

One thing that I am kind of surprised by is that Saab is mentioned a couple of times, but not Volvo. But then again, GM owns Volvo these days. Or is it Ford?

The islam part isn't, as Ophelia so delicately pointed out, that strange. We have lots of immigrants from muslim countries, so there you have it.

And Mini.... the clocks. They are in Switzerland with the cheese. :yup:

Toosie, I'm impressed you knew about Storsjöodjuret ("The Great Lake Monster").

I actually feel a little bit honored! :blush:

[Tea Barking]

Swedens most famous chef.

http://www.cuppatea.org/_1027372_wyclef_chef_ap300.jpg

[SmegFirk]

Swedens most famous chef.

http://www.cuppatea.org/_1027372_wyclef_chef_ap300.jpg
http://www.worth1000.com/entries/38000/38239xEg1_w.jpg

Birdie birdie birdie birdie

[Piddzilla]

You can see the Aurora Borealis there.

Everyone in Goteborg drives a SAAB.

The people are lovely.

Everytime you walk into a restaurant they steal your coat and hold it for ransom.

Have you been to Sweden, Ophelia?

[Ophelia]

Have you been to Sweden, Ophelia?

Yep. I was in Gothenburg in April '05, but I have everything booked for another trip over in February '06. I loved it there. I am looking forward to going back and hopefully will be able to say a few more words than 'hej' 'tack' and 'fisk' :)

[Piddzilla]

Yep. I was in Gothenburg in April '05, but I have everything booked for another trip over in February '06. I loved it there. I am looking forward to going back and hopefully will be able to say a few more words than 'hej' 'tack' and 'fisk' :)

You can never go wrong with "fisk" though. How come you're going to Gothenburg? And why in february? You should try the summer sometime as well. :yup:

I'm glad you liked it. Where the heck are you from then?

[Ophelia]

You can never go wrong with "fisk" though. How come you're going to Gothenburg? And why in february? You should try the summer sometime as well. :yup:

I'm glad you liked it. Where the heck are you from then?

When I was there a waiter was trying to convince me to come back in the summer, telling me that you can go out onto the islands on little boats and jump into the sea, have a swim...very tempting.

I am going back to Gothenburg as I loved it there, I thought it was a beautiful city, at the time Lisberg was opened - I love rollercoasters, I loved the museums, the gardens, the architecture I enjoyed the big science place, universium, and I regret not getting to the natural history museum, which I hope to go to in February.

February - I had to take a week off from work before April and that was one of the few left. Is the weather very bad in February?

I am actually hoping to move to Sweden for a year, if things work out. With my job I can work basically anywhere. Everyone I spoke to while I was there were alot better at english than me! so I just need to learn more swedish :)

I am from Northern Ireland. What a ramble :o

[Sleezy]

I am from Northern Ireland. What a ramble :o

Question:

Can you somehow get send me the Colin Farrel Secret Decoder Ring? Because when he's not speaking in an American accent, I can't understand a word he's saying. :laugh:

[Tacitus]

Question:

Can you somehow get send me the Colin Farrel Secret Decoder Ring? Because when he's not speaking in an American accent, I can't understand a word he's saying. :laugh:

Farrell's a Southerner, Ophelia's a Northerner (as am I). Completely different accent but you might find this (http://speaknorniron.8m.net/dictionary.htm) helps. ;)

[Ophelia]

Question:

Can you somehow get send me the Colin Farrel Secret Decoder Ring? Because when he's not speaking in an American accent, I can't understand a word he's saying. :laugh:

Well it wont be of much benefit if its a Colin Farrel secret decoder made in Ireland....we all kindof sound the same :p

[Ophelia]

Farrell's a Southerner, Ophelia's a Northerner (as am I). Completely different accent but you might find this (http://speaknorniron.8m.net/dictionary.htm) helps. ;)

You have completely contradicted my post....grrr. :o

[Sleezy]

Farrell's a Southerner, Ophelia's a Northerner (as am I). Completely different accent but you might find this (http://speaknorniron.8m.net/dictionary.htm) helps. ;)

I can actually manage pretty well (I was just being facetious), but thanks for the link. I love reading about different slang and speech patterns. :D

Well it wont be of much benefit if its a Colin Farrel secret decoder made in Ireland....we all kindof sound the same

Right. Didn't think about that. :)

[Tacitus]

You have completely contradicted my post....grrr. :o

Well, I guess we do sound the same if you're not from here (or are from Fermanagh). But you'll be able to tell Derry from Newry from Belfast from Boho* if you've stayed here for any length of time. ;)

*It's in Fermanagh, seen it on a road sign.

[Sleezy]

Well, I guess we do sound the same if you're not from here

I'm from the States, and I can definitely hear the differences in Irish accents. Hell, IMDB tells me that Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrel are both from Dublin, and their accents are quite different.

[Tacitus]

I'm from the States, and I can definitely hear the differences in Irish accents. Hell, IMDB tells me that Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrel are both from Dublin, and their accents are quite different.

Funny you should mention Gleeson (one of my favourite actors, by the way) for the first time I looked at his biog on IMDB it said he was born in Belfast (!). It was changed pretty quick. ;)

Now, can you tell the difference between Liam Neeson's accent and either Gleeson's or Farrell's?. That's the difference between North & South, though Big Liam is sounding rather transatlantic lately...

[Sleezy]

Funny you should mention Gleeson (one of my favourite actors, by the way)

Mine too. :yup:

Now, can you tell the difference between Liam Neeson's accent and either Gleeson's or Farrell's?. That's the difference between North & South, though Big Liam is sounding rather transatlantic lately...

Farrel's accent seems to be thicker, faster, and seems to use more deep "o" and "e" sounds. If I remember correctly, Neeson's pre-transatlantic accent (circa Michael Collins, Rob Roy, and before) sounded like it was slower and more "throaty" (meaning more "a" and "r" sounds). Am I right?

EDIT: Ha, so much for talking about Sweden. :)

[Tacitus]

Mine too. :yup:



Farrel's accent seems to be thicker, faster, and seems to use more deep "o" and "e" sounds. If I remember correctly, Neeson's pre-transatlantic accent (circa Michael Collins, Rob Roy, and before) sounded like it was slower and more "throaty" (meaning more "a" and "r" sounds). Am I right?

EDIT: Ha, so much for talking about Sweden. :)

Neeson would have long, hard vowel soungs and lots of glottals so you're definately in the right ballpark. Northern speech patterns are definately slower than Dublin too.

Neeson's from Ballymena which has an Ulster-Scots accent and I'm trying hard to think of another well-known Northern Irish actor but could only come up with Ken Branagh who left here when he was 9 so sounds 'English'.

EDIT! - Steven Rea's from Belfast and has a harsher accent than Big Liam.

Micky Rourke in A Prayer For The Dying doesn't count... ;)

[Sleezy]

You know, now that I think of it, Michael Gambon doesn't really sound like Farrel or Gleeson, and they're all from Dublin! Gambon speaks slowly, and unless he covers his accent for most of his roles (he often sounds British), it sounds much lighter than others'. Did you see Open Range? His accent is more pronounced in that one. Which region does it reflect, would you say?

Also, what sort of dialect does Cate Blanchett use in Veronica Guerin? She always astounds me with her flawless attention to regional accents. She's Australian, but she's done Irish, British, Welsh, and various American dialects perfectly. Amazing.

[Tacitus]

Like Branagh, Gambon moved to England as a child and any time I've heard him interviewed he's always had an English accent. In fact I didn't even know he was Irish until a few years ago so his accent in Open Range would be a generic one. Without watching it again I dunno the region he was trying to go for though. ;)

Blanchett was great in Veronice Guerin, heck she's great in just about anything she does.

[Caitlyn]

"What Do You Know About Sweden?"



The Great Viking Piddzilla hails from there... and he may or may not worship the Norse Gods of his ancestors...

[SamsoniteDelilah]

As I was about to fall asleep last night, it dawned on me that the mom of one of my college roommates was from Sweden. I spent a long weekend at their home once, and learned that Swedish massage is pretty serious business... Swedish meatballs don't come in tomato sauce... and Swedes eat salad at the end of a meal.

[Caitlyn]

Sweden and Louisiana have something in common in their love of Crayfish… which is what the Swedish call them… down here they're better know as Crawfish, crawdads, or mudbugs… :D

[Piddzilla]

Swedes eat salad at the end of a meal.

We do? :confused:


The Great Viking Piddzilla hails from there... and he may or may not worship the Norse Gods of his ancestors...

Yay, Thor!

Sweden and Louisiana have something in common in their love of Crayfish… which is what the Swedish call them… down here they're better know as Crawfish, crawdads, or mudbugs… :D

Well, here they're called "kräftor" but crayfish is the english word they taught us in school... But mudbugs, as Caitlyn told me they're called, is much funnier...

[Piddzilla]

When I was there a waiter was trying to convince me to come back in the summer, telling me that you can go out onto the islands on little boats and jump into the sea, have a swim...very tempting.

I am going back to Gothenburg as I loved it there, I thought it was a beautiful city, at the time Lisberg was opened - I love rollercoasters, I loved the museums, the gardens, the architecture I enjoyed the big science place, universium, and I regret not getting to the natural history museum, which I hope to go to in February.

February - I had to take a week off from work before April and that was one of the few left. Is the weather very bad in February?

Well, I think it sucks. The winter in southern Sweden is really bad, if you ask me. But I suppose it isn't that much different from what it's like in Northern Ireland during that time... Maybe slightly colder.

Sounds like you had great time though! :yup:

I am actually hoping to move to Sweden for a year, if things work out. With my job I can work basically anywhere. Everyone I spoke to while I was there were alot better at english than me! so I just need to learn more swedish :)

I am from Northern Ireland. What a ramble :o

That sounds cool. And yeah, I guess people around here are pretty good at english. We learn it at school from the age of 9 or 10 (I can't remember which).

I've been to Ireland but never Northern Ireland.... Unfortunately...

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Swedes eat salad at the end of a meal.
We do?
Ahhhhh HA! Revision:
Swedes sometimes forget to serve salad at the start of a meal, and claim it's a swedish tradition to eat it last. :p

[Piddzilla]

Ahhhhh HA! Revision:
Swedes sometimes forget to serve salad at the start of a meal, and claim it's a swedish tradition to eat it last. :p

Only on salad day, on which we celebrate the birth of baby Salad, son of Thor, daughter of Idun and twin mother of God. Of Thunder. Which would be Thor.

[SamsoniteDelilah]

Only on salad day, on which we celebrate the birth of baby Salad, son of Thor, daughter of Idun and twin mother of God. Of Thunder. Which would be Thor.
Of course you do.

:laugh:

[Ophelia]

Well, I think it sucks.

Great....now I can't wait. :(



That sounds cool. And yeah, I guess people around here are pretty good at english. We learn it at school from the age of 9 or 10 (I can't remember which).

Where I am from, which is very rural, languages are a joke. My high school only offered french. No one was encouraged to take it seriously, which is a great shame.

I've been to Ireland but never Northern Ireland.... Unfortunately...

Was it Dublin you went to? Northern Ireland is a great place to go, you should visit some day, everyone should, it's so beautiful. But I guess many people do not hear about that part of it.

(Tacitus, help me to convince people its great!)

[Tacitus]

Was it Dublin you went to? Northern Ireland is a great place to go, you should visit some day, everyone should, it's so beautiful. But I guess many people do not hear about that part of it.

(Tacitus, help me to convince people its great!)

Riiiiight....

I've been back here for nearly 4 years and the country is certainly in better shape than when I left it but the reasons for me returning are no longer here. That's my problem to deal with and not a fault of the country. :)

We've got some great scenery (heck, Belfast has been doing a Venice impression today) and the whole country's not far from an airport of some description. Great if you want to get in. Or out.

We're also obsessed with a sunk boat and nearly all our security guards are called Denver.

The people are, on the whole, a friendly bunch and have probably the greatest collection of souped-up and be-winged Peugeot 306's on the planet.

This alone makes me proud. :)

We also supply 90% of Northern Europe's McDonalds cup holders and all the major UK supermarket's egg boxes. Bet you didn't know that...

[SmegFirk]

..(Tacitus, help me to convince people its great!)

http://www.unison.ie/images_papers/news/41/11790/pictures/326460.jpg

"I WELCOME YOU ALL.. TO NORTHERN IRELAND."

Ophi will kill me

[Piddzilla]

Was it Dublin you went to? Northern Ireland is a great place to go, you should visit some day, everyone should, it's so beautiful. But I guess many people do not hear about that part of it.

(Tacitus, help me to convince people its great!)

I lived in Dublin for six months and I also visited Galway where my sister was working. Dublin was ok but I really loved Galway.

I had a friend there who went to Belfast and he loved it and said that it was really beautiful and that the people were nice. I couldn't go anywhere really when I was there. I was broke all the time... :D

About the weather here in february. I'm not saying you won't have a good time. When you go to a city it really doesn't matter if the weather isn't all shiny and warm. I'm sure it will be great for you anyway....

[nebbit]

All men are called Lars ;D

[Tacitus]

http://www.volvofan.at/IMAGES/Volvos/volvohistory/p1800_big.jpg

One of my favourite old cars, the Volvo P1800. Didn't old Roger Moore drive one as The Saint?

http://www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/spinaroundtown/05.volvo.xc90/05.volvo.xc90.v8.f34.500.jpg

And one of my favourite new cars, the Volvo XC90. ;)

[susan]

one thing that i do know about sweden is that they stood up to hitler during his invasion of the country....

and they make wonderful tiny meatballs and give us a wonderful store called ikea where you can buy all kinds of accessaries for your home and office

[Ophelia]

http://www.unison.ie/images_papers/news/41/11790/pictures/326460.jpg

"I WELCOME YOU ALL.. TO NORTHERN IRELAND."

Ophi will kill me

'the boys' are on their way over to your house, right about now. :mad:


We also supply 90% of Northern Europe's McDonalds cup holders and all the major UK supermarket's egg boxes. Bet you didn't know that...

Right ya Tattie tinker, last time I ask you for anything!


I lived in Dublin for six months and I also visited Galway where my sister was working. Dublin was ok but I really loved Galway.

I admit I am not a fan of Dublin. It's full of drunken tourist eejits. :eek: I don't mean you of course, ahem. Galway is gorgeous. did you ever pop over to Achill Island while you were over there, its just a little further up in Mayo.

I had a friend there who went to Belfast and he loved it and said that it was really beautiful and that the people were nice. I couldn't go anywhere really when I was there. I was broke all the time... :D

Belfast is grand, the university area is pretty. I am sure Belfast people are great but I prefer 'country people' :p


About the weather here in february. I'm not saying you won't have a good time. When you go to a city it really doesn't matter if the weather isn't all shiny and warm. I'm sure it will be great for you anyway....

i was only kidding :) I am sure it will be fine. And thanks.

[Tacitus]

Right ya Tattie tinker, last time I ask you for anything!

I do not lie (http://www.paperfiber.com/trade/aa773579.html). :)

....and I'm also related to the boss of the factory....

[SmegFirk]

'the boys' are on their way over to your house, right about now. :mad: ...
Boys are no use to me, oh

[Piddzilla]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present to you, the finest Swedish musical act of the 70s - The Electric Banana Band feat. Trazan & Banarne!

(All thanks to Golgot)

Balla Trazan Apansson (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Balla_Trazan_Apansson.mp3)
Bi, bi, viti limm (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Bi_bi_viti_limm.mp3)
Ja da (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Ja_da.mp3)
Apu, apu (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Apu_apu.mp3)
Itma Hoha (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Itma_Hoha.mp3)
Är bananerna fina? (http://www.c64.org/~zyron/barn/Ar_bananerna_fina.mp3)

[melbournemaniac]

I think there flag is White with a light blue and yellow cross on it.

[Piddzilla]

http://www.wedlund.nu/ettan/images/Svenska_flaggan.gif

[Caitlyn]

Piddy, doesn't an Elf deliver the presents in Sweden instead of Santa... or am I in the wrong country? :D

[Golgot]

Piddy, doesn't an Elf deliver the presents in Sweden instead of Santa... or am I in the wrong country? :D

Iceland (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/international/europe/13elves.html?ex=1278907200&en=5e99759b563f81fe&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss)'s big on Elves. They're believed to inhabit certain rocks. (Or these days i think some people consider the rocks transdimensional portals or realms or some such thing). Major roads have been shifted to avoid some of these rocks and all sorts. The elf beliefs have even been incorporated into versions of Christianity over there i think. Maybe that's the Santa elf you've heard tell of?

But then again, Swedes are crazy, who knows what they believe ;).

For proof see the songs above :) (which aren't thanks to me, they're thanks to the internet pixies ;))

[Caitlyn]

Iceland (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/international/europe/13elves.html?ex=1278907200&en=5e99759b563f81fe&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss)'s big on Elves. They're believed to inhabit certain rocks. (Or these days i think some people consider the rocks transdimensional portals or realms or some such thing). Major roads have been shifted to avoid some of these rocks and all sorts. The elf beliefs have even been incorporated into versions of Christianity over there i think. Maybe that's the Santa elf you've heard tell of?

But then again, Swedes are crazy, who knows what they believe ;).

For proof see the songs above :) (which aren't thanks to me, they're thanks to the internet pixies ;))


Cool Gol... not sure if it was Iceland or Sweden but I do remember something about the Elf riding Thor's goat or something like that... :D

[Darth Stujitzu]

The Elf riding Thor's goat, what dvd's have you been watching lately??? :blush: :randy: :laugh:

[Piddzilla]

An elf delivering gifts?? Lol... I have never heard of such a thing, Cait, sorry. :) On the other hand... I've never seen Santa for real either, if I had to tell you the truth... ;)

[Caitlyn]

An elf delivering gifts?? Lol... I have never heard of such a thing, Cait, sorry. :) On the other hand... I've never seen Santa for real either, if I had to tell you the truth... ;)


Hmm... Julbock, the Christmas goat, that Jul-Tomte, the Christmas elf, rides to bring presents to good little boys and girls isn't Swedish :confused:

[Piddzilla]

Jultomten is indeed swedish... :yup: And, yeah, julbock too.... You've done your homework! Good girl!!

[Golgot]

Jultomten is indeed swedish... :yup: And, yeah, julbock too.... You've done your homework! Good girl!!

Heehee. Owned ;)

Wait, does that mean there's a Celtic influence in Sweden? That's what that article suggested on the Icelandic front (IE a lot of their elf-style beliefs of old have Celtic-parallels etc. Including Dwarf-beliefs, according to some other reading i was doing)

[Piddzilla]

Heehee. Owned ;)

Wait, does that mean there's a Celtic influence in Sweden? That's what that article suggested on the Icelandic front (IE a lot of their elf-style beliefs of old have Celtic-parallels etc. Including Dwarf-beliefs, according to some other reading i was doing)

This elf business I have never heard of, but I'm certain that Celtic and ancient Nordic mythologies have influenced each other. The vikings enjoyed "visiting" the Celts now and then. :D And it wouldn't be so strange if Iceland is the nordic country with the most in common with Celtic culture since the icelandic culture is the nordic culture which has changed the least since the days of the vikings due to Iceland's isolated geographical position.

[Golgot]

Jultomten isn't an elf? That's quite an elvish sounding name... ;)

The vikings enjoyed "visiting" the Celts now and then. :D

Hey you! It's your fault that my (English/Scottish/Swedish) Australian grandfather was ginger then!

(You beasts!)


And you introduced language changes that eventually helped revolutionise English, leading to Shakespearean verse, socially-empowering creative-and-cultural growth amongst the proletariat, and the eventual formation of a linguistic empiiiiiiiiire!

Naughty!

(And very careless ;))

[Tea Barking]

That was anglo - danish i believe not swedish :)

[Golgot]

I think it was the remnants of all Scandenavian invasions wasn't it? (They've done the old gene-line tests on areas of Scotland and NE England, and i seem to remember they found more than one nation had 'docked' in those areas, din't they?)

[Tea Barking]

Swedish vikings probably looted england and there was an army of danes led by swedish leaders who made a thriving kindom untill it got bought by the normans.
But it was mostly danes who settled in england and mixed with anglo saxons. Altho im guessing danes and swedish spoke a similar language?
I think swedish vikings settled more in the east.
Lots of other races settled in england aswell during the roman occupation, and decided to stay when they left.

[Golgot]

Lots of other races settled in england aswell during the roman occupation, and decided to stay when they left.

Sure. And many of those influences are in the mix too i'd guess. :yup: (tho Roman and French 'latin' influences are the other big-contributor o'course, alongside Viking-verbalisings)

The creative explosion that flowered at around Shakespeare's time spun a lot of its inventiveness from scandanevian additions to the language tho, so i hear - stuff that had been more suppresed or ignored in the French-aristocratic-controlled/more-formulated/judicial south, but was free to run riot in the less orchestrated north (Or so Bill Bryson told me in Mother Tongue: The English Language ;))

[Tea Barking]

Yea theres no doubt scandinavia had a strong influence with the anglo danes starting it all, then influenced by the normons, then during shakspeares time as you say, at least thats how i understand it lol.
I think sweds did settle in some parts of britian you reminded me of a programme where they did dna on some island i forget which where about 90% could be traced back to vikings.

[Golgot]

Yeah, xactly. There's some Scottish islands where the language/dialect itself is far more Scandinavian than 'Gaelic' or English as well i believe. And i'm sure there's more than one national Scandinavian 'imprint' in the British DNA 'record'.

I just like the way the Scandenevian-language influence had both an initial effect and then a 'renaissance' effect too. It's kind of funky - gestating words for ages - and then suddenly, within a generation practically, everyone suddenly pounces on a new way of using aspects of it ('spontaneously' - not in an orchestrated way) - and applys them to what exists aswell. And it spreads like wild fire. And keeps evolving, as far as its potential allows. (And in this particular case, allows concept-artists like Shakey to have an absolute ball ;))

I also like the way it happened coz it wasn't under 'authority' control. And the way we've ended up with a whole bundle of stuff like the 'formal' French-occupation-derived words (used in courts/judiciary/court etc), the more 'homely' Anglo-Saxon-stylee words - and also the fusing and expanding word-explosion i rhapsodised about before ;).

(As an example of the French-vs-Anglo thing i remember Bailey highlighted the phrases "A cordial reception" ['French] and "A hearty welcome"['Anglo'] - they mean the same yet different things. Parallel language growth, grown in different ways, which added extra possibilites overall :))

Languages are weird :)

[I think i'm a bit off on some o' the details tho. Can't remember exactly how the whole 'Shakespeare-renaissance' period is reckoned to have worked. Gonna have to go back and check. Dyam. ;)]

[Piddzilla]

Oh danes, swedes, icelanders, norwegians.... We're all the same basically. I think in the viking era the danes ruled on Iceland, in Norway and in the southern parts of Sweden. I actually live in Skåne which belonged to Denmark for a long period of time before Sweden got it after some war settlement in the 17th century. So who influenced who and when is rather unclear and depends on how you define different scandinavian people. But norwegian, danish and swedish is pretty similar. I understand norwegian and danish if they speak clearly and not too fast and not slang or in some funny dialect. Icelandic I can recognize a word here and there but I can't understand it. But that's actually the nordic language that is the most similar to how the vikings spoke.

I would really like to travel to Iceland... Their food is supposed to suck though... Rotten fish and seal bladders and that kind of stuff... :sick:

[Equilibrium]

Oh danes, swedes, icelanders, norwegians.... We're all the same basically. I think in the viking era the danes ruled on Iceland, in Norway and in the southern parts of Sweden. I actually live in Skåne which belonged to Denmark for a long period of time before Sweden got it after some war settlement in the 17th century. So who influenced who and when is rather unclear and depends on how you define different scandinavian people. But norwegian, danish and swedish is pretty similar. I understand norwegian and danish if they speak clearly and not too fast and not slang or in some funny dialect. Icelandic I can recognize a word here and there but I can't understand it. But that's actually the nordic language that is the most similar to how the vikings spoke.

I would really like to travel to Iceland... Their food is supposed to suck though... Rotten fish and seal bladders and that kind of stuff... :sick:


I wish i could understand the nordic language. Mainly because I'd like to read nordic mythology in its orginal form, it sounds so interesting. I remember Viggo Mortensen talking about how he used to read alot of it and that Lord of the Rings was very similar to alot of things present in nord myth.

[Tea Barking]

Anyone see that programme that was onto today the sword of xanten? Was supossed have influnced lord of the rings, bit off topic but it was rather good, with corrupting gold and magic set in the scandinavian world.

[Golgot]

'Yes Minister, we'll save Nessie from the poachers' - The Sunday Times - 08/01/06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1975331,00.html

According to memos released under the 'freedom of information act'...

Both Sweden and Britain have worried about how to legally and physically protect their local 'beasts' (the Loch Ness and Storsjö monsters). Apparently the best solution is the categorise them as 'endangered species' ;).

[Caitlyn]

'Yes Minister, we'll save Nessie from the poachers' - The Sunday Times - 08/01/06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1975331,00.html

According to memos released under the 'freedom of information act'...

Both Sweden and Britain have worried about how to legally and physically protect their local 'beasts' (the Loch Ness and Storsjö monsters). Apparently the best solution is the categorise them as 'endangered species' ;).


I don't know whether to sigh, laugh, or just shake me head... :nope: ... :p