Thursday, August 21, 2008

The problem with the Swedish Language

I usually don't bother thinking much about my native tongue Swedish but I've always had a strange distaste for it. Recently it hit me that it wasn't the languages structure or grammar that bothered me so much as that it contains a plethora of words that have a very strong negative/vulgar/obscene meaning for some of the most beautiful and pleasurable things in the world.

Take one of the prime examples that really turns me off Swedish: Nipple, in Swedish we have the word Bröstvårta which literally means breast wart (No I'm not lying).. Breast wart, like it's some kind of diseased outgrowth.. I like nipples, I like the word nipple. Really rolls well on the tongue and has a whimsical and happy feel to it. I'm struggling to find a good substitute to it in Swedish but so far turned out blank.

This goes on and on, the words used for different body parts in Swedish are loaded with negative connotations or are just assimilated medical terms with a clinical dryness that takes all the fun and pleasure out of them.

Aureole, in Swedish it's called Vårtgård (sigh...) Wart Yard ( or Wart Farm depending on the translation of the word gård).. Aureole... another word that fits perfectly in the mouth, almost delicious to say and really has that nice feel to it that you associate with Aureoles...

Language envy. Thinking of moving to an English speaking country and rid myself of the heinous linguistic heritage I've come to abhor so much...

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