After my last blog about Swedish geography, somebody commented that it is hysterical that there is a place in Sweden called Norrbotten.
This got me thinking.
When first moving to Sweden and learning the language, I saw all sorts of funny words which made me giggle. Now, some two decades later, I don’t even see those funny words any more – I have been Swedified.
- ‘Plopp’ to me is a chocolate bar, and nothing else
- ‘Puss’ is a kiss and not a little kitty or a body part
- ‘Kiss’ isn’t a romantic exchange between consenting people. Kiss is urine
- ‘Slut’ is simply the end of something
- ‘Avfart’ on a motorway is just the exit
- ‘Rea’ is a sale and not an old British singer
- ‘Kök’ and ‘kock’ are the kitchen and the chef, not a body part
- I don’t even see the squidginess of the ‘slutspurt’ any more. All I see is that it’s the end of the sale.
- I don’t titter any more when someone says ‘shit’ to describe the putty around the window or the number six is the same as ‘sex’.
- ‘Prick’ is a dot and not an insult
It is with a smidgen of regret that I guess I have been integrated – at least linguistically!
Watching the Swedes 