Lecture on Swedish Vowels: Short and Long Vowels

Introduction

• Objective: Practice short and long vowels in Swedish.
• Importance: Differentiating between short and long vowels is crucial as they can mean different things.

Examples and Rules

A Vowel

• Glas (Long a): Means a glass (to drink from).
• Glass (Short a): Means ice cream.
• Rule: Long vowel typically precedes a single consonant, short vowel precedes double consonants.

O Vowel

• Bok (Long o): Means book.
• Klocka (Short o): Means clock.
• Special Note: Single 'k' vs. 'ck', which acts as double consonants.

U Vowel

• Hus (Long u): Means house.
• Buss (Short u): Means bus.
• Comparison: Notice the single 's' vs. double 'ss'.

Å Vowel

• Såg (Long å): Means saw.
• Djup (Short å): Means deep.
• Special Consideration: Even if it sounds like a single consonant, it is treated as short.

E Vowel

• Brev (Long e): Means letter.
• Ett (Short e): Means one or a/an.
• Rule: Notice the single vs. double consonants.

I Vowel

• Bil (Long i): Means car.
• Fisk (Short i): Means fish.
• Note: Presence of double consonants 'sk'.

Y Vowel

• Myra (Long y): Means ant.
• Mygga (Short y): Means mosquito.
• Note: Double 'g' indicating a short vowel.

G Vowel

• Väg (Long g): Means road.
• Vägg (Short g): Means wall.
• Note: The distinction between single 'g' and double 'gg'.

Ö Vowel

• Bröd (Long ö): Means bread.
• Dörr (Short ö): Means door.
• Rule: Single 'd' vs. double 'r', indicating vowel length.

Practice and Application

• Exercise: Differentiate between phrases like "ett glas vatten" (a glass of water) vs. "jag vill ha en glass" (I want an ice cream).

Conclusion

• Tips: Practice repeatedly to distinguish vowel lengths effectively.
• Good Luck!

This lecture emphasizes the critical nature of vowel length in Swedish pronunciation, affecting the meanings of words significantly.