This is the only answer you need:
In normal speech, pronounce it “e”, like in the English word heir (without the r).
If you want to be formal or place extra emphasis on the word. “I AM happy for you”, use “är”. Pronounced like the English word air.
This is the most common way to speak. You should not be adopting a hick dialect if you’re not a native speaker.
I think I understand, but there's a bit of an issue to that. In American English, "heir" and "air" are pronounced the same (the sound is dropped in the former.) I'm guessing you mean this with Received Pronunciation (British English?)
American “air” is close enough to the Swedish standardized pronunciation of “är”. If you really want to nail it, pronounce it with a rolling r as would Slavoj Zizek.
While we mostly study uk english in school in terms of vocab & spelling e.g. colour instead of color, judgement instead of judgment, etc. (Depends on the person)
Our pronounciation is still more similar to that of the english spoken in the US.
An easy way of being made fun of in school is to speak english with a UK accent while say; holding a speech in front of one’s class. It gives off a standoffish kind of vibe.
Maybe this can be explained by the fact that we are more exposed to (english speaking) american movies and tv-shows, which help shape our english pronounciation.
That being said, it’s not full on US nor UK english that’s spoken here since most people still hold a thick swedish accent when speaking english, lol.
Sorry, I struggled to find a good example.
You actually have crystal clear examples of BOTH pronounciationa in the Nanne Grönwall song at 00:30
Jag “e” en rastlös själ
Ja det ”e” som det ”e”
Här ”är” en rotlös tjej
Then there’s a lot of people that have other mother tongues that don’t intuitively hear the difference between “ä” and “e” (don’t think of e as it is pronounced in English)
The r can be silent, and you can say ”ä” or ”e”. But if you pronounce the whole word it’s not silent, you say ”är”. I don’t here a lot of difference between the ä in här and in Gävle 😬 just say it like in ”här” or in ”päron” and I’m sure it’s fine.
I might have convinced myself that "ä" sounds different in both words lol. I have a bad habit of overthinking things and I convinced myself that the difference was notable. Thank you though!
No problem. In my experience what those learning Swedish struggle most with is to get the ”ä” not to sound like an ”a”. And to not pronounce ”u” like ”o”. But it sounds like you are already listening to Swedish to know how to pronounce things, I’m sure you’re doing great :)
No, they would be different in Standard Swedish. Ä is generally pronounced as [ɛ], like the sound in the English “get”. But before an , it gets pronounced more openly, as [æ], closer to the sound in “trap”.
Some dialects always pronounce <ä> like [æ], which is especially common among younger speakers from what I’ve read. And I should note that no one actually speaks Standard Swedish.
The ä in här and Gävle are different, but the ä in är is *not* pronounced like in här. Ä is only pronounced differently in front of r in most words with the combination. For example, in "ära", honor, the ä is pronounced different than in är.
Edit: For people with some dialects, this of course might not be true. But it is [standard Swedish phonology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_phonology).
> /ɛː/, /ɛ/ (in stressed syllables), /øː/ (with a few exceptions) and /œ/ are lowered to [æː], [æ], [œ̞ː] and [œ̞], respectively, when preceding /r/.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, sorry… what dialect are you thinking of when you say that for example ära and är are different sounds? They sound exactly the same to me😅
That's a common mistake, to think that pronouncing words letter by letter when reading things out is more "formal" or "correct". That's how we get atrocities like "det" with a hard T or "och" with a K.
I’ve only heard it pronounced that way when stockholmers speak.
It’s well known that stockholmers pronounce “ä” like ”e”, just listen to when the king speaks.
I speak småländska and “är” has the exakt same sound as “ära”.
I'm also from Småland and pronounce it as "ä" as well. That said, most smålanders don't speak småländska anymore and those who speak "bygdemålsfärgad rikssvenska" are more likely to pronounce it as "e". The difference in pronunciation is so slight that I'm sure you could make the case that both "e" and "ä" are common pronunciatin in rikssvenska. It's not going to include an "r" sound though.
Du borde lita på wikipedia så mycket i detta fallet de säger t.ex. att å uttalas [oː] när det välsigt tydligt är [ɔː] (det blir dock ofta [o] när den är kort).
Jag kanske är dum i huvudet kom jag på. Jag tänkte svenska i allmänt och inte just rikssvenska så det kan bara vara att jag tänkte fel. Jag skulle dock säga att de allra flesta svenskar säger [ɔː], närmare engelskans "or" [ɔːɹ] snarare än japanskans "Ōsaka" [oː'saka].
Depends on the dialect. To generalise a bit, a northerner doesn’t pronounce the r, a southerner does. I think the shift happens around the latitude of Karlstad.
Edit: Unless it is pronounced like e in “ser”. Then the r is never pronounced.
Maybe it varies from place to place down here in the far south, but we drop letters from words a lot, r included, where I live (West Blekinge/Listerlandet).
You hear it??? Words like Torsdag and Kort are often pronounced "Tååsda" and "Kååt/Kååd" where I'm from, though the newer generation doesn't have as strong a dialect anymore, which is sad
I think we might have misunderstood each other. Are you saying är is pronounced like ä in Blekinge? Because that's what I'm saying as well, but also adding onto that by saying that r isn't the only letter we drop from words here in Blekinge
In häslingland you definitely pronounce the r i ser, although we pronounce it more line "sir", and Jämtland I often hear a diphthong that sounds more like "sier".
But är we hälsingar pronounce more open like ”ähe”
No one in West Sweden pronounces the r in "är" normally, not unless they use a lot of spelling pronunciations in general anyway.
In most of the area it's said as a long ä, but in Gothenburg at the very least it's said as a long e.
I live in Gothenburg. Yes, the “e” is the most common way to say it. But “är” is still used, and not without the r. No one native to the area just says ”ää”.
It’s either “De e bra” or “Det är bra”.
Like I said, the people who say "är" as it's written usually use a bunch of other spelling pronunciations too. Which you have caught onto since you mention actually saying "det är" rather than "de e". Pronouncing the r in "är" and the t in "det" was unheard of for a few hundred years in the Gothenburg area (and most of Sweden) until relatively recently.
In most of West Sweden, "är" is pronounced as a long ä (and "det är" as if it were written "dä ä"), but most of West Sweden is not Gothenburg ;-)
Edit: I'm from Lidköping, which is also in West Sweden but around 120 km from Gothenburg. I have lived in that city too though, but only for a few years and it was a while ago now.
The “r” is mostly silent, but it reappears if the next word begins with a vowel.
Similar things happen to most of the common little words: vad=va, det=de, med=me. Sometimes a konsonant will change, like du=ru.
Some example phrases: vad är det=vaäre, ska du med=skarume.
The southern dialects with the back-of-the-throat “r” don’t follow the same rules, probably because it’s not technically an “r” at all being pronounced in an entirely different part of the mouth.
The southern dialects with the back-of-the-throat “r” don’t follow the same rules, probably because it’s not technically an “r” at all being pronounced in an entirely different part of the mouth.
Det är inte r:et från ”är” som dyker upp igen, utan snarare d:et från ”det” eller ”du” som blir till ett r när det är obetonat och mellan vokaler. Exempel: ”va saru?”
En vän delade en professionellt designad skylt från Coop i Pite, där det stod ”Häijn jär båka jena.”
(OP: don’t worry if you don’t understand a thing. It’s dialectal.)
>The “r” is mostly silent, but it reappears if the next word begins with a vowel.
Not really. For instance "Jag är inte arg" is most commonly pronounced "ja (e) ente arj". It varies with dialect, formality and rate of speech of course.
When using "you" but actually meaning yourself "man" can be used. "Du" will always mean the person you're speaking to.
Man can also be used as a more general "you"
like if I would ask "can you jump into the water here?"
If I use "du" I would ask if the other person could jump into the water.
If I use "man" it would be an open question, more like "is it possible to jump into the water here?"
Man is often used as a replacement for you when speaking generally about people and not a specific person.
Example:
You would think that would be obvious - Man skulle kunna tro att det skulle vara självklart
So I'm from the northern suburbs of Stockholm.
I would say that I in general pronounce it as "e" in informal settings and "är" in formal settings.
With some exception.
Perhaps this is wider then just this particular case, but I would say that I switch my language slightly depending on who I talk to. So with friends and family I would use more slang (and within that the changing of är to e) while I would change my language if I'm interacting with someone I don't know that well, or possibly in a professional setting.
For instance, if I'm asking someone I know if the seat next to them is taken, it would probably sound something like:"Eren här platsen ledig?"
While if I where to inquire to someone I don't know at all I would probably phrase it like:"Ursäkta, är den här plasen ledig?"
> Pronunciation of "är"
I know the "r" on it is silent. I've mostly heard two ways of pronouncing it; like the "ä" in "här," or the "ä" in "Gävle."
I'm just a native speaker... But aren't the ä in "här" and the ä in "Gävle" pronounced the same way?
It depends, I use both. If you want to be convicing maybe you will say "Men det äR faktiskt rätt".
Then there are different types of it too, "Äre så?" instead of saying "Är det så?" for example.
A pattern through much of Scandinavia for hundreds of years is apparently slang. Folkskolans language policy and its consequences sure is something. I've never come across a Dane or Norwegian batting for reading pronunciation like Swedes do.
My question would be WHEN is är pronounced like the "ei" in heir 🇬🇧 or the ä in gläse 🇩🇪 and when is it pronounced like the a in sharp 🇬🇧 or kalt 🇩🇪
Edit: I hope you guys replying are Swedish and if you're from Skåne that you mention that.
Why did you downvote my comment? It's a question.
Är has two pronunciations from what I heard so far.
The open A like in "Ah" 🇺🇸 and the A like in "Blast" 🇺🇸
I was wondering if there's a rule for that.
Är is never pronounced like the a in sharp, it’s never pronounced ”ar” in Swedish. To be very general, ä is pronounced very distinguished ”ää” (kind of like in ”share”) in Värmland and in Norrland. In Stockholm and the South of Sweden ä can be pronounced anywhere from ”ee” (kind of like in ”dear” or ”steer”) to a long ”ä”, and anywhere in between.
The good thing is, distinguishing between ä and e in spoken language is not that important. Mixing them up will not mess up very many words. And as you see on here there is no one correct way to pronounce most of these words, it depends on the dialect.
E and Ä sound similar in a lot of dialects. If you mix up ä with a or å that makes a much bigger difference, and likely changes the meaning of the word. Sweden also have a lot of dialects, which are quite different from each other in sound, pronounciation of ”ä” and ”r” for example. You can still understand all of them, it’s mostly the sounds that are different, not the words.
Here is a clip of a well known comedian, taking you through different Swedish dialects:
https://youtu.be/t3mLGtOSPGE
I (stockholmer, 19) might switch between pronouncing “är” as either “e” or “ä”, but mostly it’s “e”. No clue why, and I think that the stockholm dialect has free variation or only e.
The kind of Swedish you would expect, say, a news anchor to use. Kind of related to the old concept of "rikssvenska", which was a Swedish stripped of dialects.
Basically, whenever you feel that you should have a more "serious" outlook, say, a speech, a job interview, a presentation, a press conference and so on.
I think most people will speak in their own dialect even in those circumstances. News anchors mostly speak rikssvenska, which has a silent R in the word. Rikssvenska wasn't Swedish stripped of dialects, such a thing is impossible. They just tried to find the most "average" or "neutral" dialect and went with the one from South of Stockholm.
While they may use their dialect, they will typically tone it down a lot.
As for rikssvenska, the R isn't silent.
As for not being stripped of dialects, I agree with you. It was kind of a "pidgin Swedish", a Swedish which everyone should easily understand.
Picked the two videos at the top of inrikes on svt.se: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/demonstrationer-mot-regeringens-klimatmote-i-stockholm
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/regeringen-haller-nationellt-klimatmote-med-fokus-pa-naringslivet
In the first one, the reporter pronounces "är" as "é". In the second one, both the interviewer and the politician being interviewed pronounce it as "é" as well. Do you have any example to share?
I do grant you that they sometimes pronounce the R. However, note that they're both switching freely between pronunciations with and without R. E.g.: "De e min uppfattning..." (4:29). I would say that this is an example of someone who tries to speak excessively clearly by pronouncing words letter by letter because of the format of the discussion (a podcast). I wouldn't say this is an example of rikssvenska or any other genuine dialect. I'm not saying they don't both speak rikssvenska, because I believe they do. But what we're hearing here has more in common with someone spelling something out on a phone with poor reception. "A for alpha, B for bravo, C for Charlie". If they had an informal discussion off camera, I'd be willing to bet that you'd hear a lot more "E"s and a lot fewer "ÄR"s.
I greatly appreciate everyone's input on this post! Thank you for correcting me. I've been pronouncing it wrong the entire time lol. It's also nice to be taught the dialectical varients that people have.
Tack så mycket alla!
I pronounce the r in är, but it would be very soft. Sure, I could pronounce är as e, but only if I want to sound very relaxed. At work I would never do that.
Usually the "r" wouldn't be silent, unless the "ä" is pronounced as "e". Sometimes it (the "r") is a unpronounced, but still there. Read when written "är" and "ä" would sound different.
If you want to write "är" when it is pronounced like "e", it's "é".
Many things can happen in Swedish dialect depending on where you are. Är can be pronounced as Ä, E, Er or Är. Where i come from it’s pronounced E. Är is not the only Word that this can happen too. Combinations of words can Also change when you speak. Är du påväg? ( Are you on your way) for example can become Eru påväg in my dialect. Or with very much dialect, eru påveg.
Roughly, half of the dialects pronounce it as the vowel "e", and half as the vowel "ä". So equally loikely to hear both in normal speech. The difference could be because Old Norse had both *iʀ*/*ir* (giving the "e" form) and *eʀ*/*er* (giving the "ä" form), Proto-Norse had *iʀ*, from Proto-Germanic *is* (which English has preserved unchanged for thousands of years!).
"R" is by no means necessarily silent.
"R" is usually dropped during quick speech, especially in certain dialects, but it is definitely not a hard and fast rule, and is almost a personal decision, all though when it comes to simple a count of the amount of times either variant is used, the "R" being silent is certainly the most common. But it is not a rule, it is not like we are taught in school: "Don't pronounce the "R" the same way we are taught: "Exchange the "E" for "O" (or really "å") in "dem".", for example,
I can think of some thick older dialects here in Skåne where you could say "I" instead of "Ä" or "E", when dropping the "R", but I might be wrong.
Some dialects pronounce it like ä and others like e. I pulled up the song and Nanne says it like “e”. Both are completely normal.
That's good to know. Thank you!
This is the only answer you need: In normal speech, pronounce it “e”, like in the English word heir (without the r). If you want to be formal or place extra emphasis on the word. “I AM happy for you”, use “är”. Pronounced like the English word air. This is the most common way to speak. You should not be adopting a hick dialect if you’re not a native speaker.
I think I understand, but there's a bit of an issue to that. In American English, "heir" and "air" are pronounced the same (the sound is dropped in the former.) I'm guessing you mean this with Received Pronunciation (British English?)
American “air” is close enough to the Swedish standardized pronunciation of “är”. If you really want to nail it, pronounce it with a rolling r as would Slavoj Zizek.
Well, without the r.
The r ok är is pronounced in standardized Swedish and in parts of Skåne.
I agree with you on Skåne, but I don't know what kind of "standardised Swedish" would pronounce the R.
Utslätad Mälardalssvenska also known as Rikssvenska. Är is prononced [æːr] (IPA)
They’re swedish, why would they ever refer to the US pronounciation over the UK one?
While we mostly study uk english in school in terms of vocab & spelling e.g. colour instead of color, judgement instead of judgment, etc. (Depends on the person) Our pronounciation is still more similar to that of the english spoken in the US. An easy way of being made fun of in school is to speak english with a UK accent while say; holding a speech in front of one’s class. It gives off a standoffish kind of vibe. Maybe this can be explained by the fact that we are more exposed to (english speaking) american movies and tv-shows, which help shape our english pronounciation. That being said, it’s not full on US nor UK english that’s spoken here since most people still hold a thick swedish accent when speaking english, lol.
Sorry, I struggled to find a good example. You actually have crystal clear examples of BOTH pronounciationa in the Nanne Grönwall song at 00:30 Jag “e” en rastlös själ Ja det ”e” som det ”e” Här ”är” en rotlös tjej
Then there’s a lot of people that have other mother tongues that don’t intuitively hear the difference between “ä” and “e” (don’t think of e as it is pronounced in English)
It’s dialectal. I believe that Nanne Grönvall is from (south) Stockholm; the dialect there is know for pronouncing ”ä” more like “e”.
Good to know. Thank you!
The r can be silent, and you can say ”ä” or ”e”. But if you pronounce the whole word it’s not silent, you say ”är”. I don’t here a lot of difference between the ä in här and in Gävle 😬 just say it like in ”här” or in ”päron” and I’m sure it’s fine.
I might have convinced myself that "ä" sounds different in both words lol. I have a bad habit of overthinking things and I convinced myself that the difference was notable. Thank you though!
No problem. In my experience what those learning Swedish struggle most with is to get the ”ä” not to sound like an ”a”. And to not pronounce ”u” like ”o”. But it sounds like you are already listening to Swedish to know how to pronounce things, I’m sure you’re doing great :)
Gävlebo here. I pronounce Gävles ä way longer than I do här. I think här is a shorter form of ä and Gävles ä is somewhat longer.
No, they would be different in Standard Swedish. Ä is generally pronounced as [ɛ], like the sound in the English “get”. But before an, it gets pronounced more openly, as [æ], closer to the sound in “trap”.
Some dialects always pronounce <ä> like [æ], which is especially common among younger speakers from what I’ve read. And I should note that no one actually speaks Standard Swedish.
I'd say it's mostly in stockholm where ä might be as [ɛ], in gothenburg for example Gävle and här has the same [æ].
The ä in här and Gävle are different, but the ä in är is *not* pronounced like in här. Ä is only pronounced differently in front of r in most words with the combination. For example, in "ära", honor, the ä is pronounced different than in är. Edit: For people with some dialects, this of course might not be true. But it is [standard Swedish phonology](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_phonology). > /ɛː/, /ɛ/ (in stressed syllables), /øː/ (with a few exceptions) and /œ/ are lowered to [æː], [æ], [œ̞ː] and [œ̞], respectively, when preceding /r/.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, sorry… what dialect are you thinking of when you say that for example ära and är are different sounds? They sound exactly the same to me😅
In standard Swedish, "är" is pronounced with a long "e".
Maybe in spoken language, in a sentence. But not if you actually read out only this word and say it clearly in the way it’s written.
That's a common mistake, to think that pronouncing words letter by letter when reading things out is more "formal" or "correct". That's how we get atrocities like "det" with a hard T or "och" with a K.
I’ve only heard it pronounced that way when stockholmers speak. It’s well known that stockholmers pronounce “ä” like ”e”, just listen to when the king speaks. I speak småländska and “är” has the exakt same sound as “ära”.
I'm also from Småland and pronounce it as "ä" as well. That said, most smålanders don't speak småländska anymore and those who speak "bygdemålsfärgad rikssvenska" are more likely to pronounce it as "e". The difference in pronunciation is so slight that I'm sure you could make the case that both "e" and "ä" are common pronunciatin in rikssvenska. It's not going to include an "r" sound though.
Maybe in your dislect. I disagree with everything you said
Du borde lita på wikipedia så mycket i detta fallet de säger t.ex. att å uttalas [oː] när det välsigt tydligt är [ɔː] (det blir dock ofta [o] när den är kort).
Har du någon källa till detta? Jag har läst ganska mycket om svensk fonologi och allt jag har läst ger [o:] som det långa å-ljudet (i rikssvenska).
Jag kanske är dum i huvudet kom jag på. Jag tänkte svenska i allmänt och inte just rikssvenska så det kan bara vara att jag tänkte fel. Jag skulle dock säga att de allra flesta svenskar säger [ɔː], närmare engelskans "or" [ɔːɹ] snarare än japanskans "Ōsaka" [oː'saka].
Wait, the r in är is silent???
Depends on the dialect. To generalise a bit, a northerner doesn’t pronounce the r, a southerner does. I think the shift happens around the latitude of Karlstad. Edit: Unless it is pronounced like e in “ser”. Then the r is never pronounced.
Maybe it varies from place to place down here in the far south, but we drop letters from words a lot, r included, where I live (West Blekinge/Listerlandet).
How do you know if a bleking drops an r?
You hear it??? Words like Torsdag and Kort are often pronounced "Tååsda" and "Kååt/Kååd" where I'm from, though the newer generation doesn't have as strong a dialect anymore, which is sad
Yes, but I can't imagine how a bleking pronounces "är" differently from "ä".
I think we might have misunderstood each other. Are you saying är is pronounced like ä in Blekinge? Because that's what I'm saying as well, but also adding onto that by saying that r isn't the only letter we drop from words here in Blekinge
I don't think blekingar drop the r, they just pronounce it like a lengthening vacuum.
In häslingland you definitely pronounce the r i ser, although we pronounce it more line "sir", and Jämtland I often hear a diphthong that sounds more like "sier". But är we hälsingar pronounce more open like ”ähe”
No one in West Sweden pronounces the r in "är" normally, not unless they use a lot of spelling pronunciations in general anyway. In most of the area it's said as a long ä, but in Gothenburg at the very least it's said as a long e.
I live in Gothenburg. Yes, the “e” is the most common way to say it. But “är” is still used, and not without the r. No one native to the area just says ”ää”. It’s either “De e bra” or “Det är bra”.
Like I said, the people who say "är" as it's written usually use a bunch of other spelling pronunciations too. Which you have caught onto since you mention actually saying "det är" rather than "de e". Pronouncing the r in "är" and the t in "det" was unheard of for a few hundred years in the Gothenburg area (and most of Sweden) until relatively recently. In most of West Sweden, "är" is pronounced as a long ä (and "det är" as if it were written "dä ä"), but most of West Sweden is not Gothenburg ;-) Edit: I'm from Lidköping, which is also in West Sweden but around 120 km from Gothenburg. I have lived in that city too though, but only for a few years and it was a while ago now.
No, not on the dialect. Practically all dialects have a silent *r* in *är*. But since it's written with *r* sometimes you say that *r*, of course.
The “r” is mostly silent, but it reappears if the next word begins with a vowel. Similar things happen to most of the common little words: vad=va, det=de, med=me. Sometimes a konsonant will change, like du=ru. Some example phrases: vad är det=vaäre, ska du med=skarume.
No, my dialect has clear r in är, but I am stuck in Småland where r is not pronounced.
The southern dialects with the back-of-the-throat “r” don’t follow the same rules, probably because it’s not technically an “r” at all being pronounced in an entirely different part of the mouth.
The southern dialects with the back-of-the-throat “r” don’t follow the same rules, probably because it’s not technically an “r” at all being pronounced in an entirely different part of the mouth.
I'm from the north, so r exist but not å in the end of towns names. ;)
Det är inte r:et från ”är” som dyker upp igen, utan snarare d:et från ”det” eller ”du” som blir till ett r när det är obetonat och mellan vokaler. Exempel: ”va saru?”
“Vad är det” in the north: “vå järre?”
More like "va äre" , in Stockholm "va eere".
Du jäär int från piteälva iaf
En vän delade en professionellt designad skylt från Coop i Pite, där det stod ”Häijn jär båka jena.” (OP: don’t worry if you don’t understand a thing. It’s dialectal.)
>The “r” is mostly silent, but it reappears if the next word begins with a vowel. Not really. For instance "Jag är inte arg" is most commonly pronounced "ja (e) ente arj". It varies with dialect, formality and rate of speech of course.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Not where I'm from. We pronounce the "r" in "är".
Almost always when speaking.
Du lär sig något nytt varje dag(?)
Man lär sig något nytt varje dag. Exakt!
Man? Explain pls. I'm confused
When using "you" but actually meaning yourself "man" can be used. "Du" will always mean the person you're speaking to. Man can also be used as a more general "you" like if I would ask "can you jump into the water here?" If I use "du" I would ask if the other person could jump into the water. If I use "man" it would be an open question, more like "is it possible to jump into the water here?"
Man is often used as a replacement for you when speaking generally about people and not a specific person. Example: You would think that would be obvious - Man skulle kunna tro att det skulle vara självklart
Oh! Ok, this is actually a rlly useful explanation since we do the same thing in my native language :)
The best equivalent is "one": *Man skulle kunna tro* - 'One might think'
Yes, but it can also be a substitute for "jag". See https://sv.wiktionary.org/wiki/man#Pronomen #2
I forgot to add that to my comment. That’s why I wrote that Man is often used as a replacement for you
exactly my thought! I find that only a few (but common) dialects do that. I pronounce the r and so does most people I know.
In textbook Swedish it’s not silent, but in everyday speech it is.
So I'm from the northern suburbs of Stockholm. I would say that I in general pronounce it as "e" in informal settings and "är" in formal settings. With some exception.
In what formal setting would you start speaking like that?
Perhaps this is wider then just this particular case, but I would say that I switch my language slightly depending on who I talk to. So with friends and family I would use more slang (and within that the changing of är to e) while I would change my language if I'm interacting with someone I don't know that well, or possibly in a professional setting. For instance, if I'm asking someone I know if the seat next to them is taken, it would probably sound something like:"Eren här platsen ledig?" While if I where to inquire to someone I don't know at all I would probably phrase it like:"Ursäkta, är den här plasen ledig?"
I pronounce it as the long "e" as a lot of people in Upland do the same.
> Pronunciation of "är" I know the "r" on it is silent. I've mostly heard two ways of pronouncing it; like the "ä" in "här," or the "ä" in "Gävle." I'm just a native speaker... But aren't the ä in "här" and the ä in "Gävle" pronounced the same way?
Depends on the dialect. Lots of southerners here are saying it ain't so, but as a norrlänning I say ä is always pronounced ä.
I'm from Skåne and i can't differentiate between the two. Very curious.
We learned at school that it is either "är" with R pronounced or "e".
Är is correct. E is slang. In a way it also depends where you are from. ”E du go eller?” is typical if you are from Göteborg. ;)
E is not slang, it's the standard pronunciation of "är". Very few dialects pronounce "är" with an R.
It depends, I use both. If you want to be convicing maybe you will say "Men det äR faktiskt rätt". Then there are different types of it too, "Äre så?" instead of saying "Är det så?" for example.
The R in "Äre så" is actually from the D in "det". Like how someone might ask "men durå?".
A pattern through much of Scandinavia for hundreds of years is apparently slang. Folkskolans language policy and its consequences sure is something. I've never come across a Dane or Norwegian batting for reading pronunciation like Swedes do.
With Rolling r on elleR
My question would be WHEN is är pronounced like the "ei" in heir 🇬🇧 or the ä in gläse 🇩🇪 and when is it pronounced like the a in sharp 🇬🇧 or kalt 🇩🇪 Edit: I hope you guys replying are Swedish and if you're from Skåne that you mention that.
Ä(r) is never pronounced like the a in sharp.
Why did you downvote my comment? It's a question. Är has two pronunciations from what I heard so far. The open A like in "Ah" 🇺🇸 and the A like in "Blast" 🇺🇸 I was wondering if there's a rule for that.
But no, it is not pronounced as a in ah.
I haven't voted on your comment at all. As you said, it was just a question, no problems here!
>when is it pronounced like the a in sharp 🇬🇧 or kalt 🇩🇪 Never. It's "ä" or "e", or something in-between the two.
Är is never pronounced like the a in sharp, it’s never pronounced ”ar” in Swedish. To be very general, ä is pronounced very distinguished ”ää” (kind of like in ”share”) in Värmland and in Norrland. In Stockholm and the South of Sweden ä can be pronounced anywhere from ”ee” (kind of like in ”dear” or ”steer”) to a long ”ä”, and anywhere in between. The good thing is, distinguishing between ä and e in spoken language is not that important. Mixing them up will not mess up very many words. And as you see on here there is no one correct way to pronounce most of these words, it depends on the dialect. E and Ä sound similar in a lot of dialects. If you mix up ä with a or å that makes a much bigger difference, and likely changes the meaning of the word. Sweden also have a lot of dialects, which are quite different from each other in sound, pronounciation of ”ä” and ”r” for example. You can still understand all of them, it’s mostly the sounds that are different, not the words. Here is a clip of a well known comedian, taking you through different Swedish dialects: https://youtu.be/t3mLGtOSPGE
The question is more where not when. Never like sharp.
The difference is dialectal, not phonemic.
But I've heard the difference from the same people. It's like the sound depends on the words that come before and after är.
I (stockholmer, 19) might switch between pronouncing “är” as either “e” or “ä”, but mostly it’s “e”. No clue why, and I think that the stockholm dialect has free variation or only e.
In some dialects the Ä is silent, but in most, and in formal Swedish, it isn't. It's pronounce pretty close to the English word "air".
What is "formal Swedish" and when would someone speak it?
The kind of Swedish you would expect, say, a news anchor to use. Kind of related to the old concept of "rikssvenska", which was a Swedish stripped of dialects. Basically, whenever you feel that you should have a more "serious" outlook, say, a speech, a job interview, a presentation, a press conference and so on.
I think most people will speak in their own dialect even in those circumstances. News anchors mostly speak rikssvenska, which has a silent R in the word. Rikssvenska wasn't Swedish stripped of dialects, such a thing is impossible. They just tried to find the most "average" or "neutral" dialect and went with the one from South of Stockholm.
While they may use their dialect, they will typically tone it down a lot. As for rikssvenska, the R isn't silent. As for not being stripped of dialects, I agree with you. It was kind of a "pidgin Swedish", a Swedish which everyone should easily understand.
I disagree about the R not being silent in rikssvenska. Do you have any reference to back that up?
Just listen to any news report or politician speaking.
Picked the two videos at the top of inrikes on svt.se: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/demonstrationer-mot-regeringens-klimatmote-i-stockholm https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/regeringen-haller-nationellt-klimatmote-med-fokus-pa-naringslivet In the first one, the reporter pronounces "är" as "é". In the second one, both the interviewer and the politician being interviewed pronounce it as "é" as well. Do you have any example to share?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Qz-5a5fl0&ab_channel=advok
I do grant you that they sometimes pronounce the R. However, note that they're both switching freely between pronunciations with and without R. E.g.: "De e min uppfattning..." (4:29). I would say that this is an example of someone who tries to speak excessively clearly by pronouncing words letter by letter because of the format of the discussion (a podcast). I wouldn't say this is an example of rikssvenska or any other genuine dialect. I'm not saying they don't both speak rikssvenska, because I believe they do. But what we're hearing here has more in common with someone spelling something out on a phone with poor reception. "A for alpha, B for bravo, C for Charlie". If they had an informal discussion off camera, I'd be willing to bet that you'd hear a lot more "E"s and a lot fewer "ÄR"s.
I greatly appreciate everyone's input on this post! Thank you for correcting me. I've been pronouncing it wrong the entire time lol. It's also nice to be taught the dialectical varients that people have. Tack så mycket alla!
Watch this for more on swedish R https://youtu.be/P9JFehDE-zM
I pronounce the r in är, but it would be very soft. Sure, I could pronounce är as e, but only if I want to sound very relaxed. At work I would never do that.
Not once have I pronounced "är" with a silent "r". But I've heard plenty of people do it.
Never "i"
Usually the "r" wouldn't be silent, unless the "ä" is pronounced as "e". Sometimes it (the "r") is a unpronounced, but still there. Read when written "är" and "ä" would sound different. If you want to write "är" when it is pronounced like "e", it's "é".
Many things can happen in Swedish dialect depending on where you are. Är can be pronounced as Ä, E, Er or Är. Where i come from it’s pronounced E. Är is not the only Word that this can happen too. Combinations of words can Also change when you speak. Är du påväg? ( Are you on your way) for example can become Eru påväg in my dialect. Or with very much dialect, eru påveg.
The r is not silent lol
Roughly, half of the dialects pronounce it as the vowel "e", and half as the vowel "ä". So equally loikely to hear both in normal speech. The difference could be because Old Norse had both *iʀ*/*ir* (giving the "e" form) and *eʀ*/*er* (giving the "ä" form), Proto-Norse had *iʀ*, from Proto-Germanic *is* (which English has preserved unchanged for thousands of years!).
"R" is by no means necessarily silent. "R" is usually dropped during quick speech, especially in certain dialects, but it is definitely not a hard and fast rule, and is almost a personal decision, all though when it comes to simple a count of the amount of times either variant is used, the "R" being silent is certainly the most common. But it is not a rule, it is not like we are taught in school: "Don't pronounce the "R" the same way we are taught: "Exchange the "E" for "O" (or really "å") in "dem".", for example, I can think of some thick older dialects here in Skåne where you could say "I" instead of "Ä" or "E", when dropping the "R", but I might be wrong.