Swedish Help! (about Nationalities And Languages)

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Mr_London Thursday 06th of October 2005 11:22:18 AM
HELP! (about nationalities and languages) - OMG I so need your HELP! I'm sooo confused now!

In English we use the same word to say the nationality and the languages but in Swedish I think it's different, for example:
Britt is the nationality (British) but it says that brittisk means from Great Britain or something related to that country, Skotte is the nationality but it says that skotsk means from scotland or something related to scotland... How do you use Brittisk/skotsk, in what things?...

The nationality of Mexico is Mexikan but is there a word like brittisk/skotsk for mexico?, I mean are there that kidna words for all the countries or just for a few ones...

And another question, how do you say English? I've searched and it says that engelsman means englishman same with france fransman means frenchman, but erm... If you wanna say SHE IS ENGLISH/SHE IS FRENCH, do you say she is engelsman? she is fransman?

Thanks loads!

Zaphod Thursday 06th of October 2005 12:43:26 PM
- The way we build those nationality words is really irregular, which makes them a little tricky:)
You can use the word "skotsk" to say that a person is from Scotland (Han är skotsk), but it is more common to use the nationality word "skotte" (Han är skotte). The -sk form can be used to describe anything from the country, though before words in neutrum (preceded by "ett") it becomes -skt. Example:
Ett brittiskt hus / A British house
En mexikansk hatt / A Mexican hat
And there you have the -sk form for "mexikan". The form is often derived by removing some letters from the name of the country and adding "nsk".:) The nationality word change a little if the person described is a woman.

The main difference between the nationality words is that the -sk words are adjectives, while a word like "fransman" is a noun.

Some nationality words in Swedish (First the name of the country, followed by the -sk form and finally the nationality word both for men and for women:
England / Engelsk / Engelsman / Engelska
Tyskland / Tysk / Tysk / Tyska (Germany)
Amerika / Amerikansk / Amerikan / Amerikanska (America)
Frankrike / Fransk / Fransman / Fransyska (France)
Kina / Kinesisk / Kines / Kinesiska (China)
Spanien / Spansk / Spanjor / Spanjorska (Spain)
Ryssland / Rysk / Ryss / Ryska (Russia)

Mr_London Thursday 06th of October 2005 12:48:25 PM
- Wow! really good explanation, thanks so much :)

Rikard Friday 07th of October 2005 06:45:46 PM
- not that if you're using the adjective form about a neuter noun you will have to, as with all adjectives, to add a T at the end..

Example:
banan[b]en[/b] är tysk (common)
the banana is german

but

äppl[b]et[/b] är tysk[b]t[/b](neuter)
the apple is german

Phrasebase Archive
	Mr_London	Thursday 06th of October 2005 11:22:18 AM
	HELP! (about nationalities and languages) - OMG I so need your HELP! I'm sooo confused now! In English we use the same word to say the nationality and the languages but in Swedish I think it's different, for example: Britt is the nationality (British) but it says that brittisk means from Great Britain or something related to that country, Skotte is the nationality but it says that skotsk means from scotland or something related to scotland... How do you use Brittisk/skotsk, in what things?... The nationality of Mexico is Mexikan but is there a word like brittisk/skotsk for mexico?, I mean are there that kidna words for all the countries or just for a few ones... And another question, how do you say English? I've searched and it says that engelsman means englishman same with france fransman means frenchman, but erm... If you wanna say SHE IS ENGLISH/SHE IS FRENCH, do you say she is engelsman? she is fransman? Thanks loads!
	Zaphod	Thursday 06th of October 2005 12:43:26 PM
	- The way we build those nationality words is really irregular, which makes them a little tricky:) You can use the word "skotsk" to say that a person is from Scotland (Han är skotsk), but it is more common to use the nationality word "skotte" (Han är skotte). The -sk form can be used to describe anything from the country, though before words in neutrum (preceded by "ett") it becomes -skt. Example: Ett brittiskt hus / A British house En mexikansk hatt / A Mexican hat And there you have the -sk form for "mexikan". The form is often derived by removing some letters from the name of the country and adding "nsk".:) The nationality word change a little if the person described is a woman. The main difference between the nationality words is that the -sk words are adjectives, while a word like "fransman" is a noun. Some nationality words in Swedish (First the name of the country, followed by the -sk form and finally the nationality word both for men and for women: England / Engelsk / Engelsman / Engelska Tyskland / Tysk / Tysk / Tyska (Germany) Amerika / Amerikansk / Amerikan / Amerikanska (America) Frankrike / Fransk / Fransman / Fransyska (France) Kina / Kinesisk / Kines / Kinesiska (China) Spanien / Spansk / Spanjor / Spanjorska (Spain) Ryssland / Rysk / Ryss / Ryska (Russia)
	Mr_London	Thursday 06th of October 2005 12:48:25 PM
	- Wow! really good explanation, thanks so much :)
	Rikard	Friday 07th of October 2005 06:45:46 PM
	- not that if you're using the adjective form about a neuter noun you will have to, as with all adjectives, to add a T at the end.. Example: banan[b]en[/b] är tysk (common) the banana is german but äppl[b]et[/b] är tysk[b]t[/b](neuter) the apple is german