Standard Swedish (standardsvenska, rikssvenska or högsvenska) denotes Swedish as a spoken and written standard language in Sweden and Finland. While Swedish as a written language is uniform and standardized, acquiring proficiency in Swedish is somewhat complicated by the existence of at least three prestige dialects, in the meaning that the speakers of their respective speech communities do not usually consider other varieties of spoken Swedish to be more prestigious. A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ... A prestige dialect is the dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a speech community large enough to sustain multiple dialects. ... Speech community is a concept in sociolinguistics that describes a more or less discrete group of people who use language in a unique and mutually accepted way among themselves. ...

Rikssvenska and Högsvenska

In Swedish the terms rikssvenska and högsvenska may apply, but both terms are ambiguous. The direct translation of "Standard Swedish", standardsvenska, is not much used, and then primarily in scholarly contexts.

Rikssvenska has come to denominate all Swedish as spoken in Sweden opposite to the Finland-Swedish spoken in Finland, although for speakers in Sweden this term is often, maybe primarily, indicating "un-dialectal" (spoken) Swedish. There is however no common agreement on how such a rikssvenska should sound. What appears as rikssvenska for one Swede may appear dialectal for another. (Etymologically, "riks-" is a cognate of the German Reich.) Finland-Swedish is a variety of Swedish spoken in Finland. ... Rike is the Swedish and Norwegian word for realm, of similar meaning as German reich, in Danish spelled rige. ... Reich is the German word for realm or empire, cognate with Scandinavian rike and Dutch rijk. ...

The meaning of högsvenska (literally "High Swedish") was formerly the same as for rikssvenska, i.e. the most prestigeous dialect spoken in (the capital of) Sweden. During the 20th century its meaning changed to denominate the prestige dialect of the Swedish speakers in Helsinki. Location within Finland Helsinki (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable in Finnish: ), or Helsingfors in Swedish  listen, is the capital of Finland. ...

Until the late 19th/early 20th century, Swedish was the primary language of status, government, and education in Finland, however spoken as a mothertounge by a relatively small minority of the Finns. Since the 1970s, both domestic languages have been mandatory topics for all Finnish pupils in primary and secondary schools, although since 2004, the requirement to include Swedish in the upper-secondary final examination has been lifted. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... The secondary domestic language (Finnish: toinen kotimainen kieli, Swedish: det andra inhemska språket) is the official term for an unpopular subject in the schools of Finland. ...

Varieties of Standard Swedish versus dialects

Some Swedish speakers, including leading dialectologists, reserve the term Swedish dialect for what they consider genuine rural dialects uncompromised by influence from the standard language. Among Swedish speakers in general, however, even other prestige dialects than their own would typically be considered as "dialects" aswell as all intermediary forms.

Although the Swedish phonology in principle is uniform, its phonetic realizations are not. Contrary to the situation with German, Danish, or Finnish there can't be said to exist any all-encompassing spoken Standard Swedish. Instead there are (at least) three "regional standard varieties" (acrolects or prestige dialects), i.e. the most intelligible or prestigious forms of spoken Swedish, each within their area. No commonly accepted terms exist, not even in Swedish, but in this article they will be designated as (in order of significance): Phonetics (from the Greek word phone = sound/voice) is the study of speech sounds (voice). ... A prestige dialect is the dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a speech community large enough to sustain multiple dialects. ...

• Central Swedish Standard (5-7 million speakers)
• South Swedish Standard (2-4 million)
• Finland Swedish Standard (300 000)

These standard varieties are primarily used for communication with people from distant towns and regions aswell as in more formal contexts such as public speeches, artists' performances, and in broadcast media. They are signified by differences in prosody aswell as phonetics. Prosody may mean several things: Prosody consists of distinctive variations of stress, tone, and timing in spoken language. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word phone = sound/voice) is the study of speech sounds (voice). ...

A Westcoast variety, centered in Gothenburg, has a prosody that is close to that of Southern Swedish and may be considered a separate standard variety, then refered to as Western Swedish Standard with 2 million speakers. Although the more genuine dialects of the area are closer related to the genuine dialects of Southern Sweden, the prestige dialect is not, and its speakers are usually considered to speak the Central Swedish Standard variety. The boundary of the area goes in the South through Northern Halland, Northwestern Småland and follows Lake Vättern in the East. Its northern boundary goes through Värmland. Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtəbɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. ... Halland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Hallandia, or Halland - a historical Province of Sweden Halland County, or Hallands län - a current County of Sweden This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same... Småland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden. ... Lake Vättern Vättern is the second largest lake (by surface area) in Sweden, after lake Vänern. ... Värmland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Wermelandia, or Värmland - a historical Province of Sweden Värmland County, or Värmlands län - a current County of Sweden Part of Närke and Värmland County, or Närkes och Värmlands län - an earlier name for Örebro County This...

The boundary for the South Swedish Standard goes, unless the Westcoast variety is included, through Northern Halland and Northern Småland approximately at the latitude of Jönköping at the southern tip of Lake Vättern across the Scandinavian Peninsula. Halland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Hallandia, or Halland - a historical Province of Sweden Halland County, or Hallands län - a current County of Sweden This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same... Småland is the name of a geographical region in Sweden. ... Jönköping [jœncøːpiŋ] is a Municipality in Jönköping County, in southern Sweden. ...

Official status

The Swedish language as such has official status only in Finland (including the autonomous region of Åland), and unlike for instance French no officially sanctioned standard actually exists, although the Research Institute for the Languages of Finland (http://www.kotus.fi/inenglish/) also has the purpose of "language planning" and dictionary compilation. National motto: ? Official language Swedish Capital Mariehamn Governor Peter Lindbäck Premier Roger Nordlund Total Area  - Land  - Water 6,784 km² 1,527 km² 5,258 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 26,257 17. ... Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes. ...

In Sweden, the Swedish Language Council is similarly funded by the Swedish government and may be said to have a semi-official status as a regulatory body being a join effort that includes the Swedish Academy, Swedish Radio, Swedish Broadcasting Corporation and several other organizations representing journalists, teachers, actors, writers and translators. The recommendations of these bodies are not legally binding, though they are generally respected. The Swedish Language Council (Svenska språknämnden) is the primary regulatory body for the advancement and cultivation of the Swedish language. ... The Swedish Academy or Svenska Akademien, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

It may be argued that singing and acting instructors at the teater academies in Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, and Luleå all teach the Central Swedish Standard; although on scenes outside of Stockholm–Uppsala, adherance to this standard may appear less strict. The teater academy of Finland teaches in Finnish and Finland-Swedish.

History

Standard Swedish evolved from the high prestige dialects of the Mälaren Valley region around Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

The creation of the (semi-) autonomous Russian Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809/1812 led to drastically decreased communication between Sweden and Finland, where virtually all administration and higher education would continue to be executed in Swedish until the end of the 19th century, when Finnish was given first an equal status with that of Swedish, and soon a strong dominance due to the small size of the diminishing Swedish speaking minority. The reaction was a strong urge among the Finland-Swedes to retain the connection with Sweden and Swedish as it developed there, which was why högsvenska in the first half of the 20th century primarily meant Swedish as spoken by educated people in Sweden. This would however change, maybe under impression of the feeling of "separateness" caused by numerous events culminating in the disappointment over Sweden's failure to live up to expectations of solidary help against the Soviet Union during the Winter War. In effect, Högsvenska came to be understood as the prestige dialect of Finland-Swedish. In the second half of the 20th century, tensions between center and periphery in Finland made the concept of a spoken standard variety less popular, and the spoken Swedish in Ostrobothnia again oriented towards Sweden, particularly when switching to more elevated registers, resulting in a relation between Standard Swedish as spoken in Southern versus Eastern Finland that by and large echoed the relation between Standard Swedish as spoken in Central versus Southern Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Finland was a state that existed 1809–1917. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Finland-Swedish is a variety of Swedish. ... Winter war Conflict World War II Date November 30, 1939 - March 12, 1940 Place Finland Result pyrrhic Soviet victory The Winter War (also known as the Soviet-Finnish War or the Russo-Finnish War) broke out when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, three months after the... A prestige dialect is the dialect spoken by the most prestigious people in a speech community large enough to sustain multiple dialects. ... A variety of a language is a form that differs from other forms of the language systematically and coherently. ... Ostrobothnia, Österbotten (literally East (of) Bottom / the Gulf of Bothnia) or Pohjanmaa (literally Bottom land / soil / ground), is a historical province to the north in Finland. ... Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between one or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. ... In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. ...

In Sweden, the concept of a unified standard language, based on a high prestige dialect spoken in the capital region, was primarily understood in terms of the written language, as exemplified with the Swedification of the Danish and Norwegian provinces that were acquired in the 17th century. The people was taught Swedish hymns and prayers, but with a phonology that remained largely Danish or Norwegian. Phonology (Greek phone = voice/sound and logos = word/speech), or phonemics, is a subfield of grammar (see also linguistics). ...

During the latter half of the 19th century, the use of a standardized written language increased with each new innovation of communication and transportation. I was however not until the 1960s, when the major demographic situation of Sweden had changed from a quite rural and agrarian society to the highly urbanized society it is today, that the spoken varieties closed up towards unified dialects whos vocabulary and grammatic rules adhered to that of the (written) Standard Swedish. The different phonologies, particularly the different realizations of melodic accent, have however proved to be more viable. A variety of a language is a form that differs from other forms of the language systematically and coherently. ... Norwegian and Swedish except Finland-Swedish are among the few European languages which have a melodic accent. ...

Also with respect to other aspects of the Swedish phonology, there are developments towards a unification, that however not always is the effect of standardization or centripetal influence. So has for instance realization of fricatives in the Central Swedish Standard undergone a change in recent decades moving in direction of the Southern Standard rather than that of Northern Sweden and Finland.

See also

• Swedish phonology
• Swedish Language Council

The Swedish Language Council (Svenska språknämnden) is the primary regulatory body for the advancement and cultivation of the Swedish language. ...

External links

• The official website of the Swedish Language Council (http://www.spraknamnden.se/) (mostly in Swedish with some sections in English, Finnish, French and German)

References

• Bolander, Maria Funktionell svensk grammatik (Liber AB, Falköping 2002) ISBN 91-47-05054-3
• Engstrand, Olle Fonetikens grunder (Studenlitteratur, Lund 2004) ISBN 91-44-04238-8
• Definition of the goals of the Swedish Language Council (in English) (http://www.spraknamnden.se/andrasprak/english.htm)