why I have difficulties in understanding spoken Swedish
mat = food
matt = weak/feeble
mätt = full/satisfied
mät = measurement
Look at that list of words. Notice how similar they are? The difference in sound between "mat" and "matt" is naught more than the length of time the vowel is pronounced. The difference between "mat" and "mät" is only a subtle change in the type of "a" sound made. In English there are regional accents which have FAR greater differences in how a vowel is pronounced and/or how much time it takes to say a vowel WITHOUT changing the word. The exact same word said by someone from New York as compared to the Southern US states as compared to the Midwestern US states as compared to England as compared to Scotland, etc. sounds Far, far more distinctly different than the above list of Swedish words. Yet, in Sweden, those subtle differences change the meaning to something else entirely. I grew up speaking a language with a deeply rooted understanding that there is a HUGE room for variation in vowels--one can make them longer or shorter or change the way in which they are pronounced and the word is still the same.
Not here. Here when I try to say a word that I know the odds are good that I will miss pronounce it enough to come up with another word I don't yet know. When they tell me I have said another word I ask them to repeat both words, and I CANNOT tell them apart. At all. To my ear they are the same. This has come up many times, with many different words. How am I going to learn to communicate in the spoken language if I can't tell one word from another? Reading. Reading is my friend. I can see the difference between the above words easily...
PS: Friday's progress report: worked on the discussion/conclusion section of the paper! We also sorted out some of the boxes which have been "temporarily" in the living room waiting for him to have a chance to go through them. Cleared out enough of them that it is once again possible to set up the keyboard. How much nicer yoga is while he is playing music for me--I spent about twice as long doing yoga last night than I had the last few.
matt = weak/feeble
mätt = full/satisfied
mät = measurement
Look at that list of words. Notice how similar they are? The difference in sound between "mat" and "matt" is naught more than the length of time the vowel is pronounced. The difference between "mat" and "mät" is only a subtle change in the type of "a" sound made. In English there are regional accents which have FAR greater differences in how a vowel is pronounced and/or how much time it takes to say a vowel WITHOUT changing the word. The exact same word said by someone from New York as compared to the Southern US states as compared to the Midwestern US states as compared to England as compared to Scotland, etc. sounds Far, far more distinctly different than the above list of Swedish words. Yet, in Sweden, those subtle differences change the meaning to something else entirely. I grew up speaking a language with a deeply rooted understanding that there is a HUGE room for variation in vowels--one can make them longer or shorter or change the way in which they are pronounced and the word is still the same.
Not here. Here when I try to say a word that I know the odds are good that I will miss pronounce it enough to come up with another word I don't yet know. When they tell me I have said another word I ask them to repeat both words, and I CANNOT tell them apart. At all. To my ear they are the same. This has come up many times, with many different words. How am I going to learn to communicate in the spoken language if I can't tell one word from another? Reading. Reading is my friend. I can see the difference between the above words easily...
PS: Friday's progress report: worked on the discussion/conclusion section of the paper! We also sorted out some of the boxes which have been "temporarily" in the living room waiting for him to have a chance to go through them. Cleared out enough of them that it is once again possible to set up the keyboard. How much nicer yoga is while he is playing music for me--I spent about twice as long doing yoga last night than I had the last few.