In addition to the question “Is Swedish difficult to learn?”, is “How long does it take to learn Swedish?” Questions that are entirely legitimate but maybe a little naive. People want to start a project and see the light at the end of the tunnel so they can understand how much work it takes to simply finish it. But learning a language is not a project, just like working out and losing weight. You can set a goal and be satisfied with where you are at the moment, but as soon as you stop, you begin to require what you have already accomplished or acquired. You once again start to develop a small belly, and you start to lose shape. It will eventually disappear from your memory if you learn a language and then stop using it. If you have enough experience with something, it might come back to you, but you will be rusty. Keep up your exercise routine.
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The Swedish Language
Swedish is related to Old Norse, just like all other Nordic languages. Despite being closely related to both Danish and Norwegian, it is not always mutually comprehensible with either of those languages. Those who speak Swedish may find it challenging to understand those who speak Norwegian and Spanish due to the distinctive accent and tones of the language. The written versions of the two vernaculars are, however, fairly simple for Spanish speakers to read.
Ten million people speak Swedish as their first language, with the majority of them residing in Sweden and the remainder in Finland. However, among immigrants, the study of this dialect is very common. Wars have harmed a number of Arab nations in recent decades. As a result, many of their citizens have emigrated to other countries. But for a variety of reasons, Sweden turned out to be the best place for immigrants. Recently, the nation has granted many immigration petitions. Families must look for employment as they settle in Sweden in order to provide for their needs. To fit in with their new surroundings, however, they must learn Swedish. Choosing a new vernacular is simpler for children than it is for adults, who find it difficult.
Is Swedish Comparable To English?
There are no easy or difficult languages, let’s be clear about that right away. There are languages that are further away from your mother tongue. So, achieving fluency will require more time and effort. Others, however, are closer, giving you the upper hand while you’re learning it. However, neither is more difficult nor less difficult. It just takes longer.
You’re in luck because Swedish and English are closely related. Both belong to the Germanic language group. Swedish is a North Germanic language, whereas English belongs to the West Germanic family. However, there is still a lot that these two languages have in common. Therefore, all of these similarities make learning Swedish easier if English is your native language or if you already speak English.
Is Learning Swedish Challenging?
You came here, however, to learn how difficult Swedish is. Furthermore, we can assign a price to it if you insist. All languages were categorized by the United States Foreign Service Institute (FSI). They compared them to the fluency that native English speakers can achieve. Then they gave the languages a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest to learn (like French and German) and 5 being the most difficult (like Chinese and Japanese).
According to the FSI, Swedish falls under category 1. For native English speakers, learning it is therefore equally simple to do as learning French or Spanish. Thus, Swedish is now among the simplest languages to learn. For those who want to start their studies, that is very encouraging. See more about How Hard Is It To Learn Romanian?
How Long Does It Take To Learn Swedish?
The length of time it takes to learn a language directly correlates with how difficult it is to learn. Thus, it will take longer to become fluent the harder it is. Since Swedish is a category 1 language, the FSI also assigned a number to how long it will take to become fully fluent.
An average native English speaker would need 1100 hours of study to advance from having no knowledge of the language to being able to communicate with locals in Swedish. Of course, this is only a general suggestion.
You can’t tell how motivated you are by a government agency. or the strategies you employ for learning languages. The best language learning program can significantly reduce that number.
What Elements Affect Learning Swedish?
Native Language
To begin with, not everyone has studied a foreign language before. Without learning a single word of a foreign language, native English speakers can get by almost anywhere in the world. It’s great for tourism, but when trying to learn a new language for the first time, this can present difficulties. Having learned a second language before, people who learn English as their first foreign language typically do so on a global scale. The required curriculum includes it. The key idea here is that these kids already know that not all languages function the same way as their own and will have accumulated experience, grammar, and vocabulary to aid them in understanding yet another language. The more languages you know, the simpler it will be to adapt your thinking to a new target language’s logical framework. Additionally, if you are familiar with German (especially Low German), you will notice that there are many German loans in Swedish, and if you are familiar with French, you will also notice that there are many French loans. Your vocabulary will increase quickly as a result of these factors.
Talent
Finally, it is talent-based. Although it is not necessary, talent does help when learning a language. It’s possible to surround yourself with Swedish as much as possible even if you don’t have any native speakers to practice with; however, you need to put in the work and the hours if you don’t have any natural talent. Essentially, “the feel for languages” is what I mean by “talent.” Each and every brain is uniquely wired, and some people “just get it.” Everyone can learn a language, of course, but for some people, it takes longer and requires more willpower to persevere and stay on course.
Motivation
An important component is a motivation. Sometimes, learning a few languages isn’t enough. Prior to establishing your goal, consider what your true motivations are. What level would you be happy with? Do you prefer reading a Swedish translation of Pippi Longstocking or being able to communicate with your Swedish partner’s family? If you don’t have the right motivation, you’ll start to get bored and switch to another project or language. This is a crucial step because it will have an impact on how much time you contribute. A few minutes a day of learning is sufficient to maintain consistency, but obviously, more time will result in better learning. Perhaps not always more quickly or efficiently, but the experience will help knowledge stick and eliminate the need for repetitive review. See more about How Long Does It Take To Learn Dutch?
Experience
People frequently ask me for a timeframe upfront even though I have no idea who they are, what their native tongue is, how many languages they are fluent in, or even if they have any prior experience learning a language. But even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to respond to them appropriately. I have no idea, but if they speak a Germanic tongue, at least they would have an advantage. It would be much simpler and quicker to learn a language that is closely related to your mother tongue than it would be to learn a completely foreign one. Given that Swedish is my first language, learning Danish and Norwegian has been a breeze for me. These languages are very comprehensible to one another, and reading is especially simple for those with no prior background. It will be much simpler to learn Dutch if you speak German or Spanish if you speak Italian, or even a more distant language within the same family, than it will be to choose any random language from another. You’ll not only come across similar words and grammar rules, but the language also carries a worldview that you already adhere to. This is comparable to my efforts to learn Finnish. According to current linguists, there is absolutely no connection between Swedish and Finnish. Not even a single protolanguage was ever widely used. The first individuals to record Finnish and adapt it for more administrative use most likely spoke Swedish as their native tongue, so there are a ton of loan words from Swedish as well as some grammar structures that are borrowed from Swedish. But the point is that because they were modified to fit Finnish phonology, these loans are difficult to identify. The remaining words and grammar have nothing to do with Swedish, and even the different ways that the speakers think are reflected in the language. For instance, Finns prefer to use nouns and notifications when expressing themselves, whereas Swedes favor verbs. In all languages, or even within one language if it is spoken in different cultures and regions, differences in worldview can be observed. In a typical textbook, this is hardly ever covered.
Conclusion
So how much time does it take? It depends on all of these things, how much you immerse yourself, and the techniques you employ. Some people I’ve met can hold a text-based conversation in Swedish very well after just a few weeks or months, but the majority of people I’ve met started learning years ago and are still unable to do the same. I believe the main offender in this case to be a lack of time and motivation. It basically comes down to two factors: immersion (experience, methods, etc.) and time (motivation), which then result in proficiency. You’ll get better at something the more you practice it, and you’ll learn a skill more quickly the more you study each day.
