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Swedish Research: Tips for Beginners (view source)
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You may have information from family or other sources on the name(s) of the place(s) in Sweden where your ancestor lived or came from. However, when you try to find that in a place list such as the parish listing for Sweden, or, a gazetteer, it doesn't show up. What then? Remember that an "American language" ear heard what your Swedish ancestor was trying to say in his/her "Americanized Swedish," | You may have information from family or other sources on the name(s) of the place(s) in Sweden where your ancestor lived or came from. However, when you try to find that in a place list such as the parish listing for Sweden, or, a gazetteer, it doesn't show up. What then? Remember that an "American language" ear heard what your Swedish ancestor was trying to say in his/her "Americanized Swedish," | ||
There are letters beyond "z" in the Swedish alphabet, which are also used in the middle of words, and in people and place names. Their sounds must be taken into account when trying to figure out what people and place names really are. Those letters are Å å Ä ä, Ö ö, ocurring in both upper and lower case. | There are letters beyond "z" in the Swedish alphabet, which are also used in the middle of words, and in people and place names. Their sounds must be taken into account when trying to figure out what people and place names really are. Those letters are Å å Ä ä, Ö ö, ocurring in both upper and lower case. Each of them represents a vowel that we do not have in English. | ||
The Å å or two a's together | The Å å or two a's together make a sound that is extremely similar to a long english "o" sound, but there is a subtle difference. Shape your mouth like you are going to make a long A and then make the sound of a long "o". It sounds almost like en English "o" but is slightly different. The Ä ä is pronounced like "eh." The Ö ö is pronounced like "oooh." In older usage, the Ä ä might have been replaced by "E e" i.e. Elfsborg County instead of Älvsborg. | ||
If a personal or place name begins with one of these letters, they will be alphabetized totally after "Z" in any indexes or alphabetical listings using the Swedish alphabet. | If a personal or place name begins with one of these letters, they will be alphabetized totally after "Z" in any indexes or alphabetical listings using the Swedish alphabet. | ||