INTRODUCTION Elin: Hello everyone! I’m Elin. Becky: Hello everyone, my name is Becky. Welcome to SwedishPod101.com. This is Upper Beginner, Season 1, Lesson 1 – Meet your new Swedish colleague! In this lesson you will learn how to create a self-introduction. Elin: The conversation takes place at Emma’s new workplace. Becky: It’s between Emma and her staff. Emma uses formal Swedish because this is the first time she introduces herself to them. Elin: Okay. Let’s listen to the conversation. DIALOGUE Anders: My parental leave starts on Monday. I will therefore introduce Emma, ​​who comes over when I’m away. Emma: Hello, my name is Emma Nyquist and I am the one who will be the boss while Anders is on paternity leave. Anders: Emma, ​​what have you worked on before? Emma: I have worked at various banks, both as assistant manager and as manager. Anders: And you’re from Stockholm? Emma: I was born in Stockholm, but grew up in Uppsala. Anders: But you live in Stockholm now? Emma: Yes, I live in Midsommarkransen with my partner David and our daughter Elsa. Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. Anders: My parental leave starts on Monday. I will therefore introduce Emma, ​​who comes over when I’m away. Emma: Hello, my name is Emma Nyquist and I am the one who will be the boss while Anders is on paternity leave. Anders: Emma, ​​what have you worked with in the past? Emma: I have worked at various banks, both as assistant manager and as manager. Anders: And you’re from Stockholm? Emma: I was born in Stockholm, but grew up in Uppsala. Anders: But you live in Stockholm now? Emma: Yes, I live in Midsommarkransen with my partner David and our daughter Elsa. Becky: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. Anders: My parental leave starts on Monday. I will therefore introduce Emma, ​​who comes over when I’m away. Anders: My parental leave starts on Monday. I would therefore like to introduce Emma, ​​who will take over here while I am away. Emma: Hello, my name is Emma Nyquist and I am the one who will be the boss while Anders is on paternity leave. Emma: Hello, my name is Emma Nyquist and I will be your manager while Anders is on paternity leave. Anders: Emma, ​​what have you worked with in the past? Anders: Emma, ​​what have you worked with before? Emma: I have worked at various banks, both as assistant manager and as manager. Emma: I have worked in various banks, both as assistant manager and manager. Anders: And you’re from Stockholm? Anders: And you’re from Stockholm? Emma: I was born in Stockholm, but grew up in Uppsala. Emma: I was born in Stockholm, but I grew up in Uppsala. Anders: But you live in Stockholm now? Anders: But you live in Stockholm now? Emma: Yes, I live in Midsommarkransen with my partner David and our daughter Elsa. Emma: Yes, I live in Midsommarkransen with my partner, David, and our daughter, Elsa. AFTER CONVERSATION BEAUTIFUL Becky: I have to say it was interesting to hear that Anders, the manager Emma is taking over from, is going on paternity leave. Is this common in Sweden? Elin: I wouldn’t say it’s common, but I guess it’s becoming more and more common. Becky: That’s great news! How is the parental leave system in Sweden? Elin: Well, I would say that it is very generous, because it entitles Swedish parents to 480 days of paid parental leave. Becky: For every parent? Elin: No, not so generously! The parents of one child get 480 days of parental leave, and each of them is legally entitled to half of this, but the days can be divided in any way the parents agree. Becky: Okay, I see. Elin: But the father also gets an extra 10 days of paternity leave, so that the whole family can be together right after the child is born. Becky: That’s great! Now let’s move on to the proverb. VOCAB LIST Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we need to see is… Elin: paternal unemployment [natural native speed] Becky: parental leave Elin: paternal unemployment [slowly – broken down by syllable] paternity leave [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: to introduce [natural native speed] Becky: Introduce Elin: to introduce [slowly – broken down by syllable] to introduce [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: cook [natural native speed] Becky: manager Elin: cook [slowly – broken down by syllable] chef [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: meanwhile [natural native speed] Becky: while Elin: meanwhile [slowly – broken down by syllable] while [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: paternity leave [natural native speed] Becky: paternity leave Elin: paternity leave [slowly – broken down by syllable] paternity leave [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: assistant [natural native speed] Becky: assistant Elin: assistant [slowly – broken down by syllable] assistant [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: att födas [natural native speed] Becky: to be born Elin: att födas [slowly – broken down by syllable] to feed [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: to grow up [natural native speed] Becky: growing up Elin: to grow up [slowly – broken down by syllable] to grow up [natural native speed] Becky: Next Elin: to be resident [natural native speed] Becky: to live Elin: to be resident [slowly – broken down by syllable] to be resident [natural native speed] Becky: And finally… Elin: partner [natural native speed] Becky: partner Elin: partner [slowly – broken down by syllable] cohabitant [natural native speed] KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES Becky: Let’s take a closer look at the use of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Where should we start? Elin: Let’s start with the word paternity. Becky: Which means “paternity leave” right? Elin: Yes, that’s right! In Swedish, just like in English, there are specific words for parental leave, regardless of whether it is the mother or the father that you are talking about. Becky: So what is “maternity” in Swedish? Elin: It’s maternity leave”. Becky: I see, and for the word “Parental Leave”? Elin: Parental leave. Becky: Okay, and what else do we have? Elin: We must also talk about the word “sambo”. Becky: It means “partner”. Elin: Yes, a “sambo” is someone you have a relationship with, but actually “sambo” doesn’t have an English counterpart. Becky: Hmm, I’m not sure I understand. Elin: The word “sambo” has a more specific meaning than the English word “partner”, since you only use it for a person with whom you are in a relationship and also live with. Becky: Okay, I think I understand. So this word is used for two people who live together but are not married? Elin: Yes, you can say that being a “partner” means that you live with your partner in a marriage-like relationship, but it is not a registered partnership. Becky: Okay, now I have it. Let’s move on to the grammar now! GRAMMAR POINT Elin: In this lesson you will learn how to make a self-introduction. Becky: Does that mean we learn to say things like “my name is”? Elin: No, we have already learned that in previous series. Instead, we will focus on learning how to talk about things like where we were born, what you do for a living, and your current living conditions. Becky: Ok, that sounds useful. Let’s start with where we were born? Elin: Of course! Becky: How would you say, “I was born in Stockholm,” as Emma says in this lesson’s dialogue? Elin: You would start with “I was born”, followed by the name of the place you were born, in this case Stockholm. So “I was born in Stockholm”, becomes “Jag är född i Stockholm”. Becky: Actually, I have a question about that sentence. Elin: What is it? Becky: Why do you use the present tense of the verb “to be born” even though we are talking about something that happened in the past? Elin: That’s a good question. In fact, “jag är född i Stockholm” literally translates to “I was born in Stockholm”. This is because Swedes use the present tense of the verb “to be born”, which is “är född”, when we are talking about people who are still alive. Becky: What about when you want to talk about people who are no longer alive? Elin: You would use the past tense, “föddes”, if you were talking about people who are no longer alive. Becky: I see. So how would you say “I was born in Linköping”, for example? Elin: You would say “jag är född i Linköping”. Becky: And how would you say, “Napoleon was born in Corsica”? Elin: It is “Napoleon was born in Corsica. Becky: Great! Let’s get our listeners to practice “I was born in Linköping”. Elin: Listeners, repeat after me! “I was born in Linköping”. [pause] Becky: Now let’s take a look at how to talk about what you do for a living. Elin: Okay. Here we learn to say things like “I work as a doctor”. Becky: How would you say “I work as a doctor” in Swedish? Elin: You would start with the “I work as” part, which is “I work as”, followed by the name of the profession, in this case the word for “doctor”, which is “läkare”. So “I work as a doctor” becomes “I work as a doctor”. Becky: Isn’t there another verb for “to work” that you can use? Elin: Well, you could also use the verb “att jobba”, but the verb “att arberka” has a more formal sound, and since we are doing a self-introduction, “att arberka” is better to use. Becky: How about practicing that sentence one time? Elin: Of course. Listeners, repeat after me! “I work as a doctor.”[pause] Becky: What if you’re not working because you’re a student. For example, how would you say, “I study biology”? Elin: Well, there are actually two ways to say this using two different verbs. They can both be translated as “to study” in English. Becky: And what are the verbs? Elin: If you want to say “to study” in Swedish, you can use the verbs “att plugga” or “att studera”. Becky: And is there any difference between these two? Elin: Yes. “att plugga” is more commonly used than “att studera” in everyday conversation, but it also has a more informal sound to it. Becky: So I guess for the sake of a self-introduction we should stick with the other one! So how would you say “I study biology”? Elin: You would start with the “I study” part followed by the name of the subject, in this case the Swedish word for “biology”, “biology”. So “I study biology” in Swedish is “jag studerar biologio”. Listeners repeat after me. Elin: “I study biology”. Becky: Ok, now let’s learn to talk about your current living conditions. Elin: Of course! Becky: How would you say, for example, “I live in Lund with my girlfriend”? Elin: You start with the “I live in” part, which is “I live in”. It is followed by the name of the place where you live, in this case “Lund”. Then you have the “with my” part, which is “with my,” and then a noun that denotes the kind of relationship you have with the person you live with. In this case it is “boyfriend”, which is “boyfriend”. Becky: Hmm, that was a bit long. How would it sound if you put it together? Elin: “I live in Lund with my boyfriend” becomes “I live in Lund with my boyfriend”. Listeners, repeat after me! “I live in Lund with my boyfriend”. [pause] Becky: Okay, I just have one last question! Why do you use the preposition “with” instead of “at” in these kinds of sentences? Both translate as “with”, right? Elin: Yes, both “with” and “with” can mean “with”. But if you use “with” instead of “with”, it means that you live in someone’s home instead of living with the person and your stay there is not seen as something permanent. Becky: Okay! I’m glad we cleared that up! Listeners, if you want to make sure you have understood this grammar point, please check the lesson notes.

Outro

Becky: Okay, that’s it for this lesson. Thanks for listening everyone and see you next time. Elin: Hey there!