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- "I Sverige talar man svenska."
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Is this comparable to the french "on" as in "on parle Français au Canada" (French is spoken in Canada) ?
The ''On'' in the french grammar is called ''le pronom personnel indéfinie'' (indefinite personal pronoun)
On (french)= man (swedish) = you (english)
exp:
On doit respecter les personnes âgées
Man måste respectera de äldre
//You have to respect the elderly.
The resemblance between the French and Swedish in this example is strong, surprising and authentic while it is the Swedish and English that are supposed to have similarities because they are Germanic languages!!
well "one must respect the elderly" sounds close enough to the Swedish, stilted as it may be
It's strange to look at the etymology. English can use either you or one interchangeably for this. English one can trace back to Latin, yet only this special usage of it is from French influence. Despite that, French on is actually unrelated and this usage comes from Germanic, like English you!
However, i think it would be more idiomatic to say "In Sweden they speak Swedish" rather than "In Sweden you speak Swedish". I thereby recommend changing the translation.
That also translates to "one speaks French in Canada". :) makes it more relatable for this instance.
Oh I think I understand so when you use "man" It is a more general sentence. Like saying in america you speak english. You being general of course
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Since it looks like you're taking German -- It seems as if "man" is used in Swedish in the same way it's used in German. Z.b. "wie sagt man das?"
Yes you're right, "man" is used exactly the same way in Swedish as in German! "Wie sagt man das?" would be "Hur säger man det?"
I understand that "man" is translated as "one" in English, but we actually learned in school in German class (in Croatia) to translate it as passive: "Wie sagt man das?" = "Kako se to kaže?" (literally: "How is that said?")
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I don't know about Croatian, but I do know that in very many cases, a Swedish construction with man is well translated into Russian with a passive sentence (not in this specific sentence though), so I think that makes sense.
In comparison with English for this specific sentence, we could both use a passive here with much the same result, eg. I Sverige talas det svenska and Swedish is spoken in Sweden, so English is more similar to Swedish.
Well the translation depends on the circumstances of man. And the southern Slavic languages don't really have a "a". Even the that is often omitted. But what also might be used for man is reflection. I.e. Man kann prata. Would be translated to: Može se pričati
It is the same as 'one'. In the sense that you can also say 'Hur kan man sager ?' = 'How can one say __?'
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We have a Swedish proverb for that: Ta seden dit man kommer literally 'take the customs where you get' – meaning, follow the customs in the place you visit.
It's like: "In my country, you hold the door for a lady; it's just what you do!".
This use of English "you" (Swedish "man") is an indefinite personal pronoun known as "generic you". It's distinct from other uses of "you". Like "one", it refers to anyone (an unspecified individual or group of individuals). No specific person is actually being told to hold doors open for ladies. The listener and speaker may both expect never to actually travel to that country. "it's just what you do there".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you
I don't understand why man is in this sentence. I thought man was husband
Man is also an impersonal pronoun, like one in English as in ”what should one do?” except it’s used much more in Swedish.
So would it be improper to say I sverige talar du svenska? or does it work the same?
I am confused :/ I never saw this in english If man is the same as you or one ---- who is one ?
One is anyone and everyone. It's Joe and Jill Average, a person without any special features. It's French 'on', German 'man', Spanish 'se' (more or less).
Yes, despite your down-votes, spanish "uno" can be used in this way, rather than referring to the number one.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(pronoun)
You can use both in Spanish, "se" and "uno". "How can you say...?" is: "¿Cómo se dice...?" "¿Cómo uno dice...?" sounds weird. It would be: "¿Cómo dice uno...? But still it can have a different connotation. "En España, se habla español"="In Spain, Spanish is spoken" If you say, "En España, uno habla español", it means something like "that is what you have to speak in Spain". It is not a general information about which language is spoken in Spain but about what you have to do there. A bit... intimidating? Both is also used: "¿Cómo se siente uno después de un viaje?"= "How does one feel after a trip?" Although here "sentirse" is a reflexive verb. :)
You could say it, sure, but it doesn't communicate the same thing as "I Sverige talar man svenska."
Can we say "In Sweden, WE speak Swedish"?
In French, "On" can be used as an informal "Nous" (We), but I don't know if it's also the case in Swedish.
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That would be I Sverige talar vi svenska. We don't use man to mean 'we' like you do in French, but in the spoken language some people actually tend to use man to mean I.
Can someone please explain the difference between talar and pratar? They seem very similar. Is there any nuance in when you use either one? Thanks!
I get the impression that 'tala' is like 'speak' (as in, speak a language, speak to an audience, speak clearly), while 'prata' is like talk (as in talk to someone, talk among yourselves). So, if I understand right, you could say 'snälla tala långsamt när du pratar med mig' - 'please speak slowly when you talk with me'.
But I could be wrong.
If it was "I Sverige talas det svenska", your answer would be the correct version, as it's the passive form.
Is this something people say prescriptively in Sweden? Is there negative judgement when people from other backgrounds converse with each other in a language other than Swedish within earshot?
Generally, people aren't that xenophobic. But unfortunately there are always some rotten apples.
This sentence definitely sounds a bit prescriptive and judgy out of context. Though it doesn't automatically have to be.
I think the best translation here would be "In Sweden, they (or: people) speak Swedish". 'You' is a bit odd.
It was a frequent saying of a swedish employer to his english employees. He wanted them to learn Swedish so in that case you would not be a bad translation. It all depends on context
man = one, a person, not definite as "You" If you is your correct solution then why is the sentence not" I Sverige du prater Svenska.
you can also be an indefinite. Details are in a comment above. The exercise accepts either you or one, so feel free to translate man in your preferred way.
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The verb needs to go in second place in the sentence, so when 'i Sverige' takes up the first place, you must have the verb right after that.
Does this rule apply whenever 'i +location' is in the beginning of a sentence?
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Yes, as long as it's a main clause. For subclauses, other rules apply. More about word order in this topic: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/8970470
your translation was not really correct, the word "you" is not mentioned"!
