https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Sweden's government has dropped plans to bring in compulsory language tests for those applying for permanent residency, a spokesperson for Migration Minister Johan Forssell has told The Local. https://www.thelocal.com/20260317/swedish-government-scraps-language-tests-for-permanent-residency Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:39:43 +0100 swedish-government-scraps-language-tests-for-permanent-residency Every language borrows from its neighbours: English is a proper mongrel, with layers of German, Danish and Norman French interspersed with smatterings of Celtic. Swedish has borrowed liberally from German, French and English, but a few other languages have left their mark, often in a way that tells a story about Swedish history. Here are some of the best. https://www.thelocal.com/20260312/the-most-unexpected-foreign-words-in-swedish Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:48:38 +0100 the-most-unexpected-foreign-words-in-swedish Swedish-Finnish humour trio KAJ's 'Bara Bada Bastu' has emerged as an unexpected favourite to win the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. The Local has done a line-by-line translation of the lyrics, so that you know what you're singing about when it's stuck in your head. https://www.thelocal.com/20250502/what-do-the-lyrics-of-swedens-eurovision-entry-bara-bada-bastu-actually-mean Fri, 02 May 2025 13:05:53 +0200 what-do-the-lyrics-of-swedens-eurovision-entry-bara-bada-bastu-actually-mean Like English speakers, Swedes absolutely love to use fake swear words – and you should too, as they sound gloriously quaint coming from the mouth of a foreigner. https://www.thelocal.com/20250327/seventeen-how-to-not-swear-in-swedish-while-feeling-like-you-are Thu, 27 Mar 2025 12:29:21 +0100 seventeen-how-to-not-swear-in-swedish-while-feeling-like-you-are Swedes respond most positively to people speaking Swedish with English, Finnish and German accents, according to a new study from Sweden's Institute for Language and Folklore that took an in-depth look at a dozen foreign accents. https://www.thelocal.com/20240502/how-positive-are-swedes-towards-foreign-accents Thu, 02 May 2024 17:29:17 +0200 how-positive-are-swedes-towards-foreign-accents What makes a person want to learn Swedish? The Local's reader Sunny Das tries to answer a question that's bigger than quantifiable goals. https://www.thelocal.com/20240321/readers-story-how-i-slowly-fell-in-love-with-the-swedish-language Thu, 21 Mar 2024 15:31:17 +0100 readers-story-how-i-slowly-fell-in-love-with-the-swedish-language The definitive record of the Swedish language has been completed after 140 years, with the dictionary's final volume sent to the printer's last week. https://www.thelocal.com/20231026/swedens-official-dictionary-completed-after-140-years Thu, 26 Oct 2023 07:31:57 +0200 swedens-official-dictionary-completed-after-140-years The unusual way some northern Swedes say 'yes' often surprises those unfamiliar with the dialect: a cross between a gasp and a slurp, it's a curious linguistic phenomenon. The Local explores where it comes from and what exactly it means. https://www.thelocal.com/20191207/the-story-behind-the-strange-northern-swedish-way-to-say-yes Sat, 07 Dec 2019 20:57:55 +0100 the-story-behind-the-strange-northern-swedish-way-to-say-yes