- Paperback: 628 pages
- Publisher: Routledge (16 Dec 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0415082080
- ISBN-13: 978-0415082082
- Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 15.7 x 3.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
989,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Books > Languages > By Language > Other European Languages > Swedish > By Publisher > Routledge
- #49 in Books > Languages > Grammar, dictionaries & phrasebooks > Swedish
- See Complete Table of Contents
Swedish
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Swedish: A Comprehensive Grammar is a comprehensive reference guide to the grammar of modern Swedish. It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in today's language. The book will be the standard reference for years to come. The Grammar is the ideal reference source for the learner and user of Swedish, irrespective of level. The book is ideal for use in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types. It is organised to promote a thorough understanding of Swedish grammar and presents the complexitites of Swedish in a concise and readable form. Explanations are full, clear and free of jargon. Throughout, the emphasis is on the Swedish as used by present-day native speakers of the language. An extensive index, numbered paragraphs, generous use of headings and cross references provide readers with easy access to the information they require. Features include * Detailed treatment of the common grammatical patterns and parts of speech * Full use of examples from television, newspapers and authentic conversation * Particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty * Swedish/English contrasts highlighted throughout the book
About the Author
Philip Holmes was formerly lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at Hull University, and is now a freelance translator.
Ian Hinchliffe is a freelance translator and member of the Swedish Association of Professional Translators and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book has an accurate title ... it is very comprehensive. I have lived in Sweden four years and have used the book from beginning my study of Swedish through fluency. It is an excellent reference book, and should be used to accompany some type of self-study book or a formal course in the language. I highly recommend this book, although as stated, it cannot, in my opinion, be used alone to learn the language.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are other Swedish grammar books on the market which are slimmer, but not necessarily cheaper, but Swedish grammar, beyond the beginner level, is rich and intricate, and cannot be covered properly in a few dozen pages. This book uses 600+ pages and 1000+ specific sections to lay out, for the English-speaking learner of Swedish, everything you need to know to understand how Swedes express themselves. I have found it invaluable, in grappling with Swedish "in the wild" as found in books, newspapers etc, as opposed to carefully constructed classroom exercises. If you are a beginner and want a reference to turn to when you come across grammar you don't understand, this will do very nicely. If you are a serious student you will definitely need this comprehensive coverage of the subject. However, don't expect too much of a grammar book, you will need other resources to develop other dimensions of the language such as vocabulary, speaking, listening etc.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Grammatik! Åt helvete med!
2 Jun 2008
Format:Paperback
The average Swede doesn't love grammar any more than the average American, and most Swedes are as blissfully unaware of the formal grmmar of their language as most Americans, except when they encounter some telltale dialect irregularity. Swedish is to a degree a reformed language, unlike English, in which spellings have been regularized and grammatical anomalies pruned. Like English, however, Swedish has lost the vast majority of its conjugational and declensional forms, and like English, Swedish is loaded with words of Latin origin. In fact, Swedish is an awful lot like English, which explains the comparative ease with which most Swedes become fluent in English. Skipping over the curious Swedish articles and the "agreement of adjectives", Swedish word order is nearly parallel to English, and Swedes use a plethora of prepositions that seem outrageously idiomatic... until you realize that English has the same bad habit. It might help to imagine Swedish as the "other half" of English; if you put Swedish and French together in a blender, you'd end up with an English smoothie.
The Routledge Swedish Comprhensive Grammar is NOT a textbook for learning to speak Swedish. Believe me, learning to speak and understand spoken Swedish will require hours and months with a native speaker. Still, like other cognate-rich languages, Swedish should be easy enough to read with a modicum of grammar and a full-size dictionary. You DON'T need Swedish to visit Sweden, and you WON'T understand Bergman without subtitles just from a study of comparative grammar, but you'll be able to read Astrid Lindgren in Swedish in a few weeks if you try, and other great Swedish writers will eventually become available.
This summary of Swedish grammar is lucid, orderly, and remarkably complete. There are several kinds of readers who might find it useful: 1) teachers of English or linguists who do love grammar for its own sake; 2) scholars of Old English who want a comparative baseline for understanding the evolution of modern English; 3) people like me, who spent some of a childhood in Sweden but whose command of the language is imperfect.
Having tried at various times to teach Japanese and European colleagues a little more ample English, I can say that we anglophones have reason to be jealous. Would that we had as comprehensive a volume of English grammar as Routledge provides for Swedish!
The Routledge Swedish Comprhensive Grammar is NOT a textbook for learning to speak Swedish. Believe me, learning to speak and understand spoken Swedish will require hours and months with a native speaker. Still, like other cognate-rich languages, Swedish should be easy enough to read with a modicum of grammar and a full-size dictionary. You DON'T need Swedish to visit Sweden, and you WON'T understand Bergman without subtitles just from a study of comparative grammar, but you'll be able to read Astrid Lindgren in Swedish in a few weeks if you try, and other great Swedish writers will eventually become available.
This summary of Swedish grammar is lucid, orderly, and remarkably complete. There are several kinds of readers who might find it useful: 1) teachers of English or linguists who do love grammar for its own sake; 2) scholars of Old English who want a comparative baseline for understanding the evolution of modern English; 3) people like me, who spent some of a childhood in Sweden but whose command of the language is imperfect.
Having tried at various times to teach Japanese and European colleagues a little more ample English, I can say that we anglophones have reason to be jealous. Would that we had as comprehensive a volume of English grammar as Routledge provides for Swedish!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Very well written and comprehensive grammar
16 Dec 2003
Format:Paperback
There are people who like nothing more than to pick up a book on the grammar of a foreign language and read it, to find out what that language is like and how it works, and I have to admit I'm one of them. We are the nerds of the linguistic universe (although technically, I would say the universal generative and mathematical grammar guys outrank us). But a book like this is enough to transport us to that big linguistic Valhalla in the sky.
This is a very detailed, well written, and comprehensive Swedish grammar that should serve the needs of the student and instructor of Swedish and of Germanic languages in general. In addition to the treatment of the grammar, it includes a glossary of linguistic and grammatical terms for those who are a little rusty on the details of their grammar, and who can't recall what a case declension, a subjective complement, or the subjunctive mood is anymore (although that modal construction, as in English, has almost disappeared).
I'd previously read Holmes's Swedish: An Essential Grammar, which is also excellent, but this one is even more detailed and comprehensive. As another reviewer observed, there is a dearth of basic resources for people interested in learning Swedish, and this book fills a major gap in the coverage that should be a boon to the most demanding student of the language.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Excellent book
25 Feb 2000
Format:Paperback
I would describe it as "skit bra" infact. My need for learning Swedish is based on my living and working here. It's a big book but well worth the effort. Very well written and all the linguistic terms that you may be unfamiliar with are explained in a glossary. I needed a good thorough text on the subject and I think I made a good choice. I would like to see more of the style guidelines/diktats such as those found in "Riktig Svenska" by Wallenberg (I think). That would make it a one stop shop for using Swedish.
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