Villa Volvo Vovve: The Local's Word Guide to Swedish Life

by Catherine Edwards (Editor), Emma Löfgren (Editor)

Words shape and redefine reality, a constantly evolving and fluid interpretation of social rules and ideas. Foreign words expose us to other realities, unfamiliar practices and exotic beliefs. They can help us discover feelings that are not expressible in our native language. They can inspire us to adopt a new lifestyle, or question the way we live. They may seem obvious, obscure, quirky, unnecessary, universal, or remarkably niche. Swedish has enriched the English language with moped , ombudsman , and smorgasbord . While culturally, Abba, Ikea, Spotify, and Volvo have become part of the global lexicon and in many ways transcend their Swedish origins. But it is more recent words like lagom (moderation) and fika (coffee breaks) which have pushed Swedish language and culture deeper into the global consciousness. But Sweden is more than lifestyle trends and technical solutions. It is the country of fredagsmys (cosy Friday), kosläpp (release of the cows), lillördag (little Saturday, Wednesday), and where the average citizen dreams of a villa, Volvo and a vovve. Villa Volvo Vovve is inspired by The Local Sweden’s popular ‘Word of the day’ column which continues to explore Swedish language and culture beyond global stereotypes and buzz words.

254 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! The Local + LYS Publishing = dreamteam. These folks really know Sweden, and they really know how to engage the reader with the quirks of the Swedish language. I love that this book is perfect for both browsing (definitely one for the coffee table!) and for sitting down and reading in one go. Really fascinating insight into Swedish life through Swedish vocab, and would be equally interesting for those who don't live in Sweden but are fans of all things lagom and mys!

[Leonardo Villas Boas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! Useful even for advanced Swedish learners :)

[Luke Austen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic and fun-filled book, filled with engaging mini-articles explaining the origins of various Swedish words and how the words fit into common usage today. It is a great way to learn something about Sweden and the culture alongside the vocabulary, and there is also plenty of help with pronunciation. It's a lovely book that would make the perfect coffee-table book or gift for anyone who has been to, or is going to visit, Sweden. I can't recommend it highly enough!