Editing Swedish language (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Swedish}}

===Old Norse===
{{Main|Old Norse}}
{{Old Norse language map}}
In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, [[Proto-Norse language|Proto-Norse]], evolved into Old Norse. This language underwent more changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, which resulted in the appearance of two similar dialects: ''Old West Norse'' (Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland) and ''Old East Norse'' (Denmark and Sweden). The dialects of Old East Norse spoken in Sweden are called ''[[Runic Swedish]]'', while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as ''Runic Danish''. The dialects are described as "runic" because the main body of text appears in the [[runic alphabet]]. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the [[Elder Futhark]] alphabet, Old Norse was written with the [[Younger Futhark]] alphabet, which had only 16 letters. Because the number of runes was limited, some runes were used for a range of [[phoneme]]s, such as the rune for the vowel ''u'', which was also used for the vowels ''o'', ''ø'' and ''y'', and the rune for ''i'', also used for ''e''.<ref name=Edlund2010p26-31>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|pp=26–31}}</ref>

From 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. The innovations spread unevenly from Denmark, creating a series of minor dialectal boundaries, or [[isogloss]]es, ranging from [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]] in the south to [[Norrland]], [[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Österbotten]] and northwestern [[Finland]] in the north.<ref name=Edlund2010p26-31/>

An early change that separated Runic Danish from the other dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the [[diphthong]] ''æi'' to the [[monophthong]] ''é'', as in ''stæinn'' to ''sténn'' "stone". This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read ''stain'' and the later ''stin''. There was also a change of ''au'' as in ''dauðr'' into a long open ''ø'' as in ''døðr'' "dead". This change is shown in runic inscriptions as a change from ''tauþr'' into ''tuþr''. Moreover, the ''øy'' diphthong changed into a long, [[close vowel|close]] ''ø'', as in the Old Norse word for "island". By the end of the period, these innovations had affected most of the Runic Swedish-speaking area as well, with the exception of the dialects spoken north and east of [[Mälaren Valley|Mälardalen]] where the diphthongs still exist in remote areas.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bergman|1984|pp=21–23}}</ref>

===Old Swedish===
[[File:Västgötalagen blad 21.jpg|thumb|right|The initial page of the first complete copy of ''[[Västgötalagen]]'', the [[code of law|law code]] of [[Västergötland]], from {{circa|1280}}. It is one of the earliest texts in Swedish written in the [[Latin script]].]]
{{Main|Old Swedish}}
Old Swedish (Swedish: ''fornsvenska'') is the term used for the [[medieval]] Swedish language. The start date is usually set to 1225 since this is the year that ''[[Västgötalagen]]'' ("the Västgöta Law") is believed to have been compiled for the first time.<ref>The oldest dated fragments are from 1250 and the oldest complete manuscript is from {{Circa|1280}}</ref> It is among the most important documents of the period written in [[Latin script]] and the oldest Swedish [[code of law|law codes]]. Old Swedish is divided into ''äldre fornsvenska'' (1225–1375) and ''yngre fornsvenska'' (1375–1526), "older" and "younger" Old Swedish.<ref>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|pp=28–29}}</ref> Important outside influences during this time came with the firm establishment of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Christian church]] and various [[Monasticism|monastic]] orders, introducing many [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Latin]] loanwords. With the rise of [[Hanseatic league|Hanseatic]] power in the late 13th and early 14th century, [[Middle Low German]] became very influential. The Hanseatic league provided Swedish commerce and administration with a large number of [[Low German]]-speaking immigrants. Many became quite influential members of Swedish medieval society, and brought terms from their native languages into the vocabulary. Besides a great number of loanwords for such areas as warfare, trade and administration, general grammatical suffixes and even conjunctions were imported. The League also brought a certain measure of influence from Danish (at the time Swedish and Danish were much more similar than today).<ref name=Edlund2010p29,31>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|pp=29, 31}}</ref>

Early Old Swedish was markedly different from the modern language in that it had a more complex [[case (linguistics)|case]] structure and also retained the original Germanic three-[[gender (grammar)|gender]] system. [[Noun]]s, [[adjective]]s, [[pronoun]]s and certain [[Grammatical number|numerals]] were inflected in four cases; besides the extant [[Nominative case|nominative]], there were also the [[Genitive case|genitive]] (later [[possessive case|possessive]]), [[Dative case|dative]] and [[Accusative case|accusative]]. The gender system resembled that of modern [[German language|German]], having masculine, feminine and neuter genders. The masculine and feminine genders were later merged into a ''common gender'' with the [[Definiteness|definite suffix]] ''-en'' and the [[definite article]] ''den'', in contrast with the neuter gender equivalents ''-et'' and ''det''. The verb system was also more complex: it included [[subjunctive]] and [[Imperative mood|imperative]] [[mood (grammar)|moods]] and verbs were conjugated according to [[person (grammar)|person]] as well as [[number (grammar)|number]]. By the 16th century, the case and gender systems of the colloquial spoken language and the profane literature had been largely reduced to the two cases and two genders of modern Swedish.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|pp=150–157}}</ref>

A transitional change of the Latin script in the Nordic countries was to spell the letter combination "ae" as æ – and sometimes as a' – though it varied between persons and regions. The combination "ao" was similarly rendered a<sup>o</sup>, and "oe" became o<sup>e</sup>. These three were later to evolve into the separate letters [[ä]], [[å]] and [[ö]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|p=139}}</ref> The first time the new letters were used in print was in ''Aff dyäffwlsens frästilse'' ("By the Devil's temptation") published by [[Johan Gerson]] in 1495.<ref>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|p=29}}</ref>

===Modern Swedish===
{{Main|Modern Swedish}}[[File:Gustav Vasa Bible 1541.jpg|thumb|upright|Front page of [[Gustav Vasa]]'s Bible from 1541, using [[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur]]. The title translated to English reads: "The Bible / That is / The Holy Scripture / in Swedish. Printed in [[Uppsala]]. 1541".]]

Modern Swedish (Swedish: ''nysvenska'') begins with the advent of the [[printing press]] and the European [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. After assuming power, the new monarch [[Gustav Vasa]] ordered a Swedish translation of the [[Bible]]. The [[New Testament]] was published in 1526, followed by a full [[Bible translation]] in 1541, usually referred to as the ''[[Gustav Vasa Bible]]'', a translation deemed so successful and influential that, with revisions incorporated in successive editions, it remained the most common Bible translation until 1917. The main translators were [[Laurentius Andreae|Laurentius Andreæ]] and the brothers [[Laurentius Petri|Laurentius]] and [[Olaus Petri]].<ref>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|p=33}}</ref>

The Vasa Bible is often considered to be a reasonable compromise between old and new; while not adhering to the colloquial spoken language of its day, it was not overly conservative in its use of archaic forms.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|p=151}}</ref> It was a major step towards a more consistent [[Swedish orthography]]. It established the use of the vowels "å", "ä", and "ö", and the spelling "ck" in place of "kk", distinguishing it clearly from the Danish Bible, perhaps intentionally, given the ongoing rivalry between the countries. All three translators came from central Sweden, which is generally seen as adding specific Central Swedish features to the new Bible.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Nordic Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z17C7s3r_nwC&pg=PA1900 |year=2005 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-019706-8 |page=1900}}</ref>

Though it might seem as if the Bible translation set a very powerful precedent for orthographic standards, spelling actually became more inconsistent during the remainder of the century. It was not until the 17th century that spelling began to be discussed, around the time when the first grammars were written.<ref name="Grünbaum2012">{{cite web |author=Grünbaun, Katharina |url=http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/otherlanguages/factsheets/SI/Svenska_spraket.pdf |title=Svenska språket |trans-title=The Swedish language |date=2012 |publisher=Svenska institutet |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025181238/http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/otherlanguages/factsheets/SI/Svenska_spraket.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012}}</ref> [[Capitalization]] during this time was not standardized. It depended on the authors and their background. Those influenced by [[German language|German]] capitalized all nouns, while others capitalized more sparsely. It is also not always apparent which letters are capitalized owing to the Gothic or [[blackletter]] typeface that was used to print the Bible. This typeface was in use until the mid-18th century, when it was gradually replaced with a Latin typeface (often [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bandle |first1=Oskar |last2=Elmevik |first2=Lennart |last3=Widmark |first3=Gun |title=The Nordic Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqkBXIJkkuEC&pg=PA517 |year=2002 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-014876-3 |page=517}}</ref>

Some important changes in sound during the Modern Swedish period were the gradual assimilation of several different consonant clusters into the [[voiceless alveolar fricative|fricative]] {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and later into {{IPA|[ɧ]}}. There was also the gradual softening of {{IPA|[ɡ]}} and {{IPA|[k]}} into {{IPA|[j]}} and the [[voiceless alveolopalatal fricative|fricative]] {{IPA|[ɕ]}} before [[front vowel]]s. The [[voiced velar fricative|velar fricative]] {{IPA|[ɣ]}} was also transformed into the corresponding [[voiced velar plosive|plosive]] {{IPA|[ɡ]}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|p=138}}</ref>

[[File:August Strindberg.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|[[August Strindberg]], one of the most influential writers in modern Swedish literature]]

===Contemporary Swedish===
[[File:Dem-dom.jpg|thumb|right|A sign on the wall of a Swedish hotel, using both the recommended<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Svanlund |editor-first1=Jan  |title=Språkriktighetsboken |date=2013 |publisher=Svenska språknämnden and Norstedts |isbn=978-91-1-304370-8 |pages=210–211 |edition=2}}</ref> {{lang|sv|dem}} and the colloquial {{lang|sv|dom}} for the word "them" on the same sign.]]
The period that includes Swedish as it is spoken today is termed {{lang|sv|nusvenska}} (lit., "Now-Swedish") in linguistics, and started in the last decades of the 19th century. It saw a democratization of the language with a less formal written form that approached the spoken one. The growth of a state school system also led to the evolution of so-called {{lang|sv|boksvenska}} (literally, "book Swedish"), especially among the working classes, where spelling to some extent influenced pronunciation, particularly in official contexts. With the industrialization and urbanization of Sweden well under way by the last decades of the 19th century, a new breed of authors made their mark on [[Swedish literature]]. Many scholars, politicians and other public figures had a great influence on the emerging national language, among them prolific authors like the poet [[Gustaf Fröding]], Nobel laureate [[Selma Lagerlöf]] and radical writer and playwright [[August Strindberg]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Josephson|2005|loc=chapter 2}}</ref>

It was during the 20th century that a common, standardized national language became available to all Swedes. The orthography finally stabilized and became almost completely uniform, with some minor deviations, by the time of the spelling reform of 1906.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sociolinguistics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGl35Q3W5twC&pg=PA1751 |year=2006 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-019987-1 |page=1751}}</ref> With the exception of plural forms of verbs and a slightly different syntax, particularly in the written language, the language was the same as the Swedish of today. The plural verb forms appeared decreasingly in formal writing into the 1950s, when their use was removed from all official recommendations.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Taavitsainen |first1=Irma |last2=Melchers |first2=Gunnel |last3=Pahta |first3=Päivi |title=Writing in Nonstandard English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cQ9AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|year=2000 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-9903-1 |page=302}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bandle|first1=Oskar |last2=Braunmuller|first2=Kurt |last3=Jahr|first3=Ernst Hakon|title=The Nordic Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6b7WwBC5tRAC&pg=PA1805|year=2005|publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017149-5|page=1805}}</ref>

A very significant change in Swedish occurred in the late 1960s with the so-called {{Lang|sv|[[du-reformen]]}}. Previously the proper way to address people of the same or higher social status had been by title and surname. The use of {{lang|sv|herr}} ("Mr" or "Sir"), {{lang|sv|fru}} ("Mrs" or "Ma'am") or {{lang|sv|fröken}} ("Miss") was considered the only acceptable way to begin conversation with strangers of unknown occupation, academic title or military rank. The fact that the listener should preferably be referred to in the third person tended to further complicate spoken communication between members of society. In the early 20th century an unsuccessful attempt was made to replace the insistence on titles with {{lang|sv|ni}}—the standard [[Grammatical person|second person plural]] pronoun)—analogous to the [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|vous}} (see [[T-V distinction]]). {{lang|sv|Ni}} wound up being used as a slightly less familiar form of {{lang|sv|du}}, the second person singular pronoun, used to address people of lower social status. With the liberalization and radicalization of Swedish society in the 1950s and 1960s, these class distinctions became less important and {{lang|sv|du}} became the standard, even in formal and official contexts. Though the reform was not an act of any centralized political decree but rather the result of sweeping change in social attitudes, it was completed in just a few years, from the late 1960s to early 1970s.<ref>Nationalencyklopedin, ''du-tilltal'' and ''ni-tilltal''</ref> The use of {{lang|sv|ni}} as a polite form of address is sometimes encountered today in both the written and spoken language, particularly among older speakers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holmes|first1=Philip|last2=Hinchliffe|first2=Ian|title=Swedish: An Essential Grammar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGasMbSR-8gC&pg=PA86|year=2008|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-45800-9|page=86}}</ref>