Function and Form: The Use of Swear words in Swedish Culture
Despite being one of the most common usage of language, swearing and the use of swear words are seldom studied academically. Arguably, every culture and language has its own set of swear words as they fulfill social, emotional, and psychological functions and make up an important part of interpersonal connection. Researcher and anthropologist Montagu classified swearing into two categories: social swearing and annoyance swearing (1967). Social swearing may be used to signify and strengthen the membership of a social group or develop in-group solidarity and camaraderie. Annoyance swearing is valued as a ‘relief mechanism’ for the relief of pain, stress, or tension. This paper will investigate the use, extent, and influences of swearing in a Swedish context, building on Sweden’s position as a liberal, socialist multi-ethnic society. The paper will also trace this phenomenon back to its origin and explore how swear words have changed over time.
Historically, across cultures swear words are seen as obscene or insulting because they are referencing something that is taboo or forbidden. As a Christian country, many traditional swear words have their roots in the Christian religion, in particular mentions of the devil (jävla, satan, fan) or hell (helvet, helsike) (Rathje). As Sweden is becoming more and more a secular country, religion is less widespread and thus less powerful and feared. Thus, many of the so-called traditional swear words are an integral part of everyday language. Another form of swearing in Sweden that differs greatly from English is the use of numbers. In Sweden, the numbers seventeen (sjutton) and eighteen (attans) are used as less powerful and offensive swear words, often used as euphemisms (Rathje). The origins of these two are unclear but certain sources have speculated that seventeen is used because it’s seen as Odin’s number dating back to Norse mythology, similar to how you shouldn’t take God’s name in vain, calling out sjutton might invoke Odin. Attans, which is an outdated word for eighteen, now replaced with arton, might have come about since it rhymes with Satan. More contemporary Swedish swear words is similar to English referencing sexual insults, body parts or bodily functions such as hora (whore, skit (shit) and fitta (cunt). This trend reflects the increasing secularization of Western society.
Swearing in Sweden is not only used in a negative context when things go wrong but also as an effective relationship-building tool. A case study that followed five workers in industrial and office environments that have learned Swedish as a second language observed that all of them used swearing, particularly in combination with humor as a strategy to connect with their Swedish colleagues (Nelson 2014). In fact this type of positive social swearing was recorded the majority of the time, with only one true occasion of negative social swearing. Thus, swearing can be used to successfully socially integrate and socialize into Swedish workplace culture, especially for someone from a non-Swedish background.
Studies on the perceived offensiveness of swearing in English-speaking countries compared to Nordic countries, Sweden being one of them, suggest that Nordic people swear more freely than their English-speaking counterparts (Rathje). This relaxed attitude towards swearing is evident when watching Swedish television. Unlike in many other countries, Swedish media seldom censor for swearing or offensive language. Even recorded shows would keep any if all swear words uttered rather than replacing or censoring them with a protective bleep sound which is a common practice in for example the USA. Sweden’s laid-back attitude towards swearing most likely has to do with its liberal culture and its focus on personal freedom and expression.
An interesting case where the Swedish attitude towards swearing came into conflict with America is with Lukas Moodysson’s debut feature film. Originally titled Fucking Åmål after a spoken line from the film, the film garnered international acclaim and attention at international film festivals (Krach 1999). The problem with the title started when the film was Sweden’s candidate for the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Film category. When the film had a limited theatrical run in the USA, the leading entertainment newspaper Variety refused to advertise and use the name in print. The marketing team quickly made the decision to change the English title to the much less controversial Show me Love (Krach 1999). Thus this shows that example of swearing that is acceptable in Sweden might not be acceptable in other countries.
English in particular American English and culture have had a big influence on Sweden not least in terms of swearing. Although not an official language or even a minority language in Sweden, English has been heavily pushed in education with mandatory English instruction being introduced as early as 1849 (Beers Fägersten). In 1946, the “English for all” educational movement proposed an even more proactive language planning policy, arguing for nationwide instruction in English with the goal of facilitating global outreach and international relations. Apart from the above approach, English has also entered informally from below through an influx of English-language popular cultures such as film, television, music, comic books, the Internet, social media, and traditional media. It’s important to note that Sweden seldom, unless targeted towards children, chooses top dub imported American films or TV shows. With English being so present in Swedish society, code-switching, defined as the act of alternating between languages often in the same conversation is common, especially in informal conversations amongst the youths (Höglin 2002). Much code-switching is in the form of loanwords and the incorporation of idioms or other phrases, for example, That’s not my business, No problems, Shit happens, and Back to basics (Höglin, 2002) or Check it out, I don’t know and Go to hell (Sharp, 2007). The inclusion of the swearing phrases Shit happens and Go to hell indicates that English has found its way into swearing across Sweden and that English swearwords and swearing phrases are appropriated indiscriminately.
In conclusion, swearing and swear words in Sweden and beyond serves important forms and functions both as a form of socialization and building camaraderie within a group and as a way to release frustration and anger. Swearing has a long history stretching back to Old Norse and nordic mythology all the way to American popular culture. Out of all the languages, English has had the biggest influence on Swedish culture including swearing. Code-switching is a common occurrence and many Swedes use a combination of English and Swedish swearwords in everyday language. However, in our globalized world, languages meet and influence each other and the range of Swedish swear words will undoubtedly increase through contact and mixing (Nelson 2014).
Works Cited
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Höglin, Renée. Engelska Språket Som Hot Och Tillgång i Norden. Nordiska Ministerrådet, 2002.
Krach, Aaron. “Interview: From ‘Fucking Åmål’ to ‘Show Me Love’: Scandinavian Smash Comes to America.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 1999, https://www.indiewire.com/1999/10/interview-from-fucking-ml-to-show-me-love-scandinavian-smash-comes-to-america-82011/.
Nelson, Marie. “‘You Need Help as Usual, Do You?’: Joking and Swearing for Collegiality in a Swedish Workplace.” Multilingua, vol. 33, no. 1–2, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2014-0008.
Montagu, Ashley. The Anatomy of Swearing. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.
Rathje, Marianne. Swearing in the Nordic Countries: Copenhagen 6. December 2012. Dansk Sprognævn, 2014.
Sharp, Harriet. “Swedish English Language Mixing.” World Englishes, vol. 26, no. 2, 2007, pp. 224–240., https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971x.2007.00503.x.
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