om sproget / on language

Jeg vil skrive bloggen på både engelsk og dansk. Hvis du kan ikke forstå ordene, fortæl mig, og jeg vil forsøge at oversætte. Hvis du er dansk, vil jeg gerne fortælle dig, jeg endnu er ved at lære sproget, og mit dansk er ikke særlig godt. Hvis du gerne vil hjælpe mig med ordene, det er rart og tak for det. Min email er somedayashtrays@gmail.com.

This blog will be written in both English and Danish. If you, as a reader, have trouble with one of those languages and would like a translation, please let me know, and I will do my best to oblige. If you are a Danish reader, please know that I am just learning, and my Danish is far from perfect. If you would like to suggest corrections please do so. Email me at somedayashtrays@gmail.com.

18 March 2007

Säkert!

I’ve recently learned that Annika Norlin, the woman behind Hello Saferide, is also doing some Swedish-language stuff, under the name Säkert! She has released, just in February, an album called 'Vi kommer att dö samtidigt,' which means, I believe, ‘We will die at the same time.’ I say I believe because my Swedish is limited to words shared with Danish and stuff that seems logical when run through an online translator. (For those who have never used an online translator, the stuff they come up with is rarely logical.)

If you love Hello Saferide because of her lyrics, Säkert! (yes, the ! is part of the name) is a bit harder to get your head around, unless, of course, you are lucky enough to speak Swedish. However, the music is lovely, and regardless of the language in which she sings, there is still Annika’s gorgeous voice -- and if you can figure out what the titles mean, then imagining what the lyrics consist of (even if you are completely off) is quite enjoyable.

You can listen to (but not keep -- sorry, I haven’t found any downloads) three of her songs -- the album’s title track, as well as 'Det kommer bara leda till nåt ont' (I’m not sure what that one means -- something about only leading to trouble?) and 'Är du fortfarande arg?' (‘Are you still angry?’) on her myspace. You can also visit her blog/website -- which, unfortunately for all the English speakers of the world, is in Swedish.

Speaking of Swedish, if anyone knows what the word säkert actually means, I would really like to know. I think one of its possible translations is ‘safe,’ and if this is the intended meaning -- well, that would be interesting…

Also, while I was wandering around looking for Säkert! stuff, I ran across this other nice Swedish artist called Stars in Coma. It is the one-man band of André Brorsson. You can listen and download his stuff on last.fm.
He has worked, also, with Joueur Noir, another one-man band (of Håkan Carlsson) also from Sweden. You can listen and download his songs here.
Unlike Annika in
Säkert!, they both sing in English. I prefer, slightly, Stars in Coma. I would talk about the both of them more, but I have a Danish test in the morning and must go to bed now.

Next time I post, I will try to have at least one Danish artist…

1 comment:

tessan said...

glad to hear you enjoy säkert! even though you don't know swedish. she's just lovely :)

about your question (yes, swedish has fewer words than english, as you can see below ;)):

1. säkert adv.
(med säkerhet) certainly, no doubt, (troligen) probably, han kommer säkert he is sure to come, du blir säkert bra (frisk) you will certainly recover, han hittar säkert en lösning he will probably find a solution

2. säker adj.
sure, certain /båda: på of, på att that/, (riskfri) safe, (trygg) secure, (säker på sig själv) confident, (helt säker) positive, (garanterad) assured, Är du säker på det? Are you sure [about that]?, ha säker blick have a sure eye, lova säkert att komma be sure to come, han kommer säkert he is sure to come, det är säkrast att du går you had better go, så mycket är säkert att... so much is certain that..., Är du alldeles säker? Are you positive (quite sure)?, förvara något på ett säkert ställe keep something in a safe place, här kan du känna dig säker here you can feel secure (safe), gå en säker död till mötes meet certain death, han kände sig säker på att lyckas he felt certain to succeed, vara säker på sig själv be self-confident, vara på den säkra sidan (utom fara) be on the safe side, vard. be out of the wood, för att vara på den säkra sidan to be on the safe side, (för att bli helt förvissad) to make sure, bättre ta det säkra före det osäkra better (be) safe than sorry, vara säker på handen have a steady hand