Forty new entries in Sweden's 2014 word list
The Local/og - [email protected]
Published: 29 Dec, 2014 CET.
Updated: Mon 29 Dec 2014 10:50 CET
The word wizards at the Swedish Language Council have revealed 40 new words taken up by the Swedish language this year, explaining new phenomena from taking snaps with celebrities to giving away TV show plots.
Every year, the folks at the Swedish Language Council (Språkrådet) publish a list of new, popular, or topical words of the year. In 2014 they include "usie", which is apparently a self portrait photo (or selfie) taken with a group. Perhaps the best known "usie" is the one featuring Ellen DeGeneres and her actor pals at this year's Academy Award ceremony. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven also snapped one with his Danish counterpart Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Several other words were clearly derivatives of English words that have cropped up recently in the digital age, including "spoilervarning" (or spoiler warning), referring to when someone is about to give away key plot details in a book or film, and "selfiepinnen", the new gadget allowing photographers to extend their reach and take better "selfies" (or "usies" perhaps). 
A Stockholmer uses a new "selfiepinnen". Photo: TT Another word with English etymology is "yoloa", which stems from the English acronym yolo, meaning You Only Live Once. Adding an a to the end of the word allows Swedes to use it as a verb. Those spacebar lazy Swedes also added several compound words as new single words, including "frisparkssprej", or literally "free-kick spray", used to mark where defenders can stand during free kicks in football matches. Another was "mobilzombie", a person using their mobile phone with such focus that they've become like a zombie to the rest of the world. While many of the words had direct connections to the English language, there were some that were undeniably Swedish. For example, "Kärrtorpa" is a verb meaning "to counter-demonstrate against the spread of Nazi propaganda". It stems from a violent clash in the Stockholm suburb of Kärrtorp last year. 
Police in Kärrtorp. Photo: TT Read about the full list in Swedish here.
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Every year, the folks at the Swedish Language Council (Språkrådet) publish a list of new, popular, or topical words of the year.
In 2014 they include "usie", which is apparently a self portrait photo (or selfie) taken with a group. Perhaps the best known "usie" is the one featuring Ellen DeGeneres and her actor pals at this year's Academy Award ceremony. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven also snapped one with his Danish counterpart Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
Several other words were clearly derivatives of English words that have cropped up recently in the digital age, including "spoilervarning" (or spoiler warning), referring to when someone is about to give away key plot details in a book or film, and "selfiepinnen", the new gadget allowing photographers to extend their reach and take better "selfies" (or "usies" perhaps).
A Stockholmer uses a new "selfiepinnen". Photo: TT
Another word with English etymology is "yoloa", which stems from the English acronym yolo, meaning You Only Live Once. Adding an a to the end of the word allows Swedes to use it as a verb.
Those spacebar lazy Swedes also added several compound words as new single words, including "frisparkssprej", or literally "free-kick spray", used to mark where defenders can stand during free kicks in football matches. Another was "mobilzombie", a person using their mobile phone with such focus that they've become like a zombie to the rest of the world.
While many of the words had direct connections to the English language, there were some that were undeniably Swedish. For example, "Kärrtorpa" is a verb meaning "to counter-demonstrate against the spread of Nazi propaganda". It stems from a violent clash in the Stockholm suburb of Kärrtorp last year.
Police in Kärrtorp. Photo: TT
Read about the full list in Swedish here.
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