Norrland Expressions
Norrland, kallt, långt — the northern two-thirds of Sweden in its own words.
Norrland, the full geography: the light extremes (midnattssol, polarnatt — tre veckor utan soluppgång, ett blått ljus mitt på dagen), the cold that's drier than the south's damp five below, the distance recalibration (fyrtio mil — vilket räknas som nära), the economy (järnmalm, vattenkraft, the green boom and its housing paradox, the town being moved), Sápmi and the markkonflikter, the dialect (det inandade jaet; en lång paus är inte oartig, och tystnad är sällskap) — ending with the place you see for miles and hear nothing: vilket man antingen älskar eller flyr från.
- 1
Norrland
the north of Sweden
Tip: lit. the same — sixty percent of the country.
- 2
inlandet
the inland
Tip: lit. the same.
- 3
kusten
the coast
Tip: lit. the same — where most people live.
- 4
fjällen
the mountains
Tip: lit. the same — never 'bergen'.
- 5
norr om polcirkeln
above the Arctic Circle
Tip: lit. the same.
- 6
midnattssolen
the midnight sun
Tip: lit. the same.
- 7
polarnatten
the polar night
Tip: lit. the same.
- 8
tre veckor utan soluppgång
three weeks without sunrise
Tip: lit. the same — in Kiruna.
- 9
ett blått ljus mitt på dagen
a blue light at noon
Tip: lit. the same — the polar twilight.
- 10
trettio minusgrader
minus thirty
Tip: lit. the same — and it's dry cold.
- 11
vilket är bättre än fem minus och fuktigt
which is better than minus five and damp
Tip: lit. the same — and it's true.
- 12
en bil med motorvärmare
a car with a block heater
Tip: lit. the same — every parking space has a socket.
- 13
koppla in bilen
to plug the car in
Tip: lit. the same.
- 14
fyrtio mil
a distance of four hundred kilometres
Tip: lit. the same — 'mil' is ten kilometres.
- 15
till närmaste större stad
to the nearest big town
Tip: lit. the same.
- 16
vilket räknas som nära
which counts as nearby
Tip: lit. the same.
- 17
en by med fyrtio invånare
a village of forty people
Tip: lit. the same.
- 18
en affär som stängde 1998
a shop that closed in 1998
Tip: lit. the same.
- 19
en mack som är allt
a petrol station that is everything
Tip: lit. the same — shop, post office, café.
- 20
avfolkning
depopulation
Tip: lit. the same — the great northern issue.
- 21
de unga flyttar söderut
the young move south
Tip: lit. the same.
- 22
och några flyttar tillbaka
and some move back
Tip: lit. the same.
- 23
en grön industriboom
a green industrial boom
Tip: lit. the same — steel, batteries, hydrogen.
- 24
plötsligt ingenstans att bo
suddenly nowhere to live
Tip: lit. the same — in towns that shrank for decades.
- 25
en gruvstad
a mining town
Tip: lit. the same.
- 26
en stad som flyttas
a town being moved
Tip: lit. the same — Kiruna, building by building.
- 27
järnmalm
iron ore
Tip: lit. the same.
- 28
vattenkraft
hydropower
Tip: lit. the same — the rivers that light the south.
- 29
skogsbruk
forestry
Tip: lit. the same.
- 30
rennäring
reindeer herding
Tip: lit. the same.
- 31
samerna
the Sami people
Tip: lit. the same — the indigenous people of the north.
- 32
Sápmi
Sápmi
Tip: lit. the same — the Sami homeland across four countries.
- 33
Sametinget
the Sami parliament
Tip: lit. the same.
- 34
en markkonflikt
a conflict over land
Tip: lit. the same — mining against herding.
- 35
en dom om rättigheter
a court ruling on rights
Tip: lit. the same — Girjas, 2020.
- 36
en norrländsk dialekt
a northern dialect
Tip: lit. the same.
- 37
det inandade jaet
the inhaled yes
Tip: lit. the same — 'schwoo', breathing in.
- 38
få ord
few words
Tip: lit. the same — the stereotype, and partly true.
- 39
en lång paus är inte oartig
a long pause is not rude
Tip: lit. the same.
- 40
och tystnad är sällskap
and silence is company
Tip: lit. the same.
- 41
en skoter
a snowmobile
Tip: lit. the same.
- 42
en isväg
an ice road
Tip: lit. the same.
- 43
en bastu vid älven
a sauna by the river
Tip: lit. the same.
- 44
en vak
a hole in the ice
Tip: lit. the same.
- 45
skidsäsong till maj
the ski season until May
Tip: lit. the same.
- 46
mygg i juli
mosquitoes in July
Tip: lit. the same — in genuinely unbelievable numbers.
- 47
hjortron på myren
cloudberries in the bog
Tip: lit. the same — the gold of the north.
- 48
en plats där man ser långt
a place you can see for miles
Tip: lit. the same.
- 49
och inte hör någonting alls
and hear nothing at all
Tip: lit. the same.
- 50
vilket man antingen älskar eller flyr från
which people either love or flee
Tip: lit. the same.