Gothenburg, known as Sweden’s second, arguably friendlier, port city (and often dubbed "Little London") has a distinct dialect: göteborgska.
One word that you may find elsewhere in Sweden, but that has its roots in the west coast city, is the informal tjomme, which means "guy", "fellow" or "mate". Synonyms in Swedish are karl, man, snubbe, kille, or kompis.
The word derived from the English "chum" (mate), which is student slang for "chamber-fellow" or roommate.
In this clip you'll find more examples of göteborgska expressions.
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Noticeable, even for people who are fairly new to Sweden, are for example its rising, melodious intonation at the end of words and the long A-sound, comparable with the Swedish Å.
Riktiga göteborgare, true Gothenburg people, don’t always pronounce the letter "r", for example in words like ord (word) or barn (child). In other instances, often when words end with an "r", the letter can be sharp and rolling.
A poll of 1,000 Swedes conducted by the Swedish Institute for Opinion Surveys (Sifo) once found that Swedes find the dialect spoken in Gothenburg to be the sexiest of all Swedish dialects. All the more reason to become acquainted with the regional tongue.
Examples
Alla undrar vad det är för en tjomme
Everybody wonders what kind of guy this is
Det stod en tjomme utanför lägenheten
A guy was standing outside the apartment
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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