How closely related are German and Swedish?
Germanic languages
Swedish and German are both Germanic languages. More precisely, linguists classify Swedish as a North Germanic language, and German as a West Germanic language. Because of their common origin, Swedish and German share a number of interesting similarities which we will point out.
Do Swedish people speak English?
English might not be the official language in Sweden, but almost everyone in Sweden excels at speaking it. In 2017 Sweden ranked 2nd out of 80 countries in the EF English Proficiency Index ↗️ (EF EPI), which measures the language proficiency of non-native speaking countries.
Is Swedish Germanic?
The Scandinavian languages include Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic (and Old Norse), and Faroese. Like English and German, they belong to the group of languages called Germanic that share a linguistic ancestor and many everyday words.
What are typical Swedish features?
Stereotypical Scandinavian traits and facial features have since the early 20th century included straight, blonde hair; blue eyes; tall figure; a straight nose; thin lips; and non-prominent cheekbones, according to Werner & Björks 2014 book Blond and blue-eyed.
Who are the Swedes descended from?
Jordanes, in the 6th century, mentions Suehans and Suetidi. Beowulf mentions the Swedes around 1000 A.D. According to early sources such as the sagas, especially Heimskringla, the Swedes were a powerful tribe whose kings claimed descendence from the god Freyr.
Do Scandinavians have high cheekbones?
Do Scandinavians have high cheekbones? There are plenty of famous Scandinavians with notably high cheekbones, a trait which is commonly passed down in the Nordic region through families with Sami heritage. Among the Sami people (hailing from Northern Scandinavia), high cheekbones are very common.