Swedish Phonology
Contents
Vowels
The Swedish alphabet uses nine vowels: a, e, i, o, u, y, å, ä and ö.
With regard to their pronunciation, the Swedish language consists of 18 vowel phonemes which are distinguished by their lengthening. There are nine long and nine short vowels which entail a difference of quality and quantity. Diphthongs do not exist in Standard Swedish.
Long Vowels
There are nine long vowel phonemes which can cause a change in the meaning of a word.
Examples: is [iːs] ny [nyː] mus [mʉːs] sol [suːl] led [leːs] öl [øːl] bås [boːs] näs [nɛːs] sak [sɑːk]
Sometimes the doubling of a consonant also indicates the lengthening of a preceding vowel, e.g. bar - barr.
Short Vowels
Swedish makes use of nine short vowels.
In many cases e an ä coincide and are pronounced the same as in sett - sätt. On that account some dictionaries mention that there are only eight short vowels in the Swedish language.
