How hard is it to learn Swedish?

Question

If I started learning it from stratch today, for an hour a day, How long would it take (approximately) until I would be fluent, bearing in mind I'm good with languages. On a scale of 1 to 10 how hard is it to learn?

Plus could you give me any good websites for me to learn Swedish?

Thanks

Answer 1

Obviously swedish results to be easier to learn for a native speaker in english because it's from the same linguistic family. The grammar results to be quite easy since it's really similar to the english one, although some grammar parts aren't always so easy to learn because there aren't excatly any "rules", so you simply need to learn in a way that you remember: like what  exact word goes with what. I'll give you an example: all words in swedish can be neutral or common words but there aren't exactly any rule that works with all the words so every time you learn a word, you need to memorize the article that goes with it...

Although I think that if you are really devoted to learn the language you'll manage to learn the basics quite fast, but I personally I think that you will not learn to speak really fluently if you will not have the possibility to go to Sweden and to stay there for a while. it's important because, when we talk we often "cut" the words in order to talk faster and it complicates the comprehension for foreigners. So it's important to stay there for a while in order to get "used" to it!!

Good luck!

PS: you asked for some websites..I'll give you an advise: go with the books! In the beginning the most important thing is the grammar and the words and you do it better in the "old fashion way"!

Buy yourself a good grammar book and a dictionary..and trye to read a lot, also in the beginning when you don't understand everything, because the importance is not in understanding every word but to start to have confidence with the new language. Every time that the eye sees the same word in the end you will understand it from the context without even consulting a dictionary!

The website is great when it comes to the reading of newspapers for free and you can also listen to the local radio...(it's very important, because it will help you to get familiar with the sound).Buy DVD:s with subtitles!

websites for the newspapers:

www.expressen.se

www.aftonbladet.se

www.goteborgsposten.se

radio:

www.nrj.se

good films:

******* åmål

yalla yalla

cops

Answer 2

10 years, give or take 5 years

Answer 3

I had no background in Swedish whatsoever.  I picked up Rosetta Stone Swedish, and it was amazingly easy.  I didn't get very far because I wasn't really serious about it.  But within a couple of weeks of very half-a$$ed "studying", I knew Swedish as well as I knew Spanish after 1 year of high school Spanish class.

If you're very dedicated, with Rosetta Stone, I think you'll be surprised how easy it is and how quickly you learn.  It's supposedly the best language learning system out there, and I believe it.

Also, after attempting French, Japanese, Russian, and Arabic, I'd say Swedish is the easiest of all of them to learn for a native English speaker.  Not quite as easy as Spanish, but close.