Wednesday, April 4, 2012

D ~ Dala Häst = Dala horse


Hejsan! This is a very common Swedish greeting, pronounced “hey-sun”. It's your bonus word for the day. I had positive comments on yesterday's bonus word, so I think I'll throw some more in from time to time.

Today you're getting more than one postcard. I just couldn't send just one...but the catch is you have to endure the next paragraph of phonics.

Today's lesson is on Sweden's most famous souvenir – the Dala Häst. As you can see, we've encountered our first special vowel, as I explained we would in our lesson on A. The pronunciation is “do(g) + la” “h +(j)est”. That looks confusing, but let me also teach you my method of showing you pronunciation. When I put a letter in parentheses, don't say it. In other words, what we have is dog, but take of the g, so just do+la. The la is as in “lalalalalala” I'm not listening. So you get dola. As for häst, it's just like the word jest, only with an h in front instead of the j.

I know what you're thinking. “Why doesn't she just record herself saying these words???” I tried. All the instructions were horribly complicated and I frankly just don't have time to figure it out. If you know how, PLEASE email me, or leave the info in the comment.

These hästar (that's the plural) are made in only one place in Sweden, in the tiny town of Nusnäs, in the region called Dalarna.  



This is not me, and that's not my Grandma, but there is a picture like this of us in some album somewhere, but I couldn't find it.  These artisans work hard at their craft, and each horse is hand painted.  




Last, but not least, here are mine.  The doll and her story is for another postcard.


51 comments:

PR said...

Nope I can't pronounce it lol! They look really pretty though :)

Universal Gibberish

viveka said...

Hi there, strange that we both has the same D subject today - so differently approved. My challenge is also based on Sweden, because I live there. Good luck with the challenge!

Francene Stanley said...

I remember a little horse like this from my childhood. I think a grand-step-mother brought it back from her grand tour of Europe in the thirties or forties. It brings back fond memories.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

fun stuff... me loves toys.

Dig it! ... to the challenge "D" is for Delight!
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
A to Z Co-Host
IZOMBIE: Visit the Madness

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

They're gorgeous! I want to do embroidered versions! Right now!

Laurita said...

I love that photo of the doll. And now I have to practice that pronunciation.

Karen Baldwin said...

OMG! My grandmother, from Sweden, had one of these horses. I had no idea of the history. On my first trip to IKEA I thought they'd have them. Nope.(and why not?) So I found a small one on E-bay.
LOve this post.

Donna Martin said...

Hi! I'm hopping over from the A to Z Challenge. I had no problem following your instructions...;0)...good luck with the challenge!

Donna Martin
www.donasdays.blogspot.com

Dani said...

These are the best posts! I love learning all of these words. I'm in the middle of my currect WIP which is based on Norse Mytholody. I've wondered how to pronouce words like Nøkken. So this is so interesting to me!

Jen said...

Thanks so much for posting this! My great grandmother traveled extensively, and she had one of these horses: I think my family always assumed it was from her Mexico trip. So glad I know the truth now! :)

Lynn Proctor said...

i love those little horses--i have a couple of candle stick horses that remind me of yours--love the post

Li said...

Your tips on pronunciation are fine. i haven't figured out how to do the audio/podcast thing either - hope someone can help :-)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I understand your pronunciations - no worries!

Raymond Alexander Kukkee said...

I really like your blog! I think your pronunciation instructions are just fine! I am looking forward to catching up on all of these posts! You write so well! Nice to 'meet you' too! ~R

carol said...

I think I can actually pronounce. You did explain it quite well, at least for how I think. I love the photos too.

Anonymous said...

One of the places I lived had a very active Swedish population (agriculture) the Dala Horse a beautiful and stalwart representation of the culture
fun "D"

enjoying the Ds for the day
we are over at ladys knight games tiles are helping determine the course of our story from A to Z

Amanda Lee said...

I love the Dala Horses, but you already know that! This post brought back memories of cutting out millions of horses for nametags for the Swedish brunch we did. I have a picture of my kids, ages 5,3, and 1, all sitting together on a Dala Horse, and then another taken 10 years later in front of the same horse.

Brian Miller said...

hmmm...giving my tongue a work out...the horses are cool though...smiles..

Jarm Del Boccio said...

Thanks for the language lesson, Tina, and a little about your world. It's funny...my walking partner just this morning compared the challenge to practicing her instrument (she is a musician, of course). What a coincidence! I picked up one of the Dala at a Swedish American museum in our town...love the designs. Great post...keep up the good work!

Kelly Barnes said...

I cheated and used Google Translate. The translation sounded exactly as you described it. Great job and thanks for the lesson on Dala Hast. They're beautiful.

Erin M. Hartshorn said...

Hejsan! I love the pictures and the description of how to pronounce the words. Marvelous!

Erin

Debra Harris-Johnson said...

Great post. Pronounciation was good. I love the horses.
dreamweaver

Anonymous said...

Hello! Stopping by for the A to Z Challenge. What an interesting post. Those horses are beautiful.

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Lady Bluestocking said...

Hi there, I mentioned you on my blog today! Lady Bluestocking@3500WordsPerPound

Maude Lynn said...

They are so pretty!

Dazediva said...

Love the fact that I get to learn new words topped off with bonus words !!

I went to an international school so had 2 Swedish friends; and I got the pronunciation just fine.

And the way you have explained it - is very simple as well :)

Patricia Stoltey said...

Surprise, I've been here before and didn't remember the blog's name. I guess during A to Z we should get special credit if we remember anything from day to day. I love the doll and horses...reminds me of some of the folk art and costumes I saw when I visited Norway.

Gossip_Grl said...

I love how they take pride in each little detail of their work and love the doll in the pic :)

Jessica Marcarelli said...

Hi Tina! Visiting as I make my way through A to Z blogs.

I love what you're doing here. Giving little "lessons" in Swedish while covering an aspect from there is just so cool.

Jessica
A to Z Blogger & SF/Fantasy Writer
Visions of Other Worlds
Twitter: @jmarcarelli

nita said...

Häst and hästar takes me back to when I took Old Norse in college... I'm loving these postcards!

Unknown said...

You just never know what your going to learn. Love the Swedish lessons!

Jennifer Lane said...

Hey Tina, thanks for the detailed pronunciation guide! Does the silent g mean I make a sound at the back of my throat?

Unknown said...

Indeed, Life is Good!! Now for my pronunciation of Swedish, I got the two words correct ( you did a great job with phonetics) but I hope I don't have to learn that language or I'd starve to death!!!LOL Keep up the great work!!

Patricia, Sugar & Spice & All Things ? Nice

Lauren said...

Hejsan, Tina! :D

I'm actually writing a story with a Swedish character. I love learning new words, and thanks to your theme, I'll be able to incorporate a few Swedish words into his vocabulary. :)

- Lauren @Word Art

Jenny S. Morris said...

This is so FUN. I tried pronouncing it and I probably did it wrong. LOL.

Jen from http://falling4fiction.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

They are pretty! The pronunciation guide was great, I think I got it right...I think.

Just A Nice Girl

Cindy Dwyer said...

Oooh. I love learning about new cultures. Good job on helping us understand the pronunciation.

Elizabeth said...

Really love the Swedish words and culture theme you chose. I'll check back often.

ediFanoB said...

Your pronouciation explanantions are really catchy.

Yes please,give us more bonus words.

And instead of thank you I say

tack.

The Writing Goddess said...

Love these little horses. (And practiced the pronunciations, over and over, though I am sure I didn't get 'em right.) Thank you for all you're doing for the a-z.

Janyce said...

Thank you, Tina for the info on Sweden. This is fascinating! Another reason to be glad I joined the AtoZ challenge. Otherwise I would never have seen your blog. I am definitely following. PS - I'm from Nova Scotia.

Heather Murphy said...

I am completely confused with the pronunciation but these are really cute!!!

DL Hammons said...

I think I sprained my tongue trying to say that word! :)

DL @ Cruising Altitude 2.0
Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Mary Aalgaard said...

My parents have been there and I have several Dalahest. They're beautiful. My dad is learning how to carve them.

Play off the Page

Beth Stilborn said...

Your way of explaining the pronunciation is excellent!

I have seen those little horses -- it's good to know their story.

Thank you!

Nicole said...

Nice explanation on how to pronounce the Swedish pick for today. Now, I have something to tease my family with....I can greet them using this and have fun watching them try to figure out what the heck I'm saying, lol.

Those are some cool horses, especially the ones in the last photo with the doll. While I'm no horse fan, I'd put one of those on my mantle :)

If you want to do recordings, you can record yourself through the recording feature that came with your computer. If you have a PC, it should be somewhere in the "Accessories" folder under the Start menu. If you have a Mac, I have no idea what to tell you because I only browse the internet and edit videos when I use Macs so I don't know what all else they offer.

Another option you can try is to visit an office supply store such as Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, etc. or an electronics store such as Best Buy and get yourself a digital audio recorder. This will allow you to record yourself and then just plug the thing into your computer using a USB cord and voila! You can upload the audio into your blog from the recorder -OR- save the audio file into a folder or the desktop or a hard drive on your computer and then upload it from there.

A 3rd option is...if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, record yourself using the microphone located in the "Utilities" app and then email the file to yourself from inside your iPhone/iPod. Then, download the file from your email and upload it to your blog.

...hope this helps.

~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
@MadlabPost on Twitter

Alana said...

I have a couple miniatures living in my kitchen that were handed down from my Grandma and Great Aunt. In my Grandma's family the oldest two kids were born in Sweden, and then my Grandma was one of three born in the states. I always wanted to learn Swedish from them, but they grew up with a focus on English and only her oldest sister kept speaking Swedish often throughout her life.

Maybe now i can finally pick up a few words through the challenge here on your blog! I had been trying to figure out exactly what your theme was going to be based on the little clues in comments over the past couple of months, but I hadn't figured it out yet!

I am going to share your site with my dad too. :)

Alana @ writercize.blogspot.com

mindthagap said...

Awesome, free language lesson! Looking forward to more!

H said...

The phonics lesson was totally clear :)

The horses are beautifully made.

Kittie Howard said...

These faster are to die for. The workmanship blows me away, and, of course, those special colors.

Unknown said...

Jag älskar dalahästar! Och jag har också varit i Nusnäs! Det finns säkert en bild av just den där hästen någonstans i förrådsrummet...
Kram,
Anna