Kenneth Kronenberg mail@kfkronenberg.com
Some Issues of Grammar and Style for Swedes Writing in American English1
English has become almost a required second language for Swedish academics and others seeking to publish in professional journals. English is taught early in the schools, and consequently proficiency is very high. In my experience as an academic editor, I have found that Swedish writers of American English, which is what I edit, often have a very flexible command of the language, including the ability to use complex grammatical constructions that even some native speakers might find difficult. Ironically, such mastery can actually be a tip-off that the writer may not be a native English speaker!
Nevertheless, writing in a foreign language is always problematic. The writer is forced to form sentences and adopt language patterns that may be very different from the ones with which s/he grew up. As a result, it is not uncommon to misstate what one wishes to say or to express it in a way that seems unnatural to the native reader. This is by no means a problem peculiar to Swedes writing in American English, but the problems commonly seen in their writing are the subject of this essay. In it, I will draw upon the writings of various clients for examples and, although I will not quote it much here, upon research being conducted by linguists at Lund University and other institutions. A short summary of this research with Internet links are included at the end as are links to Web sites dedicated to issues of grammar.
I have had the opportunity of working with a number of Swedish clients, mainly Ph.D. students, and I have observed several common grammatical issues. Sometimes there are errors, but just as often there are issues of 'naturalness', which comes down to what a native reader is used to reading. I will discuss a few selected examples in the hope that readers will examine their own writing.2 This essay is by no means exhaustive and makes no such claim, although I will update and refresh it.
1 Verb agreement
Verb agreement is a common problem area. Even though English verb inflections are relatively simple, Swedish verbs are even more so. Except for the irregular verbs, there are no inflections. Example 1.1 illustrates the most common error, namely formation of the third person singular, which is the only person that is inflected in regular verbs in the present tense in English.
1.1
Original
The third study address the free-rider problem from a network perspective. Edit
The third study addresses the free-rider problem from a network perspective. The next sentence (1.2) is more complicated since there are three nouns in the subject. The English verb ‘to be’ is inflected in the singular (I am, you are, he/she/it is); all plural forms use ‘are’. The question here, however, is whether the verb goes with ‘movement’s membership’ (singular) or ‘characteristics’ (plural). This sentence is about characteristics, and therefore the verb must be plural.
1.2
Original
The characteristics of a movement’s membership is influenced by competition. Edit
The characteristics of a movement’s membership are influenced by competition. In Example 1.3, there are two nouns in the subject, ‘number’ (singular) and ‘organizations’ (plural). The sentence fragment is about the number of something, organizations, in this case. Therefore, the verb must be singular. But, and here things get tricky, if the clause began, "a number of organizations...," which would be the equivalent of "several organizations," the correct verb form would be are! Even native speakers have trouble with such noun phrases.
1.3
Original
…even when the number of organizations are large. Edit
…even when the number of organizations is large.
I have also found fairly consistent problems with the past tense of ‘to be’. The sentence below (1.4) shows complete reversal of singular and plural forms.
1.4
Original
Not only was members required to abstain from alcohol, the overall goal of the movement were that alcohol was to be prohibited by law. Edit
Not only were members required to abstain from alcohol, the overall goal of the movement was the total prohibition of alcohol. Such errors are not limited to the verb ‘to be’. Errors are common in ‘to have’ as well:
1.5
Original
Thereby, competition have an impact on the founding and dissolution rates of organizations Edit
As a result, competition has an impact on the founding and dissolution rates of organizations. It seems to me that this is such a simple set of errors that the remedy should be fairly simple as well. It may require nothing more than typing out some of the basic conjugation patterns and having these close by as one writes. Of course, a writer who has identified that this is a problem area must also analyze his/her sentences conscientiously. Doing this will save an editor considerable time.
2 Infinitives
The incorrect use of infinitives is also common and reflects how infinitives are used in Swedish. In English, ongoing action is expressed using the present participle (-ing), not the infinitive .
2.1
Original
However, rather than to examine the effect of competition on… Edit
However, rather than examining the effect of competition on… 2.2
Original
To examine implications of such a supposition requires a focus on general characteristics. Edit
- Examining the implications of such a supposition requires a focus on general characteristics.
3 Adverb placement
Adverbs are another fairly simple set of errors to correct. In English, the adverb is usually placed between the auxiliary verb and the verb or after the verb. A few examples should suffice:
3.1
Original
...one particularly important mechanism generates what I previously have referred to as 'rational imitation'... Edit 1
...one particularly important mechanism generates what I have previously referred to as 'rational imitation'... Edit 2
...one particularly important mechanism generates what I have referred to previously as 'rational imitation'... 3.2
Original
While the other links often can be analyzed as if they only concerned the actions of a single representative individual, Edit
While the other links can often be analyzed as if they only concerned the actions of a single representative individual, Now, the question arises whether one could say, "While the other links can be analyzed often"? Well, yes. But then one would imply that one one would actually want to analyze the links many times, rather than that one can often do so.
However, the adverb may appear before the verb in a simple construction (adverb + verb), as in the case below:
3.3
Original
Such personal experience many times increases our understanding of, and perhaps even our sympathy to, alternative ways of thinking. Edit
Such personal experience often increases our understanding of, and perhaps even our sympathy for, alternative ways of thinking. The example below (3.4) is more complicated in that an adverbial phrase has been placed in front of the verb. While it would not be incorrect to write, "will influence in a similar way," as a reader, I would probably want to know what will be influenced before learning how.
3.4
Original
Contacts between members and ex-members in a similar way will influence the rate of change in the number of members. Edit
Contacts between members and ex-members will influence the rate of change in the number of members in a similar way.
4 Prepositions
Prepositions are among the most difficult aspects of a language to master simply because they are so totally arbitrary. Studies seem to suggest that foreign writers of English have a tendency to translate prepositions from their native language. There really is no good reason why one preposition is used and not another. The logic quickly becomes circular: You don’t use that preposition here because it is wrong; it is wrong because you don’t use it here. There are several rather thick handbooks devoted solely to American English prepositional phrases and the subtle changes in meaning that result from using this or that preposition with this or that word or its synonym. Adding to the confusion is the fact that different prepositions are current in British English and that native speakers both in the US and the UK will often avail themselves of a range of plausible prepositions when the accepted one doesn’t come to mind, particularly when they are speaking.
4.1
Original
Such personal experience many times increases our understanding of, and perhaps even our sympathy to, alternative ways of thinking. Edit
Such personal experience often increases our understanding of, and perhaps even our sympathy for, alternative ways of thinking. 4.2
Original
Temperance and prohibition was popular ideas, exemplified with the unofficial referendum held in 1909. Edit
Temperance and prohibition were popular ideas, as exemplified by the unofficial referendum held in 1909. 5 Connectors
Connectors, such as ‘but’, ‘and’, ‘because’, ‘although’, and ‘as a result’, among others, function as ‘signposts’ that "facilitate the interpretation of existing or underlying relations¼ and they consequently serve to resolve potential ambiguities."3 There are several different sorts, and they are used in so many ways that, as with prepositions, it hardly makes sense to cover them all. The intent here is simply to make the reader aware; the remedy is long-term. Transitions serve much the same function, smoothing out shifts of focus between paragraphs or thoughts. They may be introductory sentences or merely connectors.
5.1
Original
Thereby, competition have an impact on the founding and dissolution rates of organizations. Edit
As a result, competition has an impact on the founding and dissolution rates of organizations. 5.2
Original
- This is particularly important concerning the crime variables.
Edit
- This is particularly important with regard to the crime variables.
- Often, one must differentiate and choose between several valid alternatives, as in Example 5.3. The word ‘however’ serves to introduce a simple statement of fact or opinion; ‘although’ implies the consideration and weighing of alternatives. Both words are correct, depending on what one wishes to stress.
5.3
Original
Additions and extensions to such models might enrich them and make them more realistic but there is a trade-off between realism and model efficiency. Edit 1
Additions to and extensions of such models might enrich them and make them more realistic; however there is a trade-off between realism and model efficiency. Edit 2
Additions to and extensions of such models might enrich them and make them more realistic; although there is a trade-off between realism and model efficiency. 6 Verb second
Swedish is a ‘verb second’ language. This means that, in general, Swedish sentences begin with the subject, followed closely by the verb in second position. In English, on the other hand, all sorts of introductory phrases may be inserted either before the subject or between the subject and the verb without disrupting the flow or natural feel of the sentence, as in the sentence you are finishing now. Given that this is an unnatural way for a Swedish speaker to form a sentence, one might expect a tendency to cling to verb second in English. That has not been my experience. Rather, I have seen my Swedish clients try to make use of this particular flexibility, usually very successfully. However, there are occasional mishaps. The main problems have to do with flow and front overloading. Interestingly, my solution has generally been to turn the sentence back into a verb second sentence.
The first sentence (6.1) is a simple example, and although it is not grammatically incorrect in the strict sense, a native English reader would probably want to know what was done before learning what it was done to.
6.1
Original
To the data set, we have added information from the decennial census. Edit
We have added information from the decennial census to the data set. The sentence in Example 6.2 looks as if the writer wanted to try out English sentence structure to see what it could do. In doing so, s/he overloaded the front of the sentence, splicing together two elements that fit poorly together, which made the sentence unwieldy. Given that the sentence does in fact contain a clear time line, I thought it best to break it into two parts.
6.2
Original
With ideas and inspiration from North America, and with a lasting impact of Sweden’s alcohol policy, the modern temperance movement reached Sweden in the late 1800s. Edit
The modern temperance movement reached Sweden in the late 1800s and was heavily influenced by ideas from North America. It has had a lasting impact on Sweden’s alcohol policy. The sentence in Example 6.3 is interesting because I edited it prior to reading about Swedish sentence structure. After fixing some of the grammatical flaws, I left the sentence alone even though it is a passive sentence because, again, it is not really incorrect. Knowing what I know now, however, I would set ‘I have presented three different theories’ at the front of the sentence.
6.3
Original
As a background to the analysis of competition and its impact on the membership evolution of social movements, three different theories were presented. Edit
As background to the analysis of competition and its impact on the evolution of membership in social movements, I have presented three different theories. What is to be done? I am not suggesting that writers place their verbs in second position exclusively. Such writing would rob the writer of flexibility and sound monotonous to the native English ear. Because the problem involves a feel for the flow of language, something that only develops over time, I would recommend ongoing reading of good expository writing. Unfortunately, articles in technical and professional journals are seldom the best source since style is often not a major criterion.
7 Personalization
An interesting non-grammatical phenomenon that I was alerted to by one of the articles on corpus linguistics is the tendency of Swedish writers to personalize more than native English speakers do. In the past, students and researchers in the U.S. were told that objectivity required a more omniscient voice and that the first person robbed an article or paper of authority. As the idea of objectivity has come under attack, i.e., the answers one gets depend on the questions one asks, which, in turn, are at least somewhat determined by subjective criteria, the idea has increasingly taken hold that one should state what those assumptions are. Something like that probably motivated the author of Example 7.1 below. Personalization seems to have played a different role in Examples 7.2 and 7.3.
7.1
Original
Organizational ecology has been an important source of inspiration to me. Edit
Organizational ecology has been an important source of inspiration for my research. 7.2
Original
In my case, this means characteristics that pertain to all the folk-movements. Edit
For the purposes of this dissertation, this means characteristics that pertain to all of the folk movements. 7.3
Original
When I compared my second prediction I received similar support. Edit
When I compared my second prediction with the data, it received similar support. In the above sections, I have touched on some limited issues of grammar and style. I hope that the reader will find my presentation helpful. As I mentioned at the beginning, I would be grateful for reader queries and further examples. If you would like to receive regular grammar tips, send your e-mail address to me at: kkrone@tiac.net.
Useful Grammar Web Sites
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8 Contrastive and Corpus Linguistics
In recent years there has been increasing interest in how language patterns in one language translate, or fail to translate, into another. In part, this interest has been fueled by the integration of Europe as well as the globalization of English (both British and American variants) and its dominance in the areas of commerce, academics, and popular culture. At the same time, the computer has provided a powerful tool for analyzing large bodies of writing and subjecting them to comparison across languages. Much of this work, although by no means all, has been done with English as one of the languages.
The complementary fields of contrastive linguistics and corpus linguistics seem to hold particular promise in this regard. Corpus linguistics makes use of computers to process large samples of language, such as essays written by Swedish university students in English and those written by native English speakers. In contrastive linguistics, the different patterns that emerge are looked at critically and an attempt is made at explaining them. In effect, corpus linguistics supplies the 'raw materials' for contrastive linguistics. For more information, consult the following links:
Text-based contrastive studies in English, Lund University
Department of Linguistics, Göteborg University
Footnotes
1. I would be grateful for any comments, criticisms, suggestions, and examples. This is particularly the case if you, the reader, translate Swedish grammatical forms into English. In addition, I am starting a "list" for people who would like to receive occasional sentences like the ones in this essay that focus on grammar and style to help them to work on their own English. If you are interested, please send your e-mail address to me at: mail@kfkronenberg.com.
2. Language is a very tricky thing to criticize because it is so bound up with our concept of ourselves. This is particularly the case with what are called 'prestige' forms of a language. It is not my intention to make writers feel self-conscious about their writing, although that may be unavoidable. Perhaps it would be useful to think of language mastery as a large game, the object of which is to learn the moves that allow one to create greater congruence between what one thinks and how one expresses it.
3. Bengt Altenberg, "Adverbial connectors in English and Swedish: semantic and lexical correspondences." Paper presented at the 18th International ICAME Conference, Chester, England, 22 May 1997.
To inquire about my services and rates, leave an e-mail message at: mail@kfkronenberg.com
Ó Kenneth Kronenberg 1999
This page was added on April 27, 1999