# Swedish: vad får det lov att vara?



## Språkliga Möten

I saw this slogan on the t-shirt of the employee at the cashier. What does the phrase mean?


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## AutumnOwl

"What would you like to have" or "What would you like to order", it's a common phase when asking a customer or guest what they want, it's not just used in business situations, it can also be used at home. In Sweden such questions are often formulated in an impersonal way, without the word you. Another such question is "Vad önskas?" (What do you wish (to have)?.


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## LilianaB

It means _what should that be_? with the meaning of _what would you like. _


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## AutumnOwl

LilianaB said:


> It means _what should that be_? with the meaning of _what would you like. _


More like: _what may it/that be_, as _Får jag lov? _is/was used when a man asks/asked a woman for a dance, _May I have this dance?
What should that be is_: _Vad ska det vara? _which sounds impolite and a bit rude.


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## Ben Jamin

AutumnOwl said:


> More like: _what may it/that be_, as _Får jag lov? _is/was used when a man asks/asked a woman for a dance, _May I have this dance?
> What should that be is_: _Vad ska det vara? _which sounds impolite and a bit rude.



For non native Swedish speakers it sounds extremely submissive, almost as the Japanese polite mood, even if it sounds normal to people born to this idiom.


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## AutumnOwl

Ben Jamin said:


> For non native Swedish speakers it sounds extremely submissive, almost as the Japanese polite mood, even if it sounds normal to people born to this idiom.


I wouldn't say that "Vad får det lov att vara?" sounds submissive in Swedish. Depending on the tone of the speaker, it can sound quite dismissive, especially if the shop is considered as being posh and the customer doesn't look like the ordinary shoppers in that place.


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## LilianaB

What about _vill du dansa_ med mig?Would they be equivalent? "Vad får det lov att vara?" means to me_ what would you like to order, to have_, _what should that be,_ literally. I think this is what they usually say in restaurants.


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## Ben Jamin

AutumnOwl said:


> I wouldn't say that "Vad får det lov att vara?" sounds submissive in Swedish. Depending on the tone of the speaker, it can sound quite dismissive, especially if the shop is considered as being posh and the customer doesn't look like the ordinary shoppers in that place.



Of course. I wrote "to a non native Swedish speaker", that is to somebody that hasn't got Swedish as a mother tongue. I never suggested that it would be so for a Swede.


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## Den falska sköldpaddan

Ben Jamin said:


> For non native Swedish speakers it sounds extremely submissive, almost as the Japanese polite mood, even if it sounds normal to people born to this idiom.


The reason for this old and strange impersonal construction was that, until a few decades ago, people often wanted to avoid addressing the person with either _ni_, _du_, or the person's title, like "studenten", "lärarinnan" etc. How to address people simply used to be a problem. Things are of course more relaxed now, when we say _du_ to everyone.


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## LilianaB

I do not find anything submissive in this expression at all, just being polite.


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## Lugubert

LilianaB said:


> What about _vill du dansa_ med mig?Would they be equivalent? "Vad får det lov att vara?" means to me_ what would you like to order, to have_, _what should that be,_ literally. I think this is what they usually say in restaurants.


In antiquity, the dance question used to be "Får jag lov?"


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## LilianaB

The last time went dancing på folkets hus was over twenty years ago, and I do not remember what they were saying. I do not think it would be Får jag lov.   That sounds too ancient, right?


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## Lugubert

Ancient, yes, but so am I.


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## LilianaB

Oh, now. The expression is nice too.


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