a word about DOTS.....A with ONE dot, A with 2 dots and O with 2 dots

  

Lets get this clear. I don't have 'em....( dot's over letters ,that is...) on my laptop keyboard... and in this part of the world, they're kinda important ....so technically, a keyboard with NO DOTS and a blog that is one designed to attempt to help me with mastering the swedish language, isn't really doing me any favours....

but....i am.....a bit....well..stubborn...i guess.....

since the day i moved here and "found out" about the dots- those 3 dotted letters added to the end of the swedish alphabet.... i've been fighting them....RESENTING them, and trying to plot as to how to do away with them.....( seriously, i concoct in my head all the time, the letter that I intend to write to the "National Controller of the Swedish Language" about my proposal to dismiss them....)

the worst thing is: i can't even remember them. AND,they freak me out.When someone tells me how to spell a word with an "O with TWO DOTS" involved and says "UH" instead of " O with TWO DOTS" i go into absolute panic mode ...

.....never mind when they say "O" and I realize they mean "A with a DOT OVER IT" and not really an "O" at all...which is "OO" as in "SPOOKY"....it's horrendously confusing.....

yes, I admit it-these 3 slightly odd letters are....basically kickin' my ass!!

i've tried to convince many people that someday- sooner than they think- that the dots will go away.....what with computers and everything and globalization....someday they just won't be there anymore...and it'll be ok. 

I mean ,after all,a swede with some dots in his name does away with the dots in his e-mail address and seems to survive ok. (I think it's just a matter of time...really...)

...my husband asked then if the dots were eliminated,"how would you know how to pronounce something without them?"

- i assured him that "in my country" we all made it out of phonics class in second grade just fine with no dashes or dipthongs,dots or whatever they were,designed to clue us in to pronunciation.. english speakers remember how to pronounce all kinds of words without "help"- 

....AND to boot, our language is larger. 

he just grumbled.....

....then there was the day in my beginning swedish class( the one i took for the SECOND time, thank you) when i tried to shake my mild-mannered swedish teacher's last good nerve by feeding her the same philosophy in the middle of class, when everyone else was seriously trying to learn the language( and seemingly didn't have this "problem").. My complaint only ellicited that classic swedish "sharp intake of breath" and a roll of the eyes from Teach- , and a band of smirks-but zero support-from the rest of my classmates....all to politely let me know ...

i am not going anywhere fast with my "DOTLESS SWEDEN CRUSADE"

...when checking my swedish homework, the hubbie  is often horrified to see dots over U's and E's occassionally. ( frankly, so am i....i do know better than that!...) but occassionally in an effort to make a word look more "swedish" when writing out my homework, and trying to "be-friend " the DOT world, I can get a bit over-zealous....

i have to come to some sort of method of dealing with them, i know.....
but, 'til the day i am forced to get a DOTTY KEYBOARD or GIVE IN TO the DOTS , i'll quietly continue my lonely crusade,and i'll continue to put at least one swedish word on every blog entry here- that may or may not have a dot or two.....and you, I guess will hopefully just understand,that this little form of rebellion against the dots has more to do about my unwillingness to "submit" "surrender"  or "give up" than about spelling any words correctly....

LESSONS ( to be) LEARNED:

..... it would be a good thing if i could be just HUMBLE enough to realize that a rather minor language spoken by only 9 million people can STILL dictate to ME and the rest of the world how to learn their language.....

and, if STUBBORNESS would give way to actually being able to learn three little letters....

but, for now- all this is REALLY teaching me is another lesson in "how the world according to karen" will only actually have any kind of "dominion" in a very narrow little spot of this planet- 

.....case in point, how the wonderful hubbie has at least given up trying to spell the "swedish way"..he obligingly spells out swedish words to me all the time and says ( till example:)N-O WITH 2 DOTS-J-D

...when his poor little swedish self just wants to say:N-UH-ZYEE-D-  or some such.

.....that's "NOJD ( with the 2 dots over the O)"-which by the way means "SATISFIED".

...so, i am "NOJD- with 2 dots over the "o" " 'ed that the hubbie humours me a bit and let's my "world according to karen" dominate this portion of our lives , at least, until I learn how to say "OK, I GIVE UP" in SWEDISH!!!!....

so the WORDS for the DAY are NOT words- they are in fact these three slightly odd little letters - the ones that are causing me this agony with my own stubborness....

• A-WITH-ONE-DOT: pronounced "o" and used as such
  

• A-WITH-TWO-DOTS: pronounced as best I can figure out like the A in HAT
  

• and O-WITH-TWO DOTS: pronounced as best i can describe as UH as in DUH! and to boot it is the last letter in the alphabet- so instead of Z like for everyone else- the last letter of the swedish alphabet is "UH" !!where's the pride in a language that's last letter is pronounced "UH"?!?! i wonder!!!....
  

P.S.-...one other thing- a minor detail,but, i didn't actually tell you the ONE DOT over the A isn't really a DOT at all- it's a HOLE or a CIRCLE over the letter,really!!

...come on ,whassup with that!?!? but that's a whole other post, someday.....