Blogging from A to Z in April - The Letter G - Wednesday 8th April 2015

 Wednesday, 8th April 2015 - The Letter G.

G as in Gris, which is the Swedish word for Pig!

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Yes, I know. You are wondering why I want to write about a Swedish word that means 'pig'. Well, in Sweden, pigs are actually very well-liked. I mean, we consume a lot of pork and ham in Sweden. We don't have turkey for Christmas dinner, as you do in the United States. You serve smoked ham for Christmas. But besides pigs as a source of meat, they are actually very cute, especially baby pigs. 

But if I continue along this line, I will end up as a vegetarian!

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Aren't they just too cute to eat?

What got me to choose the Swedish word for 'pig': 'gris' [looks like the French word for the colour 'gray' but sounds like the word for 'fat-left-in-the-frying-pan', 'grease', except with a Swedish, slightly rolling, 'r' (think of a Scottish 'r') and an unvoiced 's'] is a Swedish song about how we all are our mothers' little pigs, keeps buzzing in my head:

Morsgrisar är vi allihopa, allihopa, allihopa.
Morsgrisar är vi allihopa, allihopa, ja mä’.
Ja mä’, å du mä’. Ja mä’ och du mä’.

Source: http://www.julsånger.se/sanglekar/morsgrisar-ar-vi-allihopa/

There is also a word for someone who is a favourite, spoiled and doted upon: 'kelgris', which means approximately 'cuddle-pig'.

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Thanks for visiting.

Best wishes,
Anna












P.S.
Did you know that some pigs can swim?

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More about pigs (in Swedish) here.

First Commenter:
Alex J. Cavanaugh