''Rövarspråket'' ( en, The Robber Language) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

language game A language game (also called a cant, secret language, ludling, or argot) is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to an untrained listener. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting to conceal their c ...

. It became popular after the books about

Bill Bergson Bill Bergson ( sv, Kalle Blomkvist) is a fictional character created by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren. The first book featuring him was published in 1946. Lindgren's detective story is about Bill Bergson, a more-or-less ordinary Swedish boy with ...

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

, where the children use it as a

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

, both at play and in solving actual crimes. The formula for encoding is simple. Every consonant (spelling matters, not pronunciation) is doubled, and an ''o'' is inserted in-between. Vowels are left intact. It is possible to render the ''Rövarspråket'' version of an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

word as well as a

, such as the following for the word ''stubborn'': :''sos-tot-u-bob-bob-o-ror-non'' or ''sostotubobboborornon'' The code is not very useful in written form, but it can be difficult to decode when spoken by a trained user speaking quickly. For an untrained speaker, a word or phrase can often be something of a

tongue-twister A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Additionally, they can be used as exercises to improve pronunciation and fluency. Some tongue twisters p ...

or a

shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwor ...

. Today, the books (and subsequent films) are so well known in Sweden, and also in Norway, that the language is part of the culture of schoolchildren. Most Scandinavians are familiar with it.

References

Swedish language Society of Sweden Language games {{Ling-stub

See also

References