In many cultures, striking up a conversation with a stranger is the norm, and could even lead to a budding friendship. But not for the Swedes.
Here, small talk is seen as futile, and is referred to as kallprat (“cold talk”) or dödprat (“dead talk”). To avoid ending up in these situations, many Swedes have made an art of avoiding eye contact with strangers and acquaintances they might come across in the street by looking at their phones or staring at shopping windows instead. For Swedes, the purpose of talking is to exchange meaningful information, and engaging in purposeless chit-chat simply isn’t valued.
Experts say this reserve could be due to Sweden being a sparsely populated country in a relatively vast landscape, whereby for hundreds of years, people grew accustomed to rarely speaking with those outside their immediate circle.
Another hypothesis is that this aversion to chit-chat could be linked to relatively low levels of immigration to Sweden until the 1960s. Minimal exposure to other cultures historically meant that Swedes were less likely to take up this decidedly un-Swedish practice.
I – Word Understanding
Striking up – starting (a conversation)
Budding – developing
Futile – useless / pointless
Sparsely – in small amount / less
Aversion – dislike
II – Have Your Say
1, What is your impression about Sweden and Swedish people? If you could visit Sweden, what places would you like to visit?
a, ABBA Museum
b, Gorgeous green spaces
c, Fika: Swedish coffee break (enjoy hot coffee and a cinnamon roll at the local cafe)
d, ICEHOTEL at Sweden’s Arctic Lapland Region
e, Castles including the Royal Palace in Stockholm
f, Northern Region: Midnight sun (summer); Northern Lights (winter)
2, Have you ever had an awkward chit chat? In what situations do you usually encounter one and what do you do to avoid or get away from it?
3, In your own opinion, what is the opposite of “small talk”?
4, What do you think makes a conversation interesting? Is it the topic? Is it the person? Do you think you can have an interesting conversation with a stranger or a person you barely know well?
