Editing Swedish language (section)

===Modern Swedish===
{{Main|Modern Swedish}}[[File:Gustav Vasa Bible 1541.jpg|thumb|upright|Front page of [[Gustav Vasa]]'s Bible from 1541, using [[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur]]. The title translated to English reads: "The Bible / That is / The Holy Scripture / in Swedish. Printed in [[Uppsala]]. 1541".]]

Modern Swedish (Swedish: ''nysvenska'') begins with the advent of the [[printing press]] and the European [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. After assuming power, the new monarch [[Gustav Vasa]] ordered a Swedish translation of the [[Bible]]. The [[New Testament]] was published in 1526, followed by a full [[Bible translation]] in 1541, usually referred to as the ''[[Gustav Vasa Bible]]'', a translation deemed so successful and influential that, with revisions incorporated in successive editions, it remained the most common Bible translation until 1917. The main translators were [[Laurentius Andreae|Laurentius Andreæ]] and the brothers [[Laurentius Petri|Laurentius]] and [[Olaus Petri]].<ref>Lars-Erik Edlund, "Språkhistorisk översikt" in {{harvnb|Dahl|Edlund|2010|p=33}}</ref>

The Vasa Bible is often considered to be a reasonable compromise between old and new; while not adhering to the colloquial spoken language of its day, it was not overly conservative in its use of archaic forms.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|p=151}}</ref> It was a major step towards a more consistent [[Swedish orthography]]. It established the use of the vowels "å", "ä", and "ö", and the spelling "ck" in place of "kk", distinguishing it clearly from the Danish Bible, perhaps intentionally, given the ongoing rivalry between the countries. All three translators came from central Sweden, which is generally seen as adding specific Central Swedish features to the new Bible.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Nordic Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z17C7s3r_nwC&pg=PA1900 |year=2005 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-019706-8 |page=1900}}</ref>

Though it might seem as if the Bible translation set a very powerful precedent for orthographic standards, spelling actually became more inconsistent during the remainder of the century. It was not until the 17th century that spelling began to be discussed, around the time when the first grammars were written.<ref name="Grünbaum2012">{{cite web |author=Grünbaun, Katharina |url=http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/otherlanguages/factsheets/SI/Svenska_spraket.pdf |title=Svenska språket |trans-title=The Swedish language |date=2012 |publisher=Svenska institutet |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025181238/http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/otherlanguages/factsheets/SI/Svenska_spraket.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012}}</ref> [[Capitalization]] during this time was not standardized. It depended on the authors and their background. Those influenced by [[German language|German]] capitalized all nouns, while others capitalized more sparsely. It is also not always apparent which letters are capitalized owing to the Gothic or [[blackletter]] typeface that was used to print the Bible. This typeface was in use until the mid-18th century, when it was gradually replaced with a Latin typeface (often [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bandle |first1=Oskar |last2=Elmevik |first2=Lennart |last3=Widmark |first3=Gun |title=The Nordic Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqkBXIJkkuEC&pg=PA517 |year=2002 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-014876-3 |page=517}}</ref>

Some important changes in sound during the Modern Swedish period were the gradual assimilation of several different consonant clusters into the [[voiceless alveolar fricative|fricative]] {{IPA|[ʃ]}} and later into {{IPA|[ɧ]}}. There was also the gradual softening of {{IPA|[ɡ]}} and {{IPA|[k]}} into {{IPA|[j]}} and the [[voiceless alveolopalatal fricative|fricative]] {{IPA|[ɕ]}} before [[front vowel]]s. The [[voiced velar fricative|velar fricative]] {{IPA|[ɣ]}} was also transformed into the corresponding [[voiced velar plosive|plosive]] {{IPA|[ɡ]}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pettersson|1996|p=138}}</ref>

[[File:August Strindberg.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|[[August Strindberg]], one of the most influential writers in modern Swedish literature]]