Trafikverket gives Swedish place names English pronunciations at 500 stations

Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket has introduced Swedish and English announcements at more than 500 stations, SVT reports. The Swedish place names are given an English pronunciation to help non-Swedish-speaking passengers match what they hear with the names on their tickets and station signs.

The announcements began on September 1. Passengers may now hear destinations such as Bollstah, Westerås or Älingsauce.

“It is for people who speak English better than Swedish,” Torbjörn Molander, a manager at Trafikverket, told Göteborgs-Posten.

The pronunciation may sound unusual to Swedish speakers, but Trafikverket says that is intentional.

“For those of us who speak Swedish and know how the names should be pronounced, it may sound a little amusing,” Molander said.

Despite the unusual pronunciations, the announcements are not the result of an artificial intelligence voice mispronouncing Swedish place names. Trafikverket says both the Swedish and English versions were recorded by people.