--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Swedish he knew was mostly from…" description: "\"The Swedish he knew was mostly from Bergman films. He had learned it as a college student, matching the subtitles to the sounds. In Swedish, he could o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/ann-patchett-670_bergman_the-swedish-he-knew-was-mostly-from-berg_1682943.jpg" --- # The Swedish he knew was mostly from Bergman films. He had… ![“The Swedish he knew was mostly from Bergman films. He had learned it as a college student, matching the subtitles to the sounds. In Swedish, he could only converse on the darkest of subjects.” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/ann-patchett-670_bergman_the-swedish-he-knew-was-mostly-from-berg_1682943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/ann-patchett-670_bergman_the-swedish-he-knew-was-mostly-from-berg_1682943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/ann-patchett-670_bergman_the-swedish-he-knew-was-mostly-from-berg_1682943.jpg) > “The Swedish he knew was mostly from Bergman films. He had learned it as a college student, matching the subtitles to the sounds. In Swedish, he could only converse on the darkest of subjects.” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He learned Swedish through cinema, limiting his conversation to dark topics. **In simple terms:** Film taught him limited Swedish. Key Takeaway Seek broader language exposure. Themes language culture media learning Mood reflective introspective Type educational observational When to use this quote - college study - travel - film analysis - conversation practice Key Concepts cinema subtitles language acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How can one expand beyond cinematic language? - What other media aid language depth? A Different Perspective Film exposure may not develop fluency for everyday dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bergman/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-student/) [College students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-students/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Knew Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-bergman-975387/) [Matching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matching/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sounds Swedish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sounds-swedish-975386/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Subtitles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subtitles/) [Swedish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish/) [Swedish Converse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish-converse-975385/) [Swedish Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish-knew-975384/) ## Related quotes > [Not long time ago there was a striking example of the extent to which English has diverged: a television company put out a programme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-trask/not-long-time-ago-there-was-a-striking-example-of-the-extent-to-which/) [Larry Trask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-trask/) > [Charlie Chaplin and I would have a friendly contest: Who could do the feature film with the least subtitles?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buster-keaton/charlie-chaplin-and-i-would-have-a-friendly-contest-who-could-do-the/) [Buster Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buster-keaton/) > [Usually they have to deal with a dubbing situation or subtitles, and it takes you out of the experience. That's why we wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/usually-they-have-to-deal-with-a-dubbing-situation-or-subtitles-and/) [Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/) > [I think that subtitles benefit everyone: deaf, hard of hearing, hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ridloff/i-think-that-subtitles-benefit-everyone-deaf-hard-of-hearing-hearing/) [Lauren Ridloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ridloff/) > [Nothing better than a reality show where everyone's speaking English yet they still need subtitles to be understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-better-than-a-reality-show-where-everyone-s-speaking-english/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is expensive to give plays subtitles, especially for a short run, so most new dramas rarely cross the transcontinental bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katori-hall/it-is-expensive-to-give-plays-subtitles-especially-for-a-short-run-so/) [Katori Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katori-hall/) > [I watch Denzel Washington films with subtitles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bojan-krkic/i-watch-denzel-washington-films-with-subtitles/) [Bojan Krkic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bojan-krkic/) > [“Cat's friends seemed like very sweet girls," Dad says. "They were the bomb," I say fervently, and he looks back at me with raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-gold/cat-s-friends-seemed-like-very-sweet-girls-dad-says-they-were-the/) [Maya Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-gold/) > [In the United States, they always talk about subtitles, about chapters in a book without taking the main title of the book. They talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/in-the-united-states-they-always-talk-about-subtitles-about-chapters/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [My parents told me: Youve got to stop watching so much TV, and read more! so I turned on the subtitles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jezreel-scott/my-parents-told-me-youve-got-to-stop-watching-so-much-tv-and-read/) [Jezreel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jezreel-scott/) > [“Guys generally need us to come with subtitles, cue cards, and liability waivers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/guys-generally-need-us-to-come-with-subtitles-cue-cards-and-liability/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [Do you like foreign films?” “With subtitles?” “Yes.” “I hate those types of films.” “Me too,” Cliff says. “Mostly because - “ “No happy endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/do-you-like-foreign-films-with-subtitles-yes-i-hate-those-types-of/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [“Ah, dear, sweet Eden. To quote the great Rhett Butler, you need to be fucked and by someone who knows how.” “What version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/ah-dear-sweet-eden-to-quote-the-great-rhett-butler-you-need-to-be/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [My parents told me 'You watch too much TV and should try reading more!' So I turned on the subtitles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-parents-told-me-you-watch-too-much-tv-and-should-try-reading-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is so strange, to encounter an ex. It's as if you're in a foreign film, and what you're saying face-to-face has nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-is-so-strange-to-encounter-an-ex-it-s-as-if-you-re-in-a-foreign/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Bergman quotes > [(On Ingrid Bergman) "I didn't do anything I've never done before, but when the camera moves in on that Bergman face, and she's saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/on-ingrid-bergman-i-didn-t-do-anything-i-ve-never-done-before-but/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [I tell you this: if I was in the house with those people in the Bergman flicks, I'd walk right out, much less pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/i-tell-you-this-if-i-was-in-the-house-with-those-people-in-the/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [“Jack Bergman, Diplomatic Security Service.” “Why”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-emmett/jack-bergman-diplomatic-security-service-why/) [Patrick Emmett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-emmett/) > [I've never felt Truth was Beauty. Never. I've always felt that people can't take too much reality. I like being in Ingmar Bergman's world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-ve-never-felt-truth-was-beauty-never-i-ve-always-felt-that-people/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [If a face like Ingrid Bergman's looks at you as though you're adorable, everybody does. You don't have to act very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/if-a-face-like-ingrid-bergman-s-looks-at-you-as-though-you-re/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [ \[Akiro\] Kurosawa, no doubt, was a big influence. Movies sometimes more than directors have influenced me: The Grapes of Wrath, by John Ford, was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/costa-gavras/akiro-kurosawa-no-doubt-was-a-big-influence-movies-sometimes-more/) [Costa-Gavras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/costa-gavras/) > [Maybe the best example of the unmuscled hero is Humphrey Bogart in 'Casablanca.' Bogart was 15 years older than Ingrid Bergman, and it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cohen/maybe-the-best-example-of-the-unmuscled-hero-is-humphrey-bogart-in/) [Richard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cohen/) > [Bergman movies were the most influential. They used to show at Goucher University, which was where my parents used to live. 'Brink of Life'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/bergman-movies-were-the-most-influential-they-used-to-show-at-goucher/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [Bergman made countless masterpieces, but for one reason or another, 'Winter Light' stays closest to my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-paltrow/bergman-made-countless-masterpieces-but-for-one-reason-or-another/) [Jake Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-paltrow/) > [I will watch everything that Cary Grant did, or Kubrick made or Bergman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/i-will-watch-everything-that-cary-grant-did-or-kubrick-made-or-bergman/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [Bergman's my favorite filmmaker, if I had to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/bergman-s-my-favorite-filmmaker-if-i-had-to-choose/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [I owe Mr. Bergman so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-von-sydow/i-owe-mr-bergman-so-much/) [Max von Sydow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-von-sydow/) > [This man (Bergman) is one of the few film directors-perhaps the only one in the world-to have said as much about human nature as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-kieslowski/this-man-bergman-is-one-of-the-few-film-directors-perhaps-the-only/) [Krzysztof Kieslowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-kieslowski/) > [I remember those days with Bergman with great nostalgia. 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