syssna
Swedish
FWOTD – 14 April 2020
Etymology
Blend of se (“to see”) + lyssna (“to listen”). Possibly coined by writer Ulla-Bell Thorin in around 2000, but gained usage after having been picked up by the Deaf organization Barn- och Ungdomsjour på Teckenspråk (BOUJT) and the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /²sʏsna/
- Rhymes: -²ʏsna
Verb
syssna (present syssnar, preterite syssnade, supine syssnat, imperative syssna)
- (neologism, Deaf culture) to listen with one’s sight
- 2018, Filip Burman, “Vi lever i en redigerad verklighet [We are living in an edited reality]”, in Dövas Tidning:
- Vad är mest sant? Vilka slutsatser ska man dra av all statistik och siffror? Vem ska jag syssna på egentligen?
- What is most true? What conclusions should be drawn from all the statistics and numbers? Who should I really listen to?
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Usage notes
- The word is sometimes used within Deaf culture in order to draw attention to the fact that listening for a person who is hard of hearing requires attention with the eyes rather than with the ears.
Conjugation
Conjugation of syssna (weak)
| Active | Passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | syssna | syssnas | ||
| Supine | syssnat | syssnats | ||
| Imperative | syssna | — | ||
| Imper. plural1 | syssnen | — | ||
| Present | Past | Present | Past | |
| Indicative | syssnar | syssnade | syssnas | syssnades |
| Ind. plural1 | syssna | syssnade | syssnas | syssnades |
| Subjunctive2 | syssne | syssnade | syssnes | syssnades |
| Participles | ||||
| Present participle | syssnande | |||
| Past participle | syssnad | |||
| 1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs. | ||||
Derived terms
- syssnare
References
- Nyordslistan 2019. Swedish Language Council. 27 December 2019.
- Nordiska teckenspråksnätverket (20 January 2020), “Ordet syssna hamnade på nyordslista”, in Nordiska teckenspråk, retrieved 20 January 2020