Samtalens

Samtalens is a Swedish grammatical form that functions as the genitive of the plural definite noun samtal, meaning conversations. It expresses possession or attribution related to a set of conversations, translating roughly to “of the conversations” or “the conversations’.”

Grammatical notes: In Swedish, samtal is the plural noun for conversations. The definite plural is samtalen, and the genitive of that form is samtalens. This form is used to link a property to the conversations, for example: samtalens innehåll (the content of the conversations), samtalens syfte (the purpose of the conversations), eller samtalens slutsatser (the conclusions of the conversations). The construction does not require a preposition like av; samtalens directly marks the relationship.

Usage and context: Samtalens is common in formal, analytical, and journalistic writing, where authors discuss the outcomes, themes, or implications of multiple discussions. It can denote ownership by a group or collective involved in the conversations, such as a committee, researchers, or participants. In everyday language, it appears less frequently but remains correct in phrases describing what emerges from discussions.

Etymology and related forms: Samtal derives from sam- (together) and tal (speech). The definite plural form samtalen and the genitive samtalens are standard inflectional endings in Swedish. Related terms include samtal (conversation), dialog (dialogue), and kommunikation (communication).

See also: samtal, dialog, kommunikation, språkbruk.