engelskans

Engelskans is a grammatical form used in Swedish and Norwegian to indicate possession relating to the English language or to English-language culture. It derives from engelska, the name for the English language, with engelskan as the definite form and engelskans as the possessive or genitive form meaning “the English language’s” or “the English’s.” The construction is common in descriptive or academic text when discussing features of English, such as vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, or grammar.

In practical use, engelskans appears in phrases like engelskans ordförråd (the English vocabulary), engelskans stavning (the English spelling), or engelskans uttal (the English pronunciation). The form helps distinguish possessions or characteristics of the language from those of other languages or from people identified as English, for which other constructions are used (for example engelsmannen meaning “the Englishman”).

The term is not a separate language or institution; rather, it is a grammatical device within the language itself. It is most common in descriptive linguistics, language education materials, and dictionaries that compare English with other languages.

See also: Engelska; Svenska språket; Norsk bokmål; Language and grammar terminology.