sociala

Sociala is the plural form of the Swedish adjective social, used before plural nouns. In Swedish, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and definiteness; sociala appears before plural nouns in the indefinite form, as in sociala relationer, sociala medier, and sociala frågor. The corresponding singular forms are social (common gender) and socialt (neuter). In the definite form, you would say de sociala relationerna for the plural, and det sociala problemet for the singular neuter.

The term is widely used in everyday speech as well as in academic and public discourse to describe aspects of society, such as social relations, social welfare, and social structures. Examples of common collocations include sociala relationer (social relationships), sociala medier (social media), sociala frågor (social issues), and sociala tjänster (social services).

Etymology traces sociala to the Latin socialis, via French or English social, and it entered Swedish in the early modern period. Today, sociala functions as the plural adjective form and is non-capitalized in ordinary text, contrasting with the base form social used in singular contexts.

See also: social (word), sociology, social policy.