Language

Swedish is my mother tongue.

English I am fluent in both written and spoken English. During my stay at CERN, English was the main working language and I wrote my thesis in English. Ever since first visiting England in 1985, I have preferred to read English books in their original version. My wife is English, and since 2000 we speak mainly English at home.

French Although perhaps not grammatically correct at all times, I speak fluent French, especially about electronics. Before going to CERN I went to Angers in France to study the language. I took an intensive beginners course, and learned immensely during the two months it lasted. During my time at CERN, apart from living in a French-speaking environment, I also completed a total of 100 hours of French courses. I now work in a French-speaking environment, since 2000, and my spoken French is relatively good. I try to read books in French, and I can generally understand most things without resorting to the dictionary.

German I have studied German at school for a total of six years, including a course in technical German at university. Before going to university I spent part of a summer in Germany, living with a German family, which was very interesting. That was when I learned to really speak the language, instead of just conjugating its verbs. It was, however, some time ago, but I am confident that it would come back quickly if I was to spend time in a German-speaking environment.

Dutch In the summer of 1995 I was given the opportunity to live in Holland and work in a small Dutch mechanical workshop. It was very interesting, and completely different from anything I had ever done before. I stayed there for two months, and by the end of it could make myself understood in Dutch.