These are the English terms I am currently using when translating my articles and brief descriptions into English. They are not necessarily correct, and I may change them if I find better English words. They are exposed here so you can give me feedback. Hopefully they may also help others in their translation efforts.
The terms are grouped into the categories road, vehicle, actor, name and other. For many terms I have added links to references. They are prefixed by ”>” and sometimes with strongly shortened names, especially >Wp=Wikipedia, >Wy=Wiktionary.
(Latest update was on 16 november 2020)
Road
| Swedish | English |
| Chikan | chicane >Wy |
| Cykelbana | separated bike lane or protected bike lane or cycle track An exclusive bikeway separated from other modes of transportation, even from pedestrians. >Wp |
| Cykelfält | bike lane >Wp, Wy |
| Cykelpassage | unprioritized bike crossing (Own suggestion) A bike/road crossing where bikers have to give way. |
| Cykelväg | bikeway I use this concept for all types of infrastructure meant for bikes: a lane, route, way or path which in some manner is meant for bicycle travel. The Swedish term is sometimes used by other writers only for bikeways independent of roads. >Wp, Wp, Wy |
| Cykelöverfart | prioritized bike crossing (Own suggestion) A bike/road crossing where bikers must be given way. |
| Dubbelriktad | two-way |
| Enkelriktad | one-way |
| Fil | lane >Wp |
| Gata | street |
| Gatsten | paving stone >Wp |
| GC-bana | shared-use path or mixed-use path >Wp Same path shared by bikers, pedestrians, skaters and similar without separation. If bikers are separated in any way, I would not call it a “GC-bana”, but sometimes my own construct ”G|C-bana”. |
| Gågata | ? No translation found. Pedestrian street or car-free zone seems in general to disallow bikes, while the Swedish term allows bike traffic on same conditions as in a shared space. |
| Gångbana | sidewalk if beside a road >Wp, else footpath >Wp Widely used in the swedish law (Trafikförordningen) for a path where grown-up bikers are not allowed, but the law does not define the word. I can’t find an English term that without doubt covers paths going both beside a road and on their own. Walkway? Footpath? Pavement? >Glosbe |
| Kantsten | curb >Wp (kerb in british english) |
| Kvarter | block, city block or urban block Problem: The word ”block” means a lot of different things. I’ll use ”city block” for the notion of houses surrounded by roads in an urban area when ”block” alone does not make it obvious. >Wp |
| Körbana | roadway or in british carriageway >Wp |
| Motorfordon | motor vehicle Trains and trams are not included in this concept. >Wp |
| Nivåseparering | level separation |
| Omledning | rerouting Maybe “detour” is also usable here, but for me rerouting is done by somebody else for the traffic, which is right on the spot, while a detour is made by a road user for any reason. |
| Pendlingscykelnät | bike commuter network Own suggestion for now, based on my preference for ”bike” plus a variety of terms used in other english sources: – Bicycle commuter network > Salt Lake County, New Jersey. – Bike commuter (using the network) >Wp. – Commuter cycle net (Urban transport administration Göteborg 2017). – Commuter cycle network > Göteborg: För liv och rörelse 2016. – Commuter bicycle network > Göteborg: Transport strategy. – Bicycle/cycling super highways, Bike highways > Copenhagen. |
| Skiljelinje | separating line |
| Skiljeremsa | separating strip |
| Torg, torgyta | public square >Wp Among a number of terms (town square, city square, civic center …), this seems to be less bound to be the main square of a large city and therefore more general. |
| Trafiksignal | traffic light or traffic signal >Wp |
| Trottoar | sidewalk For me this sounds like a path next to a road. So how do we name a pedestrian path elsewhere – through a park or next to a bikeway away from roads? See “gångbana”. >Wp |
| Väg | road |
| Vägkorsning | road intersection >Wp |
| Vägmarkering | road surface marking >Wp |
| Vägmärke | traffic sign >Wp |
| Vägren | shoulder, roadside >Wy Soft/hard shoulder says if the area is made of gravel or asphalt. >Wy Roadside seems to be a less specific term, just an area at the side of a road. |
| Övergångsställe | pedestrian crossing >Wp |
Vehicle
| Swedish | English |
| Cykel | bike, in some formal cases I use bicycle, also cycle Problem: Bike may also be a motorcycle >Wy. But my first 100 results from Googling for images of ”bike” gave 80 bicycles and 20 motorcycles. |
| Elsparkcykel | e-scooter >Wp |
| Fordon | vehicle |
| Moped | moped >Wp |
| Spårvagn | tram |
| Trafikslag | mode of transportation >Wp |
Actor
| Swedish | English |
| Cykelpendlare | bike commuter >Wp |
| Cyklist | cyclist or bicyclist (but not biker) >Wp Problem with biker: A biker may be a cyclist, but more common a motorcyclist or a person whose lifestyle is centered on motorcycles >Wy. The first 100 results from my Googling for images of ”biker” all showed motorcycles or MC related stuff. So I’ll avoid the word biker for cyclists. |
| Entreprenör | contractor |
| Fordonsförare | driver of a vehicle Is the more compact ”vehicle driver” not used? |
| Fotgängare | pedestrian >Wp |
| Förvaltning | department |
| Gatukontor | Traffic Department |
| Motorfordonsförare | motorist |
| Oskyddad trafikant | vulnerable road user, sometimes VRU |
| Trafikant | road user, also road-user >Collins dictionary |
| Trafikkontor | urban transport administration Göteborg: City of Göteborg, Traffic and Public Transport Authority. >EU. |
| Trafiknämnd | Traffic Committee |
| Utformare | designer |
Name
| Swedish | English |
| Cykelprogram | Bicycle strategy Göteborg has published a bicycle strategy for 2015-2025. |
| Detaljplan | Detailed development plan >National planning glossary |
| Fördjupad översiktsplan | Detailed comprehensive plan >National planning glossary |
| Göteborg | Göteborg I don’t translate the target city of this blog to Gothenburg or Goteborg. Inconsistently, I translate the Danish capital to Copenhagen and may do the same with other cities. Göteborg can refer to the city itself, but also to its local authority. |
| Teknisk handbok | Technical manual for traffic design I normally refer to the one from the local traffic department of Göteborg. |
| Trafikstrategi | Traffic strategy Göteborg has published an urban traffic strategy for 2014-2035, called Gothenburg 2035 transport strategy for a close-knit city > Göteborg. |
| Transportstyrelsen | The Swedish Transport Agency >TS |
| Översiktsplan | Municipal comprehensive plan >National planning glossary |
Other
| Swedish | English |
| Framkomlighet | passability >Wy |
| Incident | incident Something that could have developed into an accident. |
| Kollektivtrafik | public transport >Wp |
| Lämna företräde | give way |
| Olycka | accident There is a debate about the word accident, because it could embed a notion of fate, lifting off all responsibility from the actors. The swedish word has the same problem. But when I use them, I include situations where the actors could avoid problems by beeing resonably careful an foreseen. |
| Rusningstid | rush hour >Wp |
| Samspel | teamwork Better word than interplay? Maybe interplay includes cases without a deliberate human will, like a clockwork. |
| Separerad | separated or segregated |
| Tillbud | incident Something that could have developed into an accident. |
| Utformning | design |
| Yttrande | statement of opinion >National planning glossary An answer to a document under consideration, asking for reactions. |