I am from Sweden

[Shadow.97]

Actually Scandinavia is Sweden, Norway and Denmark...not Finland. Finland has never been included in Scandinavia, but sometimes people add it in there, because Sweden has a landborder with Finland and a very long history with them as well.
However, then you have the nordic countries which includes 4 mentioned above and Iceland as well.
Yep, another swede has joined the board!   

Here is quote from Wiki giving a more accurate definition of "Scandinavia":

Scandinavia[1] is a historical cultural-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and related languages. Modern Norway and Sweden proper[2] are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark is situated on the Danish islands and Jutland. The term Scandinavia is usually used as a cultural term, but in English usage, it is occasionally confused with the purely geographical term Scandinavian Peninsula, which overlaps with Scandinavia. Sometimes the term Scandinavia is also taken to include Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical association with the Scandinavian countries.[3] Such usage, however, may be considered inaccurate in the area itself, where the term Nordic countries instead refers to this broader group.[4]

Taking the above into considersation, it's not hard to see why anyone, especially a tropical boy like me, would get confused with the accurate definition.

Changing the subject briefly, I had been meaning to ask Shadow about this, but since you're Swedish I'll ask both of you: does the character "å or caps Å" always pronounced like the letter "O" as in the English words "over" or "open"? I'm asking because, as I was telling Shadow, when I visit Ikea (where I bought all my furniture), at the exit there is a big sign that says "Hejdå (pronounced hā-dō) as we say in Swedish, Goodbye". Notice that vowels with macrons (bars on top) aren't used in English script, but they are used in the dictionary to denote that the letter is pronounced with it's own name. That's why I'm curious.

Oh yes, we are a mess up here. And then from time to time, we have been in cahoots with both Finland, Norway and Denmark (well, invaded and ruled by us)(damn..why did we let norway go with all their oil....and good crosscoutry skiers)
When it comes to how to pronounce the Å, I would say it said more like the A in "fall", "brawl" and "awesome" (spoken in UK english, and not US). No idea how type that in a phonetic way though. The O in "word" and "open" are close, but those are said in a way that is right in between Å and Ö.
If you still wonder, I might upload a soundclip for you, so yo can hear how we say it! 

It also depends on where in sweden you live, so there are many "right" ways to pronounce things. Btw, bubster, where do you live

[humbert]

Oh yes, we are a mess up here. And then from time to time, we have been in cahoots with both Finland, Norway and Denmark (well, invaded and ruled by us)(damn..why did we let norway go with all their oil....and good crosscoutry skiers)
When it comes to how to pronounce the Å, I would say it said more like the A in "fall", "brawl" and "awesome" (spoken in UK english, and not US). No idea how type that in a phonetic way though. The O in "word" and "open" are close, but those are said in a way that is right in between Å and Ö.
If you still wonder, I might upload a soundclip for you, so yo can hear how we say it! 

I'm kind of familiar with Scandinavian history, although clearly nowhere near as much as you are. As for skiing, I tried it once in my life when I visited Canada. After a while after more or less managing the "baby stuff", I saw how easy other skiers came down the hill, so I decided to try it. Big mistake! I got to a point where I was skiing backwards and knew of no way to stop. After finally just falling down, a guy on a snowmobile rescued me (how embarrasing!   ). That was the last time I saw snow, sadly I haven't seen it again in over 10 years. Maybe one day --

Definitely send me a sound clip properly pronouncing the word "hejdå" and a few others with similar uses of å. And as Shadows says, tell me where you're from in Sweden so I can see if it's your accent. Not too long ago I met a Finnish girl (most Finns speak Swedish, as you know) and asked her the proper pronunciation of "hejdå". She said it just Ikea did.

[Bubster]

Actually Scandinavia is Sweden, Norway and Denmark...not Finland. Finland has never been included in Scandinavia, but sometimes people add it in there, because Sweden has a landborder with Finland and a very long history with them as well.
However, then you have the nordic countries which includes 4 mentioned above and Iceland as well.
Yep, another swede has joined the board!   

Here is quote from Wiki giving a more accurate definition of "Scandinavia":

Scandinavia[1] is a historical cultural-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and related languages. Modern Norway and Sweden proper[2] are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula, whereas modern Denmark is situated on the Danish islands and Jutland. The term Scandinavia is usually used as a cultural term, but in English usage, it is occasionally confused with the purely geographical term Scandinavian Peninsula, which overlaps with Scandinavia. Sometimes the term Scandinavia is also taken to include Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical association with the Scandinavian countries.[3] Such usage, however, may be considered inaccurate in the area itself, where the term Nordic countries instead refers to this broader group.[4]

Taking the above into considersation, it's not hard to see why anyone, especially a tropical boy like me, would get confused with the accurate definition.

Changing the subject briefly, I had been meaning to ask Shadow about this, but since you're Swedish I'll ask both of you: does the character "å or caps Å" always pronounced like the letter "O" as in the English words "over" or "open"? I'm asking because, as I was telling Shadow, when I visit Ikea (where I bought all my furniture), at the exit there is a big sign that says "Hejdå (pronounced hā-dō) as we say in Swedish, Goodbye". Notice that vowels with macrons (bars on top) aren't used in English script, but they are used in the dictionary to denote that the letter is pronounced with it's own name. That's why I'm curious.

Oh yes, we are a mess up here. And then from time to time, we have been in cahoots with both Finland, Norway and Denmark (well, invaded and ruled by us)(damn..why did we let norway go with all their oil....and good crosscoutry skiers)
When it comes to how to pronounce the Å, I would say it said more like the A in "fall", "brawl" and "awesome" (spoken in UK english, and not US). No idea how type that in a phonetic way though. The O in "word" and "open" are close, but those are said in a way that is right in between Å and Ö.
If you still wonder, I might upload a soundclip for you, so yo can hear how we say it! 

It also depends on where in sweden you live, so there are many "right" ways to pronounce things. Btw, bubster, where do you live

Well, that if of course true Shadow when it comes to dialects of course. Those words i put up there to try and explain how Å sounds, was just the first things that came to my head. Please add some examples too. It is just to hard to explain it with both the different way we talk here in sweden, and also how very different the english words can be pronounced depending on wherein the world you live.
And talk about where someone lives....jag huserar några kilometer norr om vår huvudstad. (That should make some people hurry over to their nearest translation site to see what the h**l I wrote! 

[humbert]

And talk about where someone lives....jag huserar några kilometer norr om vår huvudstad. (That should make some people hurry over to their nearest translation site to see what the h**l I wrote! 

Google Maps says there's a "Huvusta" (no "d") very close to Stockholm. Is that the right one? Also, just give me the town or city, the complete address isn't necessary 

[Bubster]

Oh yes, we are a mess up here. And then from time to time, we have been in cahoots with both Finland, Norway and Denmark (well, invaded and ruled by us)(damn..why did we let norway go with all their oil....and good crosscoutry skiers)
When it comes to how to pronounce the Å, I would say it said more like the A in "fall", "brawl" and "awesome" (spoken in UK english, and not US). No idea how type that in a phonetic way though. The O in "word" and "open" are close, but those are said in a way that is right in between Å and Ö.
If you still wonder, I might upload a soundclip for you, so yo can hear how we say it! 

I'm kind of familiar with Scandinavian history, although clearly nowhere near as much as you are. As for skiing, I tried it once in my life when I visited Canada. After a while after more or less managing the "baby stuff", I saw how easy other skiers came down the hill, so I decided to try it. Big mistake! I got to a point where I was skiing backwards and knew of no way to stop. After finally just falling down, a guy on a snowmobile rescued me (how embarrasing!   ). That was the last time I saw snow, sadly I haven't seen it again in over 10 years. Maybe one day --

Definitely send me a sound clip properly pronouncing the word "hejdå" and a few others with similar uses of å. And as Shadows says, tell me where you're from in Sweden so I can see if it's your accent. Not too long ago I met a Finnish girl (most Finns speak Swedish, as you know) and asked her the proper pronunciation of "hejdå". She said it just Ikea did.

Lovely story about your skiing experience, and you really should try and pick it up again. It is so much being on the hills, fresh after they are covered with a new cover powder, and the go mental down the hillside!!
I will fix a soundclip for you, but right now it is late and I need my bed. Will fix that tomorrow. And in the meantime, you can see if you can decode the post I made earlier quoting Shadow, to find out where I come from! 

[Bubster]

And talk about where someone lives....jag huserar några kilometer norr om vår huvudstad. (That should make some people hurry over to their nearest translation site to see what the h**l I wrote! 

Google Maps says there's a "Huvusta" (no "d") very close to Stockholm. Is that the right one? Also, just give me the town or city, the complete address isn't necessary 

LOL...you were quick with that. Well what I wrote was "huvudstad" which is swedish for capitol. So what I said was that I live a couple of miles north of Stockholm (the capitol of sweden...I know you know that humbert...but there might someone else who reads this and isn't as well educated)

[humbert]

LOL...you were quick with that. Well what I wrote was "huvudstad" which is swedish for capitol. So what I said was that I live a couple of miles north of Stockholm (the capitol of sweden...I know you know that humbert...but there might someone else who reads this and isn't as well educated)

So basically I got it right then  ?

[Bubster]

LOL...you were quick with that. Well what I wrote was "huvudstad" which is swedish for capitol. So what I said was that I live a couple of miles north of Stockholm (the capitol of sweden...I know you know that humbert...but there might someone else who reads this and isn't as well educated)

So basically I got it right then  ?

LOL...well you guess was Huvusta, which was wrong, but Huvusta is situated a couple of miles north of Stockholm, andyou managed to mention that as well. So I guess you were a bit correct. 

[Shadow.97]

I have to say this, i have never ever skied in my entire life  .
Well.. i had a hard time searching for words that i say with "å" on english, i found these: Core(the o), World(Not 100% sure)
Bubster said "å" sounds kind of like: The O in "word" and "open" are close. I cannot agree, sorry! The only way i could possibly get "open" to "å" is if i try to say it with "skånska"(dialekt?)
As of now my grammar is failing me.
All i got left to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2GGIVWBIT4

[Bubster]

I have to say this, i have never ever skied in my entire life  .
Well.. i had a hard time searching for words that i say with "å" on english, i found these: Core(the o), World(Not 100% sure)
Bubster said "å" sounds kind of like: The O in "word" and "open" are close. I cannot agree, sorry! The only way i could possibly get "open" to "å" is if i try to say it with "skånska"(dialekt?)
As of now my grammar is failing me.
All i got left to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2GGIVWBIT4

Well what I really said was that was that Å sound more like the a in the words Fall, Brawl and Awesome. Then I was trying to say that, sure if you stretch it maybe Open, but that was just because what Humbert had been told earlier.
But now I have made that sound clip that I promised. it can be downloaded at http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2p8ym43p8w67qzf