Swedish and Norwegian are closely related languages. Though written Norwegian, especially the variety used in Olso, is similar to Danish, the phonology is much closer to that of Swedish. However, the phonology of the two languages is not identical. This also applies to vowels.
In Norwegian many words have a schwa. This is the case with the final vowel of femte (fifth), a vowel which is unstressed. In Swedish, however, the word femte (fifth), though spelt identically, has no schwa. In Swedish the final vowel is a mid front unrounded lax vowel.
In Norwegian the minimal pairs tak/takk mean roof/thanks. These minimal pairs are spelt tak/tack in Swedish and share the same meaning. However, the short vowel of takk in Norwegian is a back vowel and a central vowel in Swedish. In Norwegian the difference between the low vowels of tak and takk is quantitative, but in Swedish it is qualitative.
The word ny (new) has a high front rounded vowel. In Swedish, however, many speakers have a vowel which is a little more retracted than in Norwegian. Many Swedish speakers also have a retracted vowel in words such as tid (time).
The vowels of Swedish and Norwegian are similar. However, there are differences. Unlike Swedish, Norwegian has a schwa and Swedish has a low central vowel that Norwegian does not. Despite these differences, the vowels of Swedish and Norwegian are undoubtedly similar.
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