syssna

Swedish

FWOTD – 14 April 2020

Blend of se (“to see”) +‎ lyssna (“to listen”). Possibly coined by writer Ulla-Bell Thorin around 2000, but gained usage after having been picked up by the Deaf organization Barn- och Ungdomsjour på Teckenspråk (BOUJT) and the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company.

syssna (present syssnar, preterite syssnade, supine syssnat, imperative syssna)

(neologism, Deaf culture) to listen with one’s sight
- 2018, Filip Burman, “Vi lever i en redigerad verklighet [We are living in an edited reality]”, in Dövas Tidning‎^[1]:
  Vad är mest sant? Vilka slutsatser ska man dra av all statistik och siffror? Vem ska jag syssna på egentligen?
  What is most true? What conclusions should be drawn from all the statistics and numbers? Who should I really listen to?

The word is sometimes used within Deaf culture in order to draw attention to the fact that listening for a person who is hard of hearing requires attention with the eyes rather than with the ears.

Conjugation of syssna (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	syssna		syssnas
Supine	syssnat		syssnats
Imperative	syssna		—
Imper. plural¹	syssnen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	syssnar	syssnade	syssnas	syssnades
Ind. plural¹	syssna	syssnade	syssnas	syssnades
Subjunctive²	syssne	syssnade	syssnes	syssnades
	Participles
Present participle	syssnande
Past participle	syssnad
¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Nyordslistan 2019. Swedish Language Council. 27 December 2019.
Nordiska teckenspråksnätverket (2020 January 20) “Ordet syssna hamnade på nyordslista”, in Nordiska teckenspråk, retrieved 20 January 2020