English in Swedish product packages : An exploratory study of how English is used in product packages sold in the dairy section in Swedish retail

Abstract: This study explores the use of English in the texts of product packages sold in Swedish retail. This includes looking at the proportion of English of the packages of four brands God Morgon, Froosh, Oatly and Wellness, as well as exploring what moves are most likely to be in English and furthermore, what cultural values are conveyed by the texts. The most significant findings are that the proportion of English varies among both between and within the brands, depending on the specific niche the products have. Furthermore, in line with previous studies, English is mainly found in the attention-grabbing moves such as headlines and leads, whereas Swedish is more frequent in the copy which serves a more explanatory and detailing function. This is true except for the texts of the brand Oatly, with the main copy also in English. The cultural values conveyed by the texts, finally, both support previous findings, but it may be suggested that some of the values, such as nature and morality, have just recently begun to be associated to English.