Your questions are usually difficult for me even as a native speaker of Swedish to answer haha. :)
This question is no exception.
I thought about it for a couple of minutes or so, and I can't really think of any kind of difference in meaning or connotation. I think though that "röta" might be little less formal than "förruttnelse".
I did check wikipedia though, because I can't come up with a good explanation on my own really;
Röta: originates from old Swedish (fornsvenskan), it refers to putrefaction and decay of different forms, such as fungus attacking wood, before it was also used to refer to different infections in the body such as benröta (caries) and tandröta (dental caries) and rötfeber (blood poisoning). I think you would use röta when speaking of something that is rotten, such as in wooden houses or potatoes or what not.
Förruttnelse: the breaking down of organic substances. The article about Förruttnelse's focal point is scientific compared to röta. Förruttnelse is, I think, used mainly when talking about decay in nature on a scientific level and when speaking of the decomposition of the human body after death.
I also think that förruttnelsen could refer to death, but this is not something you would hear in everyday conversation, ever! I just found a poem when googling förruttnelse that seems to use it as a metaphor for death: http://dikter.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/till-forrut...
I'm don't know much Swedish, but I agree with ãã¿ã¦ãµã®'s answer from the general basis of context and cognates Germanic languages.
röta = rot
This will be an old folksy word, used in commonplace expressions and old names for things (just as in English, you have dry rot, wet rot, brown rot in apples, etc).
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Your questions are usually difficult for me even as a native speaker of Swedish to answer haha. :)
This question is no exception.
I thought about it for a couple of minutes or so, and I can't really think of any kind of difference in meaning or connotation. I think though that "röta" might be little less formal than "förruttnelse".
I did check wikipedia though, because I can't come up with a good explanation on my own really;
Röta: originates from old Swedish (fornsvenskan), it refers to putrefaction and decay of different forms, such as fungus attacking wood, before it was also used to refer to different infections in the body such as benröta (caries) and tandröta (dental caries) and rötfeber (blood poisoning). I think you would use röta when speaking of something that is rotten, such as in wooden houses or potatoes or what not.
Förruttnelse: the breaking down of organic substances. The article about Förruttnelse's focal point is scientific compared to röta. Förruttnelse is, I think, used mainly when talking about decay in nature on a scientific level and when speaking of the decomposition of the human body after death.
I also think that förruttnelsen could refer to death, but this is not something you would hear in everyday conversation, ever! I just found a poem when googling förruttnelse that seems to use it as a metaphor for death: http://dikter.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/till-forrut...
I'm don't know much Swedish, but I agree with ãã¿ã¦ãµã®'s answer from the general basis of context and cognates Germanic languages.
röta = rot
This will be an old folksy word, used in commonplace expressions and old names for things (just as in English, you have dry rot, wet rot, brown rot in apples, etc).
förruttnelse = decay / putrefaction
This will be a more formal, technical usage.