Att prata

That is prata telur (prata with egg) with a delicious gravy, Dhal. Mmm...yummy. As you can see, the spelling is the same - (roti) prata and (att) prata. While the former is a noun, the latter is a verb. 

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'Att prata' means to speak or to talk. There are two other verbs that you need to be aware of which also mean 'to speak' or 'to talk', and they are 'att tala' and 'att snacka'. 

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Jag pratar engelska. 

Jag talar engelska.

Jag snackar engelska.

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All these three sentences above mean 'I speak English'. So which one should you use? Let's break it down.

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Att prata

When I was learning Swedish, I was taught both 'att prata' and 'att tala'. 'Att prata' is used in daily conversations and it is more casual if I may say so. For example:

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Jag pratar med Peter på min mobil.

(I am talking to Peter on my mobile). 

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Jag pratar om min erfarenhet i frankrike.

(I am talking about my experience in France.)

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Att tala

This verb is mostly used in writing and, it sounds more formal and old-fashioned. It is not wrong though if you use 'att tala' instead of 'att prata' in a sentence. 

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Jag talar med Peter på min mobil.

(I am talking to Peter on my mobile). 

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Jag talar om min erfarenhet i frankrike.

(I am talking about my experience in France.)

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Att snacka

This is more like slang and is usually used when you have a very close relationship with the other person, like a close friend. I've heard it ever so often in the tunnelbanan (subway train) when two youngsters were talking among each other.

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Vi behöver snackar med honom.

(We need to talk with him.)

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Still wondering which is more appropriate to use? It is preferable to use pratar over talar as a general guideline when speaking. This makes you sound more like a native speaker.