In the Scandinavian languages, I think the closest we get to "what even is X?" is intonation combined with interjecting nå/nu for ekstra emphasis.
E.g in Norwegian "Hva er nå X?" (possibly tacking on a "for noe" at the end) instead of just "hva er X?" conveys extra emphasis quite well. Would "vad er nu X?" do the same in Swedish, or does that only work in Norwegian?
The entire phenomenon is basically intentionally interjecting or removing words to create a jarring effect that creates extra emphasis, so looking for a translation boils down to figuring out words that add emphasis if you add or remove them rather than looking for an exact translation of the individual words.
It seems to very much be a strong social demarcator that still seems to be tied quite strongly to online communities with a relatively young demographics (e.g. various sub-reddits are full of these)
E.g in Norwegian "Hva er nå X?" (possibly tacking on a "for noe" at the end) instead of just "hva er X?" conveys extra emphasis quite well. Would "vad er nu X?" do the same in Swedish, or does that only work in Norwegian?
The entire phenomenon is basically intentionally interjecting or removing words to create a jarring effect that creates extra emphasis, so looking for a translation boils down to figuring out words that add emphasis if you add or remove them rather than looking for an exact translation of the individual words.
It seems to very much be a strong social demarcator that still seems to be tied quite strongly to online communities with a relatively young demographics (e.g. various sub-reddits are full of these)