Home » Travel » Denmark » The Danish Language: Roots and Renewed Interest

The Danish Language: Roots and Renewed Interest

© L. Barrett Powell

The Danish Language: Then & Now

The country of Denmark may be small but there are many who want to learn the language. There are a number of resources available to learn inside and outside of Denmark. On message boards across the Internet thousands of people wanting to visit or live in Denmark (short or long term) are searching for schools, courses and books to learn this language that is basically spoken by about 6 million people worldwide. As Denmark and Copenhagen in particular become more involved in international trade, tourism and immigration, its language is experiencing a revival. Let's explore some Danish language history, and a few basic words and phrases to help you if you decide to move to or visit the Kingdom of Denmark.

Danish is the official language of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faeroe Islands; it is also spoken in Iceland and by about 20,000 people in northern Germany, just south of Denmark's border. Greenland and the Faeroe Islands also have their own language however, Danish is the official language taught in schools and used for business and governmental purposes.

Why is Danish spoken in Germany? Because prior to 1864 northern Germany was actually Denmark; now, at this point in time the small Danish population in northern Germany is determined to keep the language alive.

You may hear the joke that Danish sounds like you are talking with a hot potato in your mouth. This Germanic language is not a beautiful sounding one to many ears but it certainly has its charms! Do not be surprised if when you travel to Denmark some Danes try to test you by asking you to pronounce "rødgrød med fløde", which is a Danish dessert of red berries and cream. Even though it looks like an easy sentence, it is not simple to say you may sound like you have marbles in your mouth!

Written Danish is standardized across the country, but spoken Danish is another story. Just as in English, there are different dialects which can indicate in which part of the country you reside. The standard dialect is called Rigsdansk and originated in Copenhagen, where it was based on the speech patterns of the economically upper class. Someone from Odense or Århus will use the same words but how they sound will be noticeably different.

The Danish vocabulary is based on adding words together to make a new word. Some of the largest Danish dictionaries have in excess of 200,000 words because of this practice.

The copyright of the article The Danish Language: Roots and Renewed Interest in Denmark is owned by . Permission to republish The Danish Language: Roots and Renewed Interest in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.