Archive for November, 2011
There Be Adjectives! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 30, 2011
We’ve already seen how to pluralize nouns (by adding an -er, -e, -s or no ending at all, remember?) Furthermore, we’ve taken a sneak peek at the article system. Basically, that one boils down to adding en or et to any singular noun – as a lead word in front if it is to mean ’a’ or…
O, Christmas Where Art Thou! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 27, 2011
Today’s got a name in Danish: den første søndag i advent. (Yeah, you got it right: the first Sunday in Advent!) Advent, of course, is the countdown for jul (Christmas). Today many families are lighting the first out of four candles in their adventskrans (advent wreath). Over the next three Sundays the remaining lys (candles)…
Articles Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 24, 2011
You already know how to make plurals of Danish nouns. Now the time has come to say hello to the Danish articles, they’re already tripping outside in the raw November weather, anxious to be let in… What’s an article? Besides the stuff journalists write, it’s a way for some languages to mark whether a noun…
Basic Geography of Denmark Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 18, 2011
Denmark seen from foreign land looks but like a grain of sand famously wrote Danish poet Piet Hein (1905-1996), before admitting Denmark as we Danes conceive it is so big you won’t believe it! True enough, area-wise Danmark ranks among the world’s smaller countries, with just 43 thousand square kilometres of dry land (about 16…
Greetings! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 16, 2011
Hej Pronounced almost like its American equivalent ’hi’, hej is the universal greeting in Denmark, used between young and old, men and women. It is quite informal, though, so using it to greet the Queen probably wouldn’t be a good idea! It is often combined with little tail phrases, as in Hej, hvordan går det? ’Hi…
Hygge Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 12, 2011
No blog on Danish is complete without a post about hygge. This phenomenon – pronounced with the clear, fronted ”u” sound of French nom de plume or German Zürich – may just be the epitome of danskhed (Danishness). Danes repeatedly refer to it, to the slight bafflement of foreigners: What on earth are they talking about? Basically…
Verbs With Muscles: Learning Danish Through English Part III Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 3, 2011
As we’ve seen, Danish and English share en god del (a good deal) of common vocabulary. This should make it easy for English-speakers to find a footing in the language. The flip side is, of course, that the gates are opened for false friends and stuff. Now let’s look at another joint venture: verbs. Verbs are…