Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Danish Stress Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 28, 2017
If you want to talk with the natives, you have to hit an udtale [OOTHtahleh] (pronunciation) that is not too far off. 🙂 Of course, having a bit of accent is okay, as long as people don’t need to guess whether you meant hat or head. Stress is one of those little details that do…
Reading a Danish Cafe Menu Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 25, 2017
…og om lidt er kaffen klar (and soon the coffee is ready). One of Denmark’s most iconic singalong songs ever doesn’t mention kaffe (coffee) for nothing – many Danes just can’t get enough of it, and globally only Finns and Swedes seem to be drinking more coffee. Whether you agree with rapper Per Vers, who…
Worst Case Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 30, 2016
Danmark er som regel et trygt land at være i. (As a rule, Denmark is a safe country to be in.) Here are a few expressions to use when everything goes wrong… – Hjælp, jeg er faret vild! (Help me, I’ve lost my way!) – Ved du hvor den nærmeste købmand/tankstation /det nærmeste sygehus er…
False Friends in Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 31, 2016
I always tell English-speakers that Danish is easy – except the pronunciation. Both English and Danish are Germanic languages, and with Nordsøen as the only natural barrier between England and Denmark, the two languages are much closer to each other than you’d think. Recently, Danish has also ”swallowed” a lot of English words, making the linguistic…
Danes Do Bo Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Sep 24, 2016
If you come to Denmark from the south, it’ll maybe be a kind of kulturchok (culture shock) to see just how attached Danes are to their hjem [yem] (homes)! Of course, people in cities går mere i byen (go out more; literally: ”go more in the city”). Still, even in Copenhagen the answer to your…
10 Great Posts for Beginners Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 31, 2016
Are you new to the Danish language? 🙂 In that case: Velkommen! On this blog you’ll find a wide variety of topics of everything related to Danish language and culture. Whether you come to Denmark for the beers and beaches or want to read Søren Kierkegaard in the original language, there should be something for…
Making a call to Customer Support Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 29, 2016
Calling a Danish company for kundeservice [KUNNehservis] (customer support)? Although the (wo)man at the other end of the line probably speaks good English, (s)he might just give you that extra amount of attention if you do speak Danish! 🙂 Here are a few phrases to keep you going. Tryk 1 for menu, tryk 2 for…