Are Danes afraid of foreigners? Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 25, 2013
This week I’m going to tackle a less charming side of Denmark. After all, as a Danish saying goes, livet er ikke lutter lagkage [LEEWeth air eck LOOTor LOWka-yeh] – life isn’t only a layered cake. After den 11. september, a lot of Danish people, especially in the countryside, became increasingly afraid of foreigners, especially muslimer (Moslems)…
Danish Oops! moments Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 31, 2013
This month, several of my fellow bloggers here at Transparent Language have been writing about funny mistakes they’ve made while trying to communicate in a foreign language. As a native speaker of Danish, I’m afraid the bits I could share with you wouldn’t be very “juicy” – the few mistakes I can recall are all…
The Lure of a Danish Chair Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 17, 2013
Danish design is renowned all over the world. I met Jørn, who knows something about Danish chairs, tables and sofas… What made you interested in design? Well, I used to be the editor of a magazine for the Danish furniture industry. I did interviews with some of the young and upcoming designers and visited furniture…
Strange creatures by the Sea Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 29, 2013
Every second juni måned [YOONie MAWNeth] (month of June), a series of sculptures pops up along kysten (the coast) just south of Århus midtby (the city centre of Aarhus). Tilskuere (spectators, literally ”to-lookers”) of all ages walk through the strandsand (beach sand) in order to catch a glimpse of the latest state-of-the-art, mind-bogglingly original skulpturer…
Lying, sitting, standing Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 20, 2013
Do you know teatersport? It’s basically a kind of unscripted theatre, where you and your mates pick an øvelse (exercise) or ”set-of-rules” and use it to make a scene that’s totally improvised. I love to take part in creative collaborations like that, and one øvelse always makes me think about Scandinavian languages… It’s called sidde…
Hello Goodbye! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 29, 2013
Having your first conversation in a foreign language is always a feat. If you know how to say ”hello” and ”goodbye”, you have the tools to break the ice – and to sneak away, if the whole thing gets too embarrassing! Hej! is the normal way to say ”hi!” It sounds pretty much like English…
Tears of Gold Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 25, 2013
Yes! For a week now, Danish fans of melodi grand prix [meloDEE gramPREE] have been in ecstasy. Lørdag den 18. maj in Malmö, Sweden, Emmelie de Forest won the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, as it is better known internationally. The girl from Randers in Jylland won the hjerter [YERter] (hearts) of fjernsynsseere (tv-watchers) all across…