{"id":136,"date":"2011-09-01T22:43:58","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T22:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/?p=136"},"modified":"2014-08-06T18:14:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T18:14:29","slug":"written-danish-a-couple-of-quirks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/danish\/2011\/09\/01\/written-danish-a-couple-of-quirks\/","title":{"rendered":"Written Danish: a couple of quirks"},"content":{"rendered":"

When learning Danish<\/a>, one of the most confusing things is the huge distance between the written and the spoken forms of the language. In a way it resembles the problem faced by people learning English as a foreign language, who have to get a grip on the strange fact that women in a queue<\/em> is actually pronounced \u201dweemen in a cue\u201d. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the peculiarities of Danish orthography:<\/p>\n

Squeezing out some e\u2019s<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Danish, e<\/em>\u00a0is often a very weak sound. In words terminating in el<\/em>\u00a0or en<\/em>\u00a0it tends to drop out when an ending is added:<\/p>\n

mirakel<\/strong> \u2013 mirakler<\/strong>\u00a0\u2019miracle(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00f8rken <\/strong>\u2013 \u00f8rkner<\/strong>\u00a0\u2019desert(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

Consonant doubling<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Danish, as in English, there is a distinction between short and long vowels. When a vowel is followed by more than one consonant, it is short in 99 % of the cases, like in m\u00e6lk<\/strong> \u2019milk\u2019 or \u00f8nske<\/strong> \u2019wish\u2019 (with a handful of exceptions like kvalt<\/strong> \u2019choked\u2019, which is pronounced like \u201dkvaalt\u201d). And conversely, when it is followed by a single consonant, it is often long: maler<\/strong> \u2019painter\u2019, vise<\/strong> \u2019song, tune\u2019, b\u00e5l<\/strong> \u2019bonfire\u2019.<\/p>\n

However, in some cases a vowel is short even when it\u2019s in front of only one consonant sound. The medieval scribes laying the foundations of Danish writing had a brilliant idea: Such a short vowel ought to be highlighted by writing the following consonant twice! Thus hallen<\/strong> (\u2019the hall\u2019), pronounced with a short a<\/em>, has a completely different meaning that halen<\/strong> (\u2019the tail\u2019), pronounced with a long a<\/em>. Unfortunately, those clever scribes chose never to double a consonant at the end of a word\u2026 (I know, Norwegians and Swedes are more consequent\u2026)<\/span> Therefore, Danish can sometimes trick you: should hal<\/strong> be pronounced with a short a<\/em>, meaning \u2019hall\u2019, or with a long a<\/em>, meaning \u2019haul!\u2019? As there are no rules of thumb, you\u2019d better keep your good habit of always learning the plurals\u2026 Check it out:<\/p>\n

dal<\/strong> \u2013 dale<\/strong> \u2019valley(s)\u2019 but<\/em> bal<\/strong> \u2013 baller<\/strong> \u2019dance party (parties), ball(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

gren<\/strong> \u2013 grene<\/strong> \u2019bough(s)\u2019 but<\/em> ven<\/strong> \u2013 venner<\/strong> \u2019friend(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

hus<\/strong> \u2013 huse<\/strong> \u2019house(s)\u2019 but<\/em> plus<\/strong> \u2013 plusser<\/strong> \u2019plus sign(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

It might cheer you up to know that only a few loanwords can have a long vowel in front of k<\/em><\/span>, p<\/em><\/span>, t<\/em><\/span> and m<\/em><\/span>. So you are absolutely right assuming a short vowel in words like<\/p>\n

stok<\/strong> \u2013 stokke<\/strong> \u2019stick(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

top<\/strong> \u2013 toppe<\/strong> \u2019summit(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

kat<\/strong> \u2013 katte<\/strong> \u2019cat(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

dam<\/strong> \u2013 damme<\/strong> \u2019dam(s)\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Famous Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. Don\u2019t you ever pronounce the d in Mads when asking for an autograph!<\/p><\/div>\n

Silent letters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are loads of Danish words containing the cluster nd<\/em> or ld<\/em>. Whenever you run across one, think \u2019nn\u2019 or \u2019ll\u2019, \u2019cause the only<\/span> function of the d<\/em> is to show that the preceding vowel is short<\/span>! It is not<\/em> pronounced \u2013 save in a fistful of words (like bande<\/strong> \u2019gang\u2019). It should be as silent as the b<\/em> in English climb<\/em>: mand<\/strong>, kvinde<\/strong>, sende<\/strong>, fuld<\/strong>, falde<\/strong>, kilde<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

The d<\/em>\u00a0is also never heard in the combinations\u00a0ds<\/em>\u00a0and dt<\/em>, as in plads <\/strong>or\u00a0lidt<\/strong>.\u00a0It\u2019s just there to make the vowel short!<\/p>\n

Also note that the h<\/em> in the combinations hj<\/em> and hv<\/em> is silent (except in a few old dialects of Northern Jutland). So, when you don\u2019t understand something, make sure at least to drop the h<\/em> should you incredulously let out a<\/p>\n

Hvad?<\/strong> (\u2019What?\u2019)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

When learning Danish, one of the most confusing things is the huge distance between the written and the spoken forms of the language. In a way it resembles the problem faced by people learning English as a foreign language, who have to get a grip on the strange fact that women in a queue is…<\/p>\n

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