A great part of the grammar is related and much of the vocabulary will look like English.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'autolingual_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',112,'0','0'])); The two languages do, in fact, share a great deal of history, which explains many of these similarities. While the written language isn’t too tough to figure out, the spoken language is a … Well – you need to take the number “600 hours” with a grain of salt. Only a part of each word Unfortunately, written Danish has … In other words, difficult to get your tongue around. Pronunciation. They’ll tell you about the Queen’s husband, a Frenchman who’s not mastered the Danish tongue even though he’s been in the country for over 50 years. FSI judges that they can teach Danish to an English speaker in under 600 classroom hours. In fact, Norwegian and Swedish took the top two spots. This of course can be very frustrating for anyone who is trying to learn Danish, but it can be very comforting to anyone who simply wants to have a conversation without the misunderstandings. There are in fact a couple of generally accepted reasons. Add to that the fact that most words are only pronounced in half, leaving out many of the letters that make them up.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'autolingual_com-box-4','ezslot_5',114,'0','0'])); There’s a huge difference between how Danish is written and how it’s actually pronounced, and there’s not a lot of rules to help you figure it out. Why this should be the case escapes me, but the people who think so speak of unnamed scientific research and second-hand anecdotes. .danish-rwd-top { display:inline-block; width: 25px; height: 25px; } © 2008-2020 Danishnet.com. It’s great to be able to practise with other students of Danish in a supportive … For example: I am 'thirty eight' years old ends up being directly translated as: I am 'eight and thirty' years old. Reading and understanding of the text can certainly be mastered by a foreigner. Stød, or the glottal stop can be described as suddenly closing off your breath while pronouncing a word, cutting it short. Yes, we have crowned Danish as the least hard of the hardest languages. If you read our article on the easiest languages to learn, you may remember that the Germanic languages from Scandinavia largely dominated that list. Danish has only nine verb forms, including the passiv… Learn Danish in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. I was once told that the only way to truly learn a new language is the pillow way. Danes pronounce words completely different to how they are written, which … Why this should be the case escapes me, but the people who think so speak of unnamed scientific research and second-hand anecdotes. There are many different dialects in Denmark, and no matter where someone is from in Denmark they will have problems understanding what someone from some other region within the country is saying or vice versa. It can be in your own country, or in Denmark at a summer school. Each number has it's own individual name. Norwegians and Swedes like to tease the Danish by saying that they speak with a hot potato in their mouths), Danish demands as much time as other Scandinavian languages, learn any language easily if only you put in the time, learn any Danish if you spend all of your time worrying, How To Learn Russian By Yourself (From Beginner To Fluency). If you ask the native speaker of almost any language, they’ll tell you why their language is hard. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'autolingual_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_8',118,'0','0'])); Danish is not difficult at all, so don’t be scared by the stories the Danish people like to tell you! Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish are the three most natural languages for English speakers to pick up. I personally believe that you can learn Danish faster by yourself than by taking an intensive course. They put Danish in the lowest category. They also seem to have incredible difficulties in picking up what someone is trying to say who has an accent. It’s a long hard struggle to learn Danish. Learn Danish in 30 Minutes - ALL the Basics You Need - Duration: 22:16. But they don’t really have the experience of studying it, so how would they know? While the vocabulary and grammar are quite easy to master, the pronunciation in Danish has a bit of a reputation. You also get BONUS Audio Lessons here at DanishClass101. I obviously speak a little slower and a little clearer than I normally would in Danish, but it should give you an idea about the pronunciation.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'autolingual_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_6',115,'0','0'])); The FSI (Foreign Service Institute) is the US government institution charged with teaching foreign languages to American diplomats. Danish is also flatter and more monotonous than English. Listen to … Intimidatig vowels via Wikimedia / Wikimedia. The result is that English speakers have unwittingly become very talented at deciphering someones intended meaning no matter how thick the accent, how poor their grammar etc. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'autolingual_com-banner-1','ezslot_11',157,'0','0']));You just have to know. It can be a little distracting, but with some practice you will get used to it. Danish is a gutteral language, and this enunciation is hard … “Danish has an extremely high number of vowels – an analysis has shown that it has four times as many vowel sounds as Italian, for example – so many people will find it difficult to learn the difference between Danish … 10. As with most Scandinavian languages, the biggest hurdle with studying Danishis in being able to practice. If you know English, you will notice many cognates right at the start, and it is relatively easy to learn … The Danish government has many Danish language courses for anyone who is legally living in Denmark. It is not generally harder than languages like German, French … The difficulty of Danish according to linguists. Then there’s German, which takes 25% longer than Danish to learn, Hindi and Russian take something like twice as long to learn and languages like Arabic or Chinese take a whooping 4 times longer than Danish. Danish is said to be the hardest Scandinavian language to learn because of its speaking patterns. Start learning Danish today! But the 600 hours estimate allows us to compare Danish with other languages. Several years ago I left Denmark to go to Berlin to learn and study german. It should also be mentioned that Danes also have difficulties in understanding each other. Yet, there’s a growing interest in the world for learning Danish! The same goes for “mor” (mother) and “mord” (murder) and “hej” (hello) and “haj” (shark). It’s really just a kind of vanity. Start by learning a few phrases and getting to grips with the key aspects of pronunciation. No you don’t, so learn their language. @media (min-width:825px) { .danish-rwd-top { width: 728px; height: 90px; } } According to The Foreign Service Institute, the Danish language is a “category 1” in terms of the amount of time needed to learn it. Not very difficult for English speaker. “The course was intense, there was a lot to take in” says Miriam, an American student majoring in Danish and Film, before adding that it was a great way to meet new people. Learn Danish with DanishClass101.com 220,093 views Danes generally have enormous difficulties in understanding foreigners. Compared to other Scandinavian languages, like Norwegian and Swedish, Danish is a tricky language to learn. Watch the below video, to get a better idea of the stød in Danish: Another problem is that Danes are known for speaking in a weirdly monotone manner. The difficulty lies in that numbers above 20 are reversed when spoken. Or they’ll mention their foreign neighbor or evoke how … You can decide for yourself how difficult learning … They of course can be excused for this. Not only do they tend to be able to speak English, but they're also very willing to use it. Learning Danish will probably always be an ongoing process,” says Norkka. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It is also important to know that the Danish alphabet has 3 extra letters at the end of their alphabet compared with the the Engish alphabet. The Danes. Newcomers to Denmark might recognise the warning often … It is difficult learning Danish. Danish is a hard language to learn, but with some practice and enthusiasm you can do it. Firstly, there are only 6 million Danish speakers in the world. Watch something Danish. Secondly, English is widely throughout the world and anyone who has grown up with the English language as their primary language has heard countless people from all over the world speak very poor English. So, just how hard is it to learn Spanish? Danes do not have this ability. For those of you whose native language is either Danish, Dutch, German, or Swedish, then you’ll find learning Norwegian significantly easier to understand and to learn. Denmark’s language, with its eclectic-sounding consonants and plethora of vowels, has a reputation as being one of the world’s hardest to learn. So why is Danish on this list of hardest languages? In fact, Norwegian, Danish and … Learn Danish vocabulary, phrases and words FAST with TONS of FREE lessons! When you’re learning Danish, you get used to these new ideas and … Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are all very beautiful, but choosing which … If you ask the Danes, however, you’ll get another answer! eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'autolingual_com-box-3','ezslot_9',151,'0','0']));So you want to learn Danish and be able to speak with the Danes in their native, strange language. In my opinion, you can learn any language easily if only you put in the time. All of these things are mostly just words. Assuming that one’s language is the world’s hardest is extremely common. The third factor surprises many visitors. Learn Danish twice as fast with your FREE gifts of the month including PDF lessons, vocabulary lists and much more! I’ve often heard Danish people speak of their own language as one of the hardest languages to learn in the world! The government wants immigrants to integrate into Danish society and language is always a good place start. I hope that this little article has cleared some things up for you. For any language I learn, the first product I pick up is a copy Assimil with Ease written for learners of that language.. For Danish, I use Le Danois sans Peine (the French version) because, unfortunately, no … Students unanimously agreed that pronunciation was the biggest challenge involved in learning Danish. (Read my advice for self–studying Danish). In this post, we break down some factors that make Spanish difficult—and some that make it super easy—to learn. Whether you’re a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work. You might have to concentrate very hard … Miscellaneous Pronunciation Issues. Here are some Danish phrases to start you on your way. Almost all of them live in Denmark and good part of them speak pretty good English. However, after the number 20 the numbering system does become  difficult for someone who does not have experience with such a numbering system. The extra letters are æ ø å. One 'hundred and sixty four' would be 'one hundred, four and sixty'. Danish is a very vowel-centric language and consonants often disappear into the ether when they are swallowed up. (The Norwegians and Swedes like to tease the Danish by saying that they speak with a hot potato in their mouths). And while Danish won’t help you while traveling the world (other than Denmark) or speaking to immigrants (other than a handful of Danes), it does provide access to a growing number of Danish TV-series, Danish literature and of course. @media (min-width:550px) { .danish-rwd-top { width: 468px; height: 60px; } } It is generally spoken more quickly and more softly than other Scandinavian languages. Which of these is not like the others? Reaching for an English-sounding word when speaking Danish can be tempting, but you have to be completely sure that the meaning is the same in Danish, or you might end up offering people poison rather than presents. Although not technically "language", be forewarned that the Danish numbering system can be difficult to master. There is certainly nothing wrong with this system. Making a decision and getting your feet wet will be the start of an exiting journey. Written Danish wasn’t too hard; it’s straightforward and free of all the kaleidoscopic verb endings of Spanish and French and the silly old-fashioned spellings of English. They’ll tell you about the Queen’s husband, a Frenchman who’s not mastered the Danish tongue even though he’s been in the country for over 50 years. The Danes consider their language very hard! There are a lot of cognates between Danish and English. If you are into crime stories, you have to check out Broen, Forbrydelsen or Gidseltagningen. “There are many mute syllables in Danish. https://www.languagedrops.com/blog/10-hardest-languages-to-learn In fact immigrants to Denmark are required to go to one of these courses (this does not apply to work permit carriers, student visa carriers, nor EU passport carriers). As you start taking tentative steps to speak Danish you meet the frustration of speaking Danish … However, speaking … But beware of false friends! English is spoken widely and fluently across northern European countries. If you want to spice up your Danish learning game, you should start watching Danish series. The grammar has some similarities to that of English, which technically makes it one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. But, this doesn’t make the overall language learning experience hard. But a video might make it a little clearer. One thing is that Danish adds a few extra letters to the Latin alphabet, like Æ, Ø and Å, and pronounces the “r” a little like a weak form of the French R. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'autolingual_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',113,'0','0'])); There’s also the glottal stop, called “stød” in Danish which is a way of pronouncing certain words. The Danish language is not considered to be overly hard to learn compared with other languages. And like those languages, Danish has relatively simple grammar concepts and shares plenty of cognates with English. If you are attempting to speak Danish with a Dane and there is even the slightest stall or hesitation in your conversation and they know that you can speak English they will switch to English. This means that you must say the last number before you say the first. You can also learn more about the Danish Alphabet. In addition, if you have a smart phone or tablet you can use Google Translate as needed. Words sound … But you won’t learn any Danish if you spend all of your time worrying, hesitating and beating around the bush. I’ve written a separate article about the time it takes to learn Danish that you might be interested in reading.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'autolingual_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_7',117,'0','0'])); If you ask the Danes, however, you’ll get another answer! These will make learning the Danish language a lot easier. There is obviously a reason for it. The best way to learn Danish, in my opinion, is in a class. But his Danish was above functional. 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