According to Dictionary.com, ‘pronunciation’ is: the act or result of producing the sounds of speech, including articulation, stress, and intonation, often with reference to some standard of correctness or acceptability.
Paying attention to your Danish pronunciation not your own essentially means you’re learning to ditch most of your foreign accent. This is very important if you want to be a successful communicator in any language. Getting Danish pronunciation right may seem like a daunting task at the onset, but it need not be!
If you want to master the Danish language and become fluent, you must learn the Danish alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Danish learning beginners!
Download your FREE Danish practice sheets PDF today and learn the Danish language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
In Danish, at least seventeen different vowel qualities and twenty-one consonants can be distinguished in distinct pronunciation, representing ten distinctive vowel phonemes and fifteen consonant phonemes. These phonemes differ further in allophones depending on length, conjunction, occurrence, combination, and so on. In addition, the prosody of Danish does not have a phonetic pitch like Swedish and Norwegian, but does have stress, which is phonetic and distinguishes words. The stød, a suprasegmental feature occasionally realized as a full glottal stop, is also phonetic and distinguishes words. While there are main rules for the position of the stress, only some main rules exist when it comes to predicting whether or not the stød is present. Finally, the Danish pronunciation of the letter r also differs from Swedish and Norwegian, as it is not trilled, making it sound a bit like the German r. In many cases, when the stress is not positioned correctly, or the stød is not present when it is supposed to be, or the other way around, the word you are trying to pronounce will have a completely different meaning than the one you actually want to communicate. It is also a great way of making people laugh when they hear you speak, as to many people Danish often sounds like you are trying to speak with a hot potato in your mouth.
Let’s have a look at the basic pronunciation of the twenty consonants of the Danish alphabet.
| Letter | Called | Pronounced | Example 1 | Example 2 | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
B b |
be |
/b/ |
like “b” in “baby” |
“w” in “why” |
|
|
C c |
se |
/s/ |
like “s” in “snake” |
/k/ the “k” in “kick” |
typically used in loanwords or personal and geographical names |
|
D d |
de |
/d/ |
like “d” in “door” |
“th” in “the” |
|
|
F f |
æf |
/f/ |
like “f” in “father” |
||
|
G g |
ge |
/g/ |
like “g” in “go” |
“sh” when used in loanwords |
|
|
H h |
hå |
/h/ |
like “h” in “hold” |
||
|
J j |
jåd |
/j/ |
like “y” in “you” |
“j” in “job” when used in loanwords |
|
|
K k |
kå |
/k/ |
like “k” in “kick” |
||
|
L l |
æl |
/l/ |
like “l” in “law” |
||
|
M m |
æm |
/m/ |
like “m” in “mother” |
||
|
N n |
æn |
/n/ |
like “n” in “now” |
||
|
P p |
pe |
/p/ |
like “p” in “pick” |
||
|
Q q |
ku |
/k/ |
like “q” in “quiz” |
typically used in loanwords or personal and geographical names |
|
|
R r |
ær |
as an uvular trill or uvular approximant |
In general the pronunciation of the Danish “r” is /r/ like the “r” in the German word “reisen” (”to travel”) |
||
|
S s |
æs |
/s/ |
like “s” in “sound” |
||
|
T t |
te |
/t/ |
like “t” in “tea” |
||
|
V v |
ve |
/v/ |
like “v” in “velvet” |
||
|
W w |
Dobbelt ve |
/v/ |
like “w” in “wow” |
it is typically used in loanwords or personal and geographical names |
|
|
X x |
æks |
/ks/ |
like “x” in “xylophone” |
||
|
Z z |
sæt |
/s/ |
like “z” in “zoo” |
The Danish alphabet has 9 vowels, of which around 20 different vowel sounds can be derived.
| Letter | Called | Pronounced | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A a |
a |
/a/ or /a:/ |
like “a” in “and” or “a” in “father” |
|
E e |
e |
/ə/, /e/, /ɛ/, /eː/ or /ɛː/ |
like the first “e” in “electric” |
|
I i |
i |
/i/, /iː/ or /e/ |
like “e” in “e-mail” |
|
O o |
o |
/o/ or /oː/ |
like “o” in the Japanese word “obaasan” (”grandmother”) |
|
U u |
u |
/u/, /uː/ or /o/ |
like “oo” in “hooligan” |
|
Y y |
y |
/y/, /yː/ or /ø/ |
like “u” in the French word “duchesse” (”duchess”) |
|
Æ æ |
æ |
/ɛ/ or /ɛː/ |
like the first “e” in “energy” |
|
Ø ø |
ø |
/ø/, /œ/, /øː/ or /œː/ |
like “eu” in the French word “deux” (”two”), but slightly longer |
|
Å å |
å |
/ɔ/ or /ɔː/ |
like “o” in “oh no” |
As mentioned in a previous lesson, Danish does not have a phonetic pitch like Swedish and Norwegian, but a stress which is phonemic and helps distinguish between words that would sound the same if not emphasizing certain syllables in a word. The position of the stress depends on the words’ origin, prefixes and suffixes, and their position in a sentence.
Also as mentioned previously, the Danish stød is a suprasegmental feature used to keep words apart like the stress, making it phonemic. The stød may accompany syllables with a long vowel or syllables that end with a voiced consonant. As in any language, there are things that just have to be learned, and in Danish the stød is one of those things because it is not possible to predict whether or not it is present.
In general, the Danish dialects can be divided into three distinct main groups: Insular Danish, Jutlandic, and the Bornholmsk dialect (Bornholmian). These, however, can be further subdivided into about thirty dialects. The traditional Danish dialects have gradually been replaced by a regional pronunciation of Standard Danish. Standard Danish or Rigsdansk is the common writing system, that was introduced around 1500 at the royal court and the chancery. Since these were in Copenhagen it was natural that it became based on some dialects that were spoken in and around the capital. And today this is the standard as to how we write Danish even though the spoken dialects in and around Copenhagen are distinct dialects in themselves named after areas of Copenhagen, and not Rigsdansk. Even the Queen speaks in a dialect.
Like English, you can’t always immediately tell the pronunciation of a word based on spelling. This is due largely to the fact that Danish makes use of a number of silent letters, many of which follow no pattern and which simply have to be learned on a case-by-case basis. Despite this, they are crucial to indicating meaning and will change the meaning of the word if read incorrectly. Silent letters can occur both at the beginning, the middle, and at the end of a word, and also indicate stress and stød—a feature of Danish pronunciation that is frequently realized as a glottal stop. English speakers may be familiar with the cockney pronunciation of words like “butter” and “bottle.” In most cases, stød will sound like this—a forced closing of the vocal cords as a substitution for the pronunciation of a particular sound.
For example:
Silent d: fuld, kalde, plads, løbende.
Silent e: billede.
Silent g: spurgte, siger, vældig.
Silent h: hjerte, hvem, hvad, hvor, hvorfor, hvordan.
Silent r: grosserer, forvirrer, kører.
Silent s: retssal.
Silent t: ordentlig, syntes.
Silent v: gulv, halv.
The best way to overcome this is by consulting a dictionary or simply learning from your mistakes.
Proper pronunciation is important, very important. Some say it’s even more important than getting the grammar perfectly correct! Why would this be?
If communicating with native speakers matters to you when learning Danish, you need to be understood when you talk, and you need to be able to understand the native speakers. After all, without understanding, the purpose of language is null and void! In order to be understood, you need to be able to speak the language in a way that is familiar to native speakers, or at least recognizable by them.
When learning to speak a new language, you will learn that the more you progress the more intricate it becomes! For instance, almost every language has vocabulary that may look the same in writing, but because the words are pronounced differently, they have very different meanings. This means that you may say a word in Danish, and because of a slight change in pronunciation, the meaning of the word changes completely. Understandably, this can make for pretty embarrassing situations! At worst, your mispronounced Danish will sound garbled to a native speaker.
Knowing the nuances of how a word or letter is pronounced will also help you to understand spoken Danish better.
No worries if this feels hard; you’re learning, and with our help at DanishClass101, you will not have a problem with mispronunciation if you follow our advice and examples carefully.
Not pronouncing Danish or any other language correctly can lead to a lot of frustration because you’re unable to express what you mean, and you will not be understood correctly. Even if you have total knowledge of Danish grammar, and can write it like a native, not knowing how to speak it properly will only make for very frustrating communication all around.
Even if you’re only a beginner, it is possible to speak any language correctly. This way, you are bound to make a good impression on native speakers, and when you’re more fluent, you will be likely to garner a lot more respect than a fumbling newbie speaker who doesn’t care much for correct pronunciation.
People often have a lot of patience for someone who learns to speak a new language, but native speakers are more likely to address you and engage with you in conversation if you work hard on your accent. This is simply because you’ll be able to understand one another! So, proficiency in pronunciation can mean the difference between having none or plenty of Danish speaking friends. It will also serve you well in the workplace, and make you popular with your Danish speaking managers and employers or employees.
Learning to speak Danish properly is also a sign of respect for not only the language, but also the native speakers and their customs.
DanishClass101 has plenty of resources to help you with your Danish pronunciation, so be sure to make thorough use of our recordings with native Danish speakers. These are available not only to demonstrate to you how you should pronounce Danish vocabulary, but also sentences and dialogues. Watch and listen to these over and over again to train your ear, and watch the teacher’s mouth as she speaks in the video lessons. Then, copy the speech as best you can. Later, you can record yourself to hear if you sound like a native speaker and compare yourself with native speakers. Great for self-motivation.
And see that you’re copying the correct lip and mouth movements.
Use the Danish dictionary provided by DanishClass101 to look up words and listen to the audio pronunciation. This will go a long way towards giving you an idea of how to pronounce a word or letter correctly.
Make an effort to often listen to Danish music and recorded books, and watch plenty of Danish movies and/or TV shows in Danish. This will train your ear to the language, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you pick up the accent. Remember, this is the way we learned to speak when we were young - mostly by listening to the adults talking, and repeating what they say!
Repetition of the same thing may be boring, but in learning a new language, you’re creating new pathways in your brain. For these to remain and become habitual, you will need to repeat the correct pronunciation often.
Don’t be shy to address them in Danish! Ask them to correct you when you make a pronunciation mistake - this is a wonderful way to practice and learn the language first-hand, and also to make new friends.
If you’re a serious student and don’t know where to meet native Danish speakers, consider investing in DanishClass101’s Premium PLUS plan. This means you will have your own native Danish teacher available to practice your pronunciation with, and much more! Send recordings of yourself speaking Danish and get feedback from your Danish teacher.
If you want to master the Danish language and become fluent, you must learn the Danish alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Danish learning beginners!
Download your FREE Danish practice sheets PDF today and learn the Danish language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
Log in with Your Free Lifetime Account and we’ll give you an instructional Danish PDF that covers the letters of the alphabet, practice worksheets, and a quiz to test yourself with… — absolutely FREE!
Let’s now take a closer look at how studying Danish lessons in PDF format can help you reach your dream in up to half the time of normal video or audio lessons!
Learning Danish through PDF lessons can dramatically reduce your data use. Once a lesson or tool is downloaded, you can then access it offline via your computer or smartphone any time or place regardless of Internet access. And once you’ve downloaded the Danish lessons in PDF format, you can actually access them faster than logging in and trying to do so via a live site. So not only will learning Danish using PDF lessons save minutes on your data plan—it will save you some significant time as well as the lessons add up!
Sometimes, a tiny smartphone screen just isn’t adequate, especially when you are trying to learn something new. The great thing about PDF lessons, tools or files is that they can be quickly printed and taken anywhere after you download them. In fact, printing out Danish lessons in PDF format can actually save you time when compared to going through the material on a smartphone with a small screen—even with the extra printing time!
Studying video or audio lessons online is a great way to learn a language because students can play and rewind sections as many times as needed until the lesson is mastered. But when you review the same Danish lessons again in PDF format, an incredible thing happens: your retention dramatically improves! Thanks to Time Spaced Repetition, seeing the information again in written format helps reinforce the information in your mind and improves both retention and recall. The benefits of learning Danish using PDF lessons quickly add up to significant time savings for you, your data plan, and your dream of learning a new language!
Learning to read and write is a must for all beginners. Although you get video lessons on how to write in Danish at DanishClass101, you’ll still need physical worksheets to practice on. That’s why you’re getting this printable tutorial PDFs as a gift.
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Hi Armando,
Thank you very much for your sweet comment.
We are always working hard to make useful contents for you guys.
Kindly
Anna
Team DanishClass101.com