Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hi everyone, Becky here, and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 2: Talking Nationality in Danish. This is the second in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Danish.
Anna: Goddag, jeg hedder Anna. I’m Anna.
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and tell people where you are from.
Anna: This is essential when traveling to Denmark because that will be one of the first questions people want to ask you.
Becky: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Peter: Goddag. Mit navn er Peter. Jeg er dansk.
Maria: Goddag, jeg hedder Maria. Jeg er englænder.
Becky: Now, let's hear it with the English translation.
Peter: Goddag. Mit navn er Peter. Jeg er dansk.
Peter: Hello. My name is Peter. I'm Danish.
Maria: Goddag, jeg hedder Maria. Jeg er englænder.
Maria: Hello, I'm called Maria. I'm English.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Anna, Denmark has become a lot more ethnically diverse in the last couple of decades, hasn’t it?
Anna: It sure has. Today, approximately 90% of Denmark’s population are of Danish descent. The remaining 10% are immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants, mainly from Sweden, Norway, and Germany.
Becky: But nationalities such as Turkish, Arab, and Somali, are also represented in the Danish population, together with many others from Eastern Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East.
Anna: Right. Danish will definitely not be the only language you will hear during your stay, especially in the larger cities.
Becky: I guess we won’t want to miss the opportunity to learn about a small but beautiful country and get to know more about those nice people living there, right?
Anna: Definitely. Learning Danish is the first step to understanding Denmark and its people!
Becky: Ok, now let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Anna: Goddag [natural native speed]
Becky: Hello.
Anna: Goddag [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: Goddag [natural native speed]
Anna: Mit navn er [natural native speed]
Becky: My name is..
Anna: Mit navn er [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: Mit navn er [natural native speed]
Anna: jeg hedder [natural native speed]
Becky: I'm called, I'm named
Anna: jeg hedder [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: jeg hedder [natural native speed]
Anna: Dansker [natural native speed]
Becky: Dane (nationality)
Anna: Dansker [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: Dansker [natural native speed]
Anna: englænder [natural native speed]
Becky: English (nationality)
Anna: englænder [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: englænder [natural native speed]
Anna: at være [natural native speed]
Becky: to be
Anna: at være [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: at være [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Becky: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Before you say your nationality, you need one phrase. It is extremely important and you will use it all the time. It is...
Anna: Jeg er
Becky: That’s right. The phrase means “I am” in English. It’s pretty straightforward. Could you say it one time, slowly?
Anna: Jeg er
Becky: So in the dialogue, we heard the speaker say this and then the word...
Anna: dansker
Becky: Which would translate as “I am Danish.”
Anna: That’s right.
Becky: So altogether that’s...
Anna: Jeg er dansker.
Becky: Listeners, listen and repeat
Anna: Jeg er dansker [pause]. Jeg er dansker.
Becky: So what was the other nationality we heard in the dialogue?
Anna: Englænder
Becky: And that means “English”. So the whole sentence “I’m English” would be...
Anna: Jeg er englænder. Notice the words Jeg er didn’t change. Just the word for the nationality of the person. In this case, englænder.
Becky: Okay, I get it! Let’s move on to the grammar section.

Lesson focus

Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about nationality in Danish.
Anna: That’s right. We’ve learned how to say “I am Danish” and “I am English”. The main phrase here is [“Jeg er”]
Becky: Which means “I am”. It’s followed by a noun, and can be used to introduce your name, your nationality and your occupation.
Anna: For example
Becky: I’m Julie.
Anna: Jeg er Julie.
Becky: I’m American.
Anna: Jeg er amerikaner.
Becky: I’m a student.
Anna: Jeg er studerende.
Becky: But let’s concentrate on nationalities now. When it comes to nationality, you usually add “-er” to the name of your country or the language of your country in Danish.
Anna: For example, dansk
Becky: Means “Danish” as in the Danish language. What about the nationality?
Anna: It becomes dansker. The same happens to tysk, which means “German language”
Becky: And German nationality becomes...
Anna: Tysker
Becky: What about “Japanese” nationality?
Anna: Japaner
Becky: Let’s learn a few more nationalities!
Anna: Ok, Amerikaner
Becky: American
Anna: Brite
Becky: British
Anna: Kineser
Becky: Chinese
Anna: Fransk
Becky: French
Anna: Italiener
Becky: Italian
Anna: Not all nationalities end with -er obviously, but we’ve just mentioned the most common exceptions.
Becky: Also, you might notice when you’re in Denmark that actually when Danes refer to themselves they will usually say something else. Anna, how do you say, “I’m Danish”?
Anna: {Pause} Jeg er dansk.
Becky: Did you hear the difference? She didn’t say the last -er and kept it as the language name. Let’s hear it one more time.
Anna: Jeg er dansk. We tend to remove the last syllable in languages that end with k when referring to our own nationality. Other examples would be a German person that is tysk and a French, which is fransk.
Becky: Let’s see one last example using a nationality that doesn’t change. So what about if you’re English?
Anna: {Pause} Jeg er englænder.
Becky: Great. Now, listeners, try to make some simple sentences with your own nationality in the comments!
Anna: Have some fun!
Becky: You’ll find a list of nationalities in the lesson notes that accompany this lesson.

Outro

Becky: We hope everybody isn’t too tired after this boot camp! Stay with us because it’s going to be a rewarding journey!
Anna: In the meantime, just check the lesson notes, keep practicing, and you’ll have these down in no time.
Becky: That’s all for this lesson. Bye, everyone!
Anna: Thanks for listening. Farvel!

Comments

Hide