If you’re thinking about learning Danish it’s always good to know a little about the origins and history of the language you are learning. Here, Cactus Language offers up our most interesting Danish language facts:
The Danish language is derived from Old Norse. Originally the same language as Swedish, Old Danish evolved into Medieval Danish in the 12th century. In 1550, the orthographic choices of Christiern Pedersen for translating the Bible into Danish set the writing standards for Danish.
Danish is an official language in Denmark and the Faroe Islands.
Danish speakers can actually pretend to speak three languages. Indeed, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are all derived from Old Norse. As a result, they share strong similarities and are mutually intelligible.
The three extra vowels are Æ, Ø and Å. Danish also has an extensive number of vowel phonemes – 27 in total.
‘Speciallægepraksisplanlægningsstabiliseringsperiode’ is the longest Danish word, meaning “period of plan stabilising for a specialist doctor’s practice”. Other examples include:
An excellent way to improve your Danish language skills is by taking a group Danish language course with Cactus. We offer Danish languages courses online and face-to-face in over 10 locations across the UK.
Cactus offers a range of options for Danish private tuition. You can choose one-to-one classes if you prefer online and tailored Danish lessons that suit your schedule and location. For more information please visit our private tuition and corporate language training division.