Kay Xander Mellish breaks down whether learning Danish is worth it for newcomers. Spoken Danish is notoriously difficult and confuses even Swedes and Norwegians, but learning it opens half the job market, eases daily frustrations, and helps you actually join social life. The Danish government now charges for language classes.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. If you follow the news in Denmark, you'll know the government recently got rid of the free Danish classes that used to be offered to all legally arriving foreigners. You can still take the classes, but now you have to pay for them yourself. So that can't help but raise the question: is learning Danish really worth it? Learning to speak Danish can be difficult, even if you speak its close linguistic cousins like English, Dutch, or German. If you speak those languages, written Danish isn't too tough to figure out, but the spoken language is a headache. Over the past 50 years, Danish pronunciation has become very casual. So Danes pronounce only small bits of each word and smash those bits together. For example, one foreigner told me the story of 2 boys he saw trading football cards on a train. Det vil jeg! Det vil jeg! The boys kept crying out. Now this foreigner was working really hard to learn Danish, so he tried to look up "det vil jeg" in his dictionary without success. There was no such word. It was only months later that he realized they were saying "det vil jeg ikke," or "I don't want to make that trade." Even the Swedes and Norwegians have trouble understanding spoken Danish. So if you're only in Denmark for a few months, it might not be worth the investment in time to learn much more than the basic pleasantries in Danish. You know, tak for thank you is good to know, and so is undskyld for excuse me when you bump into someone. The Danes often don't bother to say undskyld themselves. They just charge right ahead, or they say må jeg skubbe lidt, which translates to may I push you. But unnschuld is a good word to know nonetheless. Now, you might have been recruited by a company that has English as its corporate language. Technically, this means that all its meetings must be taken in English, and all emails and company documents are supposed to be in English too. This is easier said than done, but at least that's the official policy. What often happens in companies that choose English as a corporate language is that they become a house divided. Foreigners and young Danes who speak English well are on one side, and older Danes who struggle with English are on the other. Now, as a foreigner, you may sense a mild resentment from these older Danes. They do have a point. The English requirement was probably imposed after they were long into their careers. It can be embarrassing for someone who is a technical expert in his or her own language to have to stumble through a meeting in English because wonderful you has joined the team. If these people seem uncomfortable around you, that's probably why. Please try not to take this personally. Danes who struggle with English are actually a gift to you, because when you do begin to learn Danish, they'll be happy to let you practice with them. It's a constant complaint of foreigners that Danes switch to English whenever they hear a foreign accent. Even if you're not forced to, it's a good idea to learn Danish if you plan to make a commitment to Denmark. It'll make daily life easier. You'll stop wanting to tear your hair out every time you run across a website or a voicemail menu that's available only in Danish, and there are a lot of them. You'll also have a lot more job opportunities since half the positions in Denmark are with national, regional, and local governments. Almost all governmental jobs in Denmark require a working knowledge of the national language. Plus, a lot of social life in Denmark takes place in Danish. Danes understandably want to speak Danish to each other, particularly when they're off duty with a beer in hand. My experience when I first arrived is that they'd kindly speak English while I was there, but as soon as I took a moment away to take a phone call or order another round, the conversation switched to Danish. When I returned, it continued for a while in Danish until I interrupted or some kind person grudgingly switched the conversation back to English. Learning Danish makes you a full part of Danish society. You'll be able to follow the behind-the-scenes maneuvers at the office more closely and join in on the usual lunchtime discussions about Danish politics and Danish TV. If you have children or plan to have children, you'll be able to communicate with their Danish-speaking playmates from the daycare center, not having to rush to Google Translate to find out how to say Stop hitting the dog! in Danish can be worth the long hours of study all on its own. The first friendships or acquaintanceships you make with Danish friends will probably be in English. And in most cases, relationships that start in English continue in English. So if you want to practice your Danish, you'll probably need to form friendships with new Danes, or join groups where Danish is the lingua franca. Running clubs, knitting clubs, building association boards, and political groups are all good options. Another tip I offer to foreigners who want to practice their Danish is to seek out the visit the elderly programs run by Eldresagen, the local senior citizens lobbying group, or the Red Cross. These organizations will arrange visits with a sweet but lonely older person who will be pleased to chat with you in Danish, For as long as you like. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. You can buy our books, How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark, from our website, howtoliveindenmark.com, or from Amazon, Saxo, Google Play, or iTunes. Come leave a comment on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter, @howtolivedndk. See you next time.
