https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Denmark in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed There's something heroic about the way Danes and Swedes insist on trying to communicate with one another using their own languages, but more often than not end up nodding, smiling, and only pretending to understand. Why not give up and just speak English? https://www.thelocal.dk/20210429/why-do-swedes-and-danes-insist-on-pretending-they-speak-the-same-language Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:20:29 +0200 why-do-swedes-and-danes-insist-on-pretending-they-speak-the-same-language While learning English is clearly an advantage for Danish workers, mastering the language of Shakespeare isn't enough for companies that export to Germany. https://www.thelocal.dk/20210708/why-mastering-english-isnt-all-good-news-for-danish-workers-and-their-companies Thu, 08 Jul 2021 14:37:42 +0200 why-mastering-english-isnt-all-good-news-for-danish-workers-and-their-companies Taxi drivers in Denmark will be required by law to speak Danish under an amendment to the country’s legislation. https://www.thelocal.dk/20210316/taxi-drivers-in-denmark-to-face-language-requirement-under-new-law Tue, 16 Mar 2021 13:45:09 +0100 taxi-drivers-in-denmark-to-face-language-requirement-under-new-law A new annual ranking has judged Danes to be the world’s second-best speakers of English as a second language. https://www.thelocal.dk/20201120/danes-are-worlds-second-best-speakers-of-english-as-a-foreign-language Fri, 20 Nov 2020 14:40:29 +0100 danes-are-worlds-second-best-speakers-of-english-as-a-foreign-language Covid-19 appears to leaving its mark on the Danish vocabulary. https://www.thelocal.dk/20201016/denmark-adds-elbow-greeting-and-superspreader-to-national-lexicon Fri, 16 Oct 2020 15:38:29 +0200 denmark-adds-elbow-greeting-and-superspreader-to-national-lexicon For beginners in Danish, the coronavirus crisis has been a crash-course in bureaucratic and scientific language as well as political rhetoric. Here are some words we've picked up. https://www.thelocal.dk/20200428/21-danish-words-weve-learned-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:45:55 +0200 21-danish-words-weve-learned-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak Want to add a bit of local flavour to your Danish and impress the natives? Here are 10 words from regional dialects that you may not have heard before. https://www.thelocal.dk/20191015/10-regional-danish-words-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-local Tue, 15 Oct 2019 19:34:29 +0200 10-regional-danish-words-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-local We've all heard of hygge, but the Danish language has so much more to offer. We're asking The Local's readers to pick their favourite word – and the winner will be revealed in a future article. https://www.thelocal.dk/20200720/tell-us-whats-the-best-word-in-the-danish-language Mon, 20 Jul 2020 16:21:54 +0200 tell-us-whats-the-best-word-in-the-danish-language 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. https://www.thelocal.dk/20191224/danish-is-it-really-so-hard-to-learn Tue, 24 Dec 2019 11:00:00 +0100 danish-is-it-really-so-hard-to-learn A new count from the Danish Language Council (Dansk Sprognævn, DS) has found that the proportion of loan words in the Danish language is going down. https://www.thelocal.dk/20191121/has-the-danish-language-stopped-borrowing-english-words Thu, 21 Nov 2019 14:57:06 +0100 has-the-danish-language-stopped-borrowing-english-words Danes are still the worst speakers of English in Scandinavia, but a new international ranking shows that they are getting slightly better. https://www.thelocal.dk/20191106/danes-still-worst-english-speakers-in-scandinavia-but-theyre-getting-better Wed, 06 Nov 2019 11:32:47 +0100 danes-still-worst-english-speakers-in-scandinavia-but-theyre-getting-better Will the English language suffer a blow to its global dominance once Britain exits the EU? This article from The Conversation examines what the future holds for the language of Shakespeare after Brexit. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190709/analysis-how-the-english-language-will-change-after-brexit Tue, 09 Jul 2019 16:43:28 +0200 analysis-how-the-english-language-will-change-after-brexit It's no secret that English speakers struggle to learn foreign languages but there are good reasons to explain their woes that can't just be put down to the fact that all young Europeans speak English. Linguistics expert Michelle Sheehan looks at five of them in this article from The Conversation. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190703/five-reasons-english-speakers-struggle-to-learn-foreign-languages Wed, 03 Jul 2019 13:03:37 +0200 five-reasons-english-speakers-struggle-to-learn-foreign-languages An east Jutland town could undergo a subtle change in identity, should residents and local councillors get their way. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190625/oh-the-danish-town-that-wants-to-change-its-name Tue, 25 Jun 2019 18:33:46 +0200 oh-the-danish-town-that-wants-to-change-its-name Denmark’s health minister Ellen Trane Nørby is to table a bill which would require regional health authorities to ensure Danish language competency when hiring foreign doctors. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190212/foreign-doctors-must-meet-danish-language-standards-minister Tue, 12 Feb 2019 14:33:37 +0100 foreign-doctors-must-meet-danish-language-standards-minister Ah, Danglish. English spoken with a heavy Danish influence is often used to refer to Danes speaking their second language. But native English speakers who live in the Scandinavian country might also find that their language becomes ‘Danskified’ over time. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190207/essential-danglish-words-youll-end-up-using Thu, 07 Feb 2019 18:23:24 +0100 essential-danglish-words-youll-end-up-using The Vikings invaded England in the 9th and 10th centuries. They plundered, raped and burned towns to the ground. Or at least, this is the story we know from school and popular culture. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190128/the-anglo-saxons-were-more-menacing-the-vikings-and-the-english-language-can-prove-it Mon, 28 Jan 2019 18:27:55 +0100 the-anglo-saxons-were-more-menacing-the-vikings-and-the-english-language-can-prove-it It’s a dark and chilly season, with the celebrations of Christmas and New Year well behind us but a large chunk of the winter still ahead. https://www.thelocal.dk/20190121/essential-phrases-and-customs-to-survive-the-danish-winter Mon, 21 Jan 2019 16:52:39 +0100 essential-phrases-and-customs-to-survive-the-danish-winter Danes are still among the world’s best non-native speakers of English but a new international ranking shows that they’ve been surpassed by their fellow Scandinavians. https://www.thelocal.dk/20181031/danes-the-worst-english-speakers-in-scandinavia Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:15:09 +0100 danes-the-worst-english-speakers-in-scandinavia We asked our readers to send suggestions of their favourite Danish words that could make English or other languages even more expressive. https://www.thelocal.dk/20180831/more-danish-words-the-world-should-start-using Fri, 31 Aug 2018 13:26:14 +0200 more-danish-words-the-world-should-start-using