Danglish is a form of speech or writing that combines elements of
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. The word ''Danglish'' is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...](_blank)
to refer to the use of English or pseudo-English vocabulary in Danish. While it has been argued that the influx of English words, similar to the import of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
words in the past, makes the language more expressive, it remains controversial in many sectors of society, notably with older people, who are often less accustomed to English terms.
"Danglish" is also used as a pejorative referring to the use of poor and/or clumsy English by Danes.
Danification of English words
Danglish words often receive standard Danish endings and prefixes; in other words, they are conjugated or declined in the same manner as Danish words. The following are examples of sentences featuring Danified English words; the correct terms in Danish are also included as well:
*"Jeg blev nødt til at genstarte/reboote computeren, fordi programmet crashede. (I had to reboot the computer because the software crashed.)
*"Har du allerede hentet/downloadet den nyeste version?" (Have you already downloaded the newest version?)
Twisting of Danish idioms and grammar rules
The adaptation also takes the other route, where literal translations of popular English expressions slowly but insistently replace the correct Danish words and idioms. Widespread examples of this evolution include but are not :
*at handle på noget (to act on something/take action. Correct term: at skride til handling)
*tager ikke nej for et svar (to not take "no" for an answer. Correct term: tager ikke nej for et nej)
*at få alting frem i det åbne (to get everything out in the open. Correct term: at få alting frem)
*at svare telefonen (to answer the telephone. Correct term: at tage telefonen)
*at spørge
met spørgsmål (to ask
bout
Bout can mean:
People
*Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer
*Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland
*Marcel Bout
Musical instruments
* The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrumen ...
a question. Correct term: at stille et spørgsmål)
These phrasings may have originated from (subtitled) English-language films and television shows translated into Danish, but are also used in everyday language.
Anglicisation of Danish sentences
A large majority of Danes are familiar with English as a second language, but sometimes the translation from Danish to English is more Danglish:
*"I am at the beginning of my period." ("My term in office has just begun." – Falsely attributed to
Helle Degn, former Minister of Development Cooperation. Started as an internal, intentional joke at a Christmas party in
Danida
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...
in 1993 .)
*"Screw down a little bit the expectations" ("Lower your expectations" –
Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen (19 August 1937 – 13 February 2014) was a Danish football player and manager. He coached the Denmark national football team
The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelan ...
, National Football Manager)
*"The prick over the I" (Danish saying meaning "the finishing touch", or "dot the i's and cross the t's" –
Jytte Hilden
Jytte Hilden (born 12 September 1942) is a Danish chemical engineer and politician (Social Democrats). She was elected member of the Folketing from 1979 to 1998, and was appointed Minister for Culture in Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Oluf Nyrup R ...
, Former Minister of Culture)
*"Can I borrow the toilet?" ("May I use the toilet?")
Examples of common mistakes made by native Danish speakers when speaking English
Grammar mistakes such as:
*Omitting the article "
the
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
", which correspondence "den", "det", "de" is less often used in Danish. For example "Train is delayed" or "Restaurant is booked".
Words with multiple meanings in one of the languages:
*Confusing "fun" with "funny." This is due to the Danish word "sjov" meaning having both meanings. ("We had a very funny time.")
*Mixing up "lose" and "drop". This is due to the Danish word "tabe" meaning having both meanings. ("I was sorry to drop so much money in the stock market, but at least I dropped a lot of weight worrying about it.")
*Confusing "prize" and "price" (both called "pris" in Danish)
False friend
In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...
mistakes such as: (see also )
*Mistranslating "eventuelt" (possibly) as "eventually" and "aktuelt" (current/currently) as "actually."
*Writing "consumer" instead of "customer."
[Mellish, p. 43.]
Non-translation
Several schools have lately changed their names to become more internationally recognized. "Handelshøjskolen i København" is now known as "
Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
" or "CBS". Of the three music conservatories offering classical music programs, the English names of
Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg
The Royal Academy of Music (Danish: ''Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium'') in Aarhus and Aalborg, Denmark, is a conservatoire and state institution under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture, charged with responsibility for the further educ ...
and
Danish National Academy of Music
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
deviate from their original Danish names that show strong geographical emphasis, "Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (DJM)" and "Syddansk Musikkonservatorium (SDMK)", which are translated as "The Jutlandic Music Conservatory" and "Southern Denmark Music Conservatory" respectively. Their English acronyms "RAMA" and "DNA of Music" are also employed in such informal settings as social media, for instance, the former's annual "RAMA Festival" and the latter's Facebook page URL.
Many English-language films such as ''
Armageddon
According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...
'', ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
'' or ''
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
'', do not translate their titles into Danish, even if the films themselves are otherwise fully translated. Menus of many global fast food chains also usually go partly or completely untranslated, such as "Double Whopper,"
See also
*''
The Julekalender''—certain characters in said television series speak entirely in Danglish.
*
Denglisch
Denglisch is a term describing the increased use of anglicisms and pseudo-anglicisms in the German language. It is a portmanteau of the German words german: Deutsch, label=none (''German'') and german: Englisch, label=none. The term is firs ...
*
Dunglish
Dunglish (portmanteau of ''Dutch'' and ''English''; in Dutch ''steenkolenengels'', literally: "coal-English", or ''nengels'') is a popular term for an English spoken with a mixture of Dutch. It is often viewed pejoratively due to certain typical m ...
References
{{Danish language
Macaronic forms of English
Danish language