Denmark is a wonderful Scandinavian country that has approximately 400 different islands in the North Sea. Denmark is considered a connection between the Scandinavian areas and European countries. This Scandinavian country is known for its simplicity, open-minded and outgoing people, rich culture, marvelous architecture, and complicated language. In Denmark do not hurry and take their time to live their best lives drinking a cup of coffee with their friends. Read why you should start learning Danish and learn more about styles of handwriting in Denmark.
Danish people know what they want from life and love being on their own thinking about their life and planning the future. When you come to Denmark, you get into the worlds where modernity and ancient history are combined in architecture, language, culture, traditions, and so on. Traveling in Denmark and learning their native language and its history will take you on an exciting historical tour where you can explore the rich culture of the Danish people and what makes them so special.
The history of the Danish language
Generally, the Danish language has appeared at the beginning of the 8th century coming from the Germanic group of languages. Initially, all Scandinavian countries had a common language that was called Proto-Norse that was later named Old Norse.
With time, this language went through plenty of transformations and changes. The development of the language was so rapid so not all Scandinavian countries were reached with these changes that cause differences in Scandinavian languages now. As a result, two dialects were created – Old West and Old East Norse which currently are Danish and Swedish.
If from the beginning the difference was not visible enough, then today there are about 6 million people speaking the Danish language and consider it to be their native.
Currently, Danish is the official language of all territories that are owned by the country. It is an interesting fact that many people living in Germany speak Danish as their primary language.
Old East Norse and Runic Danish
As we have already figured out, the Danish language is quite similar to Swedish but also has its peculiarities and dialects. If previously the languages were named Old East or West, then now people usually call it Runic Danish and Runic Swedish in the meaning of old, ancient.
Danish Today
Despite Denmark not being a huge country its language is vital and popular among students of different European countries. However, these days the Danish language is not considered to be official as the country is ready to adopt any of the languages that people want and know. Although, it is an official language from documents, courts, governmental facilities, banking, and so on. However, it is still not clear why Denmark has no official language, maybe because of the historical unity with the Swedish language.
The History of Danish Writing
Let’s dive into the history of the Danish language a little bit more. Old East Norse or Danish is usually called Runic because some letters and signs from the Danish language were included in the ancient Runic alphabet long ago. The Danish language has got lots of changes and transformations with the appearance of the Latin language. As a result, Runic letters were partially replaced by Latina and Denish became a combination of these two languages.
Fraktur Types
Fraktur is a group of fonts related to the Latin language that was gaining momentum in Danish in the 19th century. Fraktur includes lots of black letters which are also called gothic. Exactly these fon types were used in many books written in the Danish language, so we can surely say that these Franktur types are peculiar for Denmark and the Latin language as well.
The Danish Spelling Reform
As we have already figured out, the Danish language is based on the Latin language with some additional letters. 1948 was the year the spelling reform of the Danish language. This reform has introduced the letter å instead of “aa” from Swedish and Norwegian dialects. Currently, this letter is practically not used in Danish handwriting but you can still notice it in some documents and some cities’ names.
Moreover, the Danish spelling reform has introduced new words into the language transforming these words from English, for example:
skulde – should
vilde – would
kunde – could
As you could notice, the Danish language is a combination of several languages that influenced its handwriting and alphabet including German, Swedish, Norwegian.
The Danish language is rather complicated and consists of simple and clear letters as well as complicated letters that are spelled differently to English and German. In addition, some letters are spelled similarly so it is not always understood what the word means.
Why should you start learning Danish?
If you still hesitate if you need to start learning the Danish language, or not, then the answer will definitely be yes. Not many foreign people decide to start learning some of the Scandinavian difficult languages as it is confusing and partially hard. We would like to prove to you that this language is really special and unique.
So many people speak the Danish language as their native or second language despite the place of their living. According to writing services company reviews, the number of these people reaches 6 million people all over the world showing the popularity and demand for the language.
Learning Danish immerses you into a huge and rich culture and history of Denmark, making you familiar with the foundation of its culture, language, and its development, tradition, and peculiarities that only Danish people have.
The future stands for Scandinavian countries so learning the Danish language can be useful for your education and future career. Denmark is growing and developing rapidly being on the same page with innovations. The more languages you are proficient in, the more job opportunities you will get.
Denmark is considered to be one of the best and most privileged countries to go for in exchange education programs there. As the quality of education in Denmark shows great results and high-grade quality recognized by many European and other countries. Denmark is the country of opportunities where you can have unforgettable and valuable experiences and insights that you can use in your personal and professional life.
By learning the Danish language, you are going to expand your network of friends and you can meet and communicate with new people, share your experience and listen to their stories. It is great when you can speak with your new friends in their native Danish language despite it not being an official language in Denmark.
Styles of handwriting in Denmark – To sum up
There are numerous ways you can start learning the Danish language and the peculiarities of its handwriting, especially its extensive rich history of the foundation. Essay writing company reviews show that you can visit educational offline and online courses, find native speakers on social media and get acquainted with them, take part in Danish scholarships and student exchange programs, and so on. However, the most effective way of learning a new language is to visit the country and live there for some time to have the opportunity to be in the place where this language was created, learn how it was created, and find out tips on how to easily learn the Danish language from the Danish people.
Styles of handwriting in Denmark, written exclusively for Daily Scandinavian by Rossana Yoder. Rossana is a professional content writer, copywriter, content strategist, and communications consultant. She started young with her writing career from being a high school writer to a university editor, and now she is a writer in professional writing platforms— her years of expertise have honed her skills to create compelling and results-driven content every single time.
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