It’s that time of the semester when things become stressful. When it gets hard to focus on what’s really meaningful, our own good fortune, and our sense of self. But when I looked up from my Photoshop project in a DIS computer lab and saw this, I remembered how lucky I am to be where I’m standing. Copenhagen, you are a home for this heart.
“And home, we know, is not just the place where you happen to be born. It’s the place where you become yourself.”
In case you didn’t know, they speak Danish in Denmark. Not Dutch. Not Deutsch. Danish. I can say with some confidence that 99% of you who have never been to Denmark have never heard Danish spoken. For practical purposes, it sounds something like this:
Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly, what Danish sounds like, but if you don’t know any Danish, then it’s pretty indistinguishable. When I first came to Copenhagen, I was SO immensely intimidated by this funny sounding language with three weird, extra letters. I was going to take Danish, but would that help me at all? Would I leave Copenhagen knowing how to say anything more than “Hello,” and “Where is the train station?” Was this an impossible task?
Short answer: no. Danish is not impossible. It’s not easy by any means. But it isn’t impossible if you want to learn it.
I’ve really enjoyed discovering and learning Danish over the past four months. Languages are like a puzzle to me – bits and pieces you have to learn to decode, learn, and recognize so you can put them all together and make one coherent picture. It’s fun for me. It’s so fun that I practice Danish in my spare time (yeah, I know). But I also know that not everybody is interested in learning languages, and for some people, it’s more challenge and less fun. So, here are some tips based off my own experiences this semester that I hope will help!
Tali’s Tips for Learning Danish:
1. Take a Danish Language and Culture Class
This seems fairly obvious, for sure, but my Danish class is my number one resource for learning the language. Habitual exposure and practice is the only way you’ll get to know a language better. It’s not magic. Twice a week you know you’ll get the practice you need, with a teacher to help you in any way. In class, we spend a lot of time speaking, the one area in which myself and most other DIS students are the least confident. And not only do you get to learn Danish, but you’ll get insight into Danish history and culture, which will definitely enrich your experience in Copenhagen. I cannot recommend this class enough.
2. Translate everything you buy at the grocery store.
Your first trip to the grocery store is going to be terrifying. Everything will be in Danish, things will be in places you don’t expect them to be, and you will definitely end up buying yogurt instead of milk on your first go. Instead of being frustrated, though, use this as a learning experience for extra Danish practice! Translating directions, ingredients, literally anything on your food products will introduce you to a ton of new words that have practical use (because you should really know what you’re eating).
3. Use outside learning resources
After my Danish class, my secondary resource for learning practicing is Duolingo, a 100% free language learning website that just recently added a course in Danish. Duolingo makes learning any of the 8 languages they offer incredibly easy, accessible, and fun. Whether you use it as a supplement to class, or use it to learn independently, you’ll gain a lot with continuous use. Besides, the entire course is filled with sentences like these. Only in Denmark, man.
4. Don’t forget the Danes.
Who better to ask for help with Danish than the Danes themselves? Ask your host family for help with your Danish homework. Practice with them, your visiting family, your buddy network, your SRAs, literally anyone you have accessible. I know you might be nervous or intimidated – I didn’t let any Dane hear my Danish until the past week or two – but they’re the perfect people to give you feedback before you try out your newly learned skills in an Emmerys or a 7/11. And who knows – you might be a lot better than you think!
5. Don’t be afraid to sound weird.
The first time you try to say something in Danish, you’re going to hate it. You’re not gonna like how you sound. You’ll feel like you have potatoes in your mouth, or that you’re swallowing your tongue. But that’s the point. Danish and English may have similar roots, but they differ significantly in how they sound. So you shouldn’t sound like yourself! Lean into the discomfort that is speaking a foreign language, allow yourself to make noises you weren’t sure existed. You might make mistakes, but those mistakes can only help you learn in the long run.
With that said… jeg håber du kan lide at lære dansk ligeså meget som mig!
Before we left for Ireland, our professor Katherine asked us to reflect on and discuss our pre-conceived notions of Ireland, its people, and its culture. There were some jokes and stereotypes mentioned (leprechauns, four leaf clovers, rainbows and pots of gold), as well as more serious answers, such as the involvement of the Catholic church, and the country’s history of revolution and rebellion, as well as some points about music and art. During this study tour, I found many of my expectations were both challenged and confirmed. But I also learned a lot of things I hadn’t known before. To keep this short and sweet, here’s five of my biggest lessons learned in Dublin and Ireland.
1. Ireland is a lot more conservative than I thought it was.
Being relatively familiar with Ireland, its history, and its people, I knew that on many issues, the Irish tend to be pretty conservative, thanks in part to the role the Catholic Church plays in the country. But this idea was vague and conceptual, an idea based on guessing more than clear facts. But when I learned the facts, I was shocked at how slow-going Ireland is when it comes to social matters. The Irish Constitution prohibited divorce until the mid 1990s. After a woman got married, she was not allowed to hold a job in many professions until 1977. And even today, Ireland lags behinds a multitude of other EU countries in LGBT protection and legislation.
2. The technology industry is booming in Dublin.
Because of its low corporate tax rates, tons of tech companies have set up European headquarters in Dublin. Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple, Adobe, and even Airbnb are all working and operating out of Ireland’s bustling capital city. These giants are joined by other smaller organizations, like Wayra, a co-working space for tech start-ups that we visited. Getting a glimpse inside the offices of Facebook and Wayra helped me learn a lot about the current tech/business culture taking place in Dublin right now.
3. It’s not Gaelic, it’s Irish – and it’s a lot more common than you expect.
Ireland has two official languages – English and Irish. Obviously, English is more common, and it’s the first and native language of most of the country’s population. However, I was surprised to learn that Irish is much more of a living language than I anticipated. Almost everything in Dublin is written in both English and Irish – street signs, bus screens, information, etc. This was not at all what I was expecting, as I thought that almost no one in Ireland spoke Irish anymore. And how many people who speak Irish don’t also speak English? But our tour guide on Monday told me that there are still sizable communities in places like Galway, Donegal, and County Kerry. These are all located along the western coast, and are dense with fluent speakers of Irish.
Oh, and about the Gaelic/Irish distinction. Gaelige is the Irish word for the Irish language. If you’re speaking English, you should call it Irish. Furthermore, Gaelic is a branch of the Celtic language family, which includes not only Irish, but Scottish Gaelic as well. The more you know!
4. They don’t call it the Emerald Isle for no reason.
As you read this, picture the Irish country side. Even if you have never been there, you have some idea of what it looks like. Are you imagining rolling hills? Sprawling fields? Small farms dotting the landscape, accompanied by herds upon herds of sheep? Is your picture green? If you are, you’re dead on. In the middle of the week, we took a break from Dublin to have a tour of the Irish country. As we drove through and toured Glendalough and the Wicklow gap, my conception of what Ireland really looked like was confirmed with every turn. Let me tell you, it’s beautiful. And very, very green. Apparently this greenness comes from warm Gulf Stream waters that flow across the Atlantic to the Irish shores, giving it a rather warm climate for its latitude. It’s abundance of rain and warm temperatures is great for vegetation, which flourishes bright and green.
5. Guinness might be good for you, but it isn’t good for me.
One of Guinness’ old slogans was “Guinness is good for you.” The medical truth in that statement is questionable at the very least, but that doesn’t stop Guinness from being one of the most popular beers in the world. As such a popular beer, it comes as no surprise that the old brewery has been turned into a museum, and a really cool one at that. Talking portraits, interactive galleries, and immersive demonstrations really add to the whole “Guinness experience,” and it gives you an amazing sense of history about both the brew and its home country. Unfortunately, I think Guinness tastes like an ash tray, and I regret to say that my free pint (which I poured myself), did go to waste. My apologies, Arthur.
The Copenhooligan 