Danish language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/danish-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is Danish language known for?Notable for words like 'hygge' (coziness, contentment) and 'smørrebrød' (open-faced sandwich)
2. What is the language family?North Germanic language, Indo-European family
3. What is the primary geographic location?Denmark; recognized minority language in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
4. Why is Danish hard to pronounce?Danish has a special sound called the "stød" that can change the meaning of words. It also has many vowel sounds that change when people talk quickly.
5. How did Danish change from Old Norse?When Old Norse split into East and West branches, Danish grew from the East branch. It simplified its grammar and added new sounds like the "stød".

Proto-Norse: The earliest attested stage of the North Germanic language, spoken from roughly the 2nd to the 8th century AD.
Old Norse: The language spoken by the North Germanic peoples during the Viking Age, from which modern Scandinavian languages evolved.
Stød: A distinctive phonological feature in Danish, a type of glottal stop that can differentiate word meanings and is crucial for native pronunciation.
Hygge: A Danish cultural concept embodying coziness, contentment, and well-being, often associated with social gatherings and simple pleasures.