Introduction to Danish language
University of Zagreb
Inst. for Scandinavian studies
Danish Module, 1st semester
Teacher R. A. Fjeldgaard rikkealma@gmail.com
Description of the course:
The aim of the course is to give an introduction to the Danish language. Basic grammar and pronunciation will be covered. The focus will be on through communication to give the students ability to use the language orally and in writing. Within the language course there will be an introduction to some angles on Danish culture.
Language:
Danish and English
Attendance:
80% attendance is compulsory
ECTS:
The course gives 6 ECTS
Week
1
Introduction to the course.
The Danish language in a language historic perspective.
Speaking Danish, pronunciation
Why study Danish?
Presentation, nationality, language
Greetings
Politeness in Danish
Personal pronouns, present tense of the verbs: hedde, komme, være, kunne .
Pronunciation: The Danish alphabet, vowels
Gender of nouns indefinite and definite form.
Numbers, weekdays, the time
2
3
4
5
Invitations
Making plans
Typical weekend activities in Denmark
Phone conversations
Everyday life, saying what you think about something
Danish everyday life
In a café
Visiting
Adverbs in dynamic form.
Modalverbs.
Future tense: Skal and vil plus infinitiv
Inversion.
Introduction to wordorder in main clauses
Pronunciation: reduction, vowels
Adverbs in static form
Present tense
Time expressions for repeted actions.
The use of the adverbs også and heller ikke
Pronunciation: reduction, stress
Plural of nouns
Constructions with hellere
1

5
6
The Danish hygge
Culture connected with going out and visiting
In a restaurant
Shopping
Consumer culture
7
8
The weather, where a town is situated
Copenhagen
Presentation of Copenhagen
Family
Studies and jobs
9
Houses and apartments
Excuses
Films and books
Christmas traditions in Denmark and Croatia
Handing out of the book
Et år i Paris
Definite form of nouns in sing. and plur.
The pronouns: den, det, de as subject and object
Pronunciation: stress
Adjectives and adverbs with tending
The use of the words: nogen, noget, nogle, meget, mange, mere and flere
Pronunciation: assimilation
Talking about the weather prepositions concerning islands, town’s parts of the country.
Asking directions prepositions concerning various means of transportation. Kortsvar. Ordinals
Pronunciation: word endings
Singular and plural of words concerning family. Possessive pronouns. The adjective gammel
The tense perfektum about actions that starts in the past and lasts into the present. Possessive pronouns with reflective function,
Pronunciation: length, glottal stop
The tense perfektum concerning the just finished, that has an effect on the present. Using either har or er with perfektum.
The word synes. The tense imperfektum
Pronunciation: stress in sentences
10
11
12
Holidays
Talking about what you been doing during the day
Talking about, what you are going to do in the holidays –
Danes and holidays
Evaluation
The words tror and synes.
Introduction to the word order in subordinate clauses.
Subordinate clauses with når.
Inversion after subordinate clauses. Months and seasons.
The tense pluskvamperfektum. Subordinate clauses with da and når
Pronunciation: non-rounded front-tongue vowels
The first part of the book Et år i Paris
Repetition after the holidays
What did you do?
New things
Culture concerning presents in Denmark
Handing out of the book Restaurant Petit
Second part of Et år i Paris
Describing persons
Qualities
Characterising an ”ordinary” Dane
Pluskvamperfektum
Adjectives and adverbs, comparative and superlative
Pronunciation: rounded front-tongue vowels
Comparative, superlative, comparing using the word end
The words mere and mest
Pronunciation: back-tongue vowels
13
Uncertainty
Subordinate clauses with hvis, fordi, om, hv-ord
Adverbs in subordinate clauses
2

14
Communication problems
First part of Restaurant Petit
Indirect speech
Introduction to conjunctions and adverbs, that can start a subordinate clause pronunciation: the letter H
15 Second part of Restaurant Petit
Preparation for the exam
Evaluation
Subordinate clauses
Pronunciation: The letter R
Literature:
Ahlburg, Kirsten,
Et år i Paris,
Special-pædagogisk Forlag, 2002
Ahlburg, Kirsten, Restaurant Petit, Special-pædagogisk Forlag, sec. edt., 2007
Bostrup, Lise, Aktivt dansk, ALFABETA, sec. edt., 2007
Bostrup, Lise, Intensivt dansk, ALFABETA, sec. edt., 2007
Jeppesen, Bodil og Maribo, Grethe, Multimedie dansk, Alinea, 1996
Kledal, Ann og Fisher-Hansen, Barbara, Basisgrammatikken, Special-pædagogisk Forlag, sec. edt., 2005
Kledal, Ann og Fisher-Hansen, Barbara, Parat-Start 1-3, Special-pædagogisk Forlag, 2000
Thorborg, Lisbeth, Dansk udtale for begyndere, Forlaget Synope, third edt., 2007
Thorborg, Lisbeth,
Dansk udtale, øvebog,
Forlaget Synope, sec. edt., 2007
3