In the Danish kingdom, according to the latest census, more than 5, 5 million people live, and most of them are of Scandinavian origin. There are not so many immigrants and small groups of the population, and therefore only Danish is recognized as the official or state language of Denmark at the legislative level.
Some statistics and facts
- In total, about 5.7 million people speak Danish in the world. They live mainly in Denmark or in the northern regions of neighboring Germany.
- The country includes the island of Greenland and almost all of its population speaks Danish, as well as their native Greenlandic.
- In the Faroe Islands, Danish is used officially alongside Faroese.
- About 50 thousand people in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany consider Danish to be their native language.
- In neighboring Iceland, the state language of Denmark is present in the school curriculum and all students are required to study Danish from grade 6.
In the homeland of the Prince of Denmark
The Danish language appeared as a separate branch of the general Scandinavian language as early as the 3rd century AD. The Vikings brought significant changes to it: brave navigators and conquerors traveled a lot and borrowed new words and expressions from the languages of near and distant neighbors.
The phonetic differences between Danish and other Scandinavian languages became especially noticeable by the 10th century, and three centuries later it contained many borrowed words from Low German, English and French.
The modern Danish alphabet uses the Latin alphabet, like the vast majority of European languages. But despite the common roots, the official language of Denmark is very difficult for other Scandinavians to understand by ear.
Tourist notes
Once in Hamlet's homeland, do not rush to get upset that you do not understand the official language. Many people in Denmark speak English, so you can easily order food at a restaurant, chat at a gift shop or ask how to get to the library.
In tourist places, a lot is duplicated in English: menus in the same restaurants or directions on public transport to outstanding sights. Many Danes speak German, and in cities almost every second local resident of European appearance will be able to understand you if you speak the language of Goethe and Karl Marx.
