Learning Danish is A Constant Challenge

Since I became enamored with Denmark, I always knew that having the language in hand would be the key to my enjoyment and success. Almost without thinking I pursued a deeper knowledge of the vagaries of pronunciation, and the stickier points that have bedeviled those who came before. The endeavor began somewhat slowly and with great difficulty, not the least reason being the limited resources available to those to taler Dansk right away. I have a feeling it might be a shade easier for a Brit to get materials due to geographic proximity, but it's hard to say. I went through the flip card efforts and some phrase books that promised to get me from Kastrup to Christianshavn like a native. And finally I settled on the Teach Yourself series, whose CD became my shotgun rider on the way to anywhere a car might be suitable. Even to this point, about a year into my language journey, I am still on the first CD of two.

I figured that my rabid mind would not let that be enough, so I was fortunate enough to discover the local Danish House (Danebo) which offered a weekly dose of language and cultural hygge. Not quite the immersion I sought, but definitely a step in the right direction. There I would have the chance to read in Danish and get feedback from a native speaker. It seemed that bluffing my way through the first bit and mimicry was getting me far, but still barely away from shore. Then, I made the leap and enrolled in the beginner's class at the University of Minnesota. I can count myself fortunate to live in one of the few cities in the US that actually has collegiate instruction and a department dedicated to the task. And to this point, I can say this is the one thing that has kept me on track.

Later, I embarked on a Dogme binge courtesy of Netflix, much to the chagrin of my wife, who found movies like The Celebration to be on the dour side. Can't say I disagree with her, actually. I even bought a Blu-Ray disc of L.A. Confidential just because of the Danish subtitle track.

But even with all of this, the weekly hygge, the thrice weekly university instruction and my trusty Teach Yourself, I was getting hardly anywhere. So, I made the commitment to go into deep water and search for ways to keep my head in a country some 8000 miles away from my own. I trolled for Podcasts (Orientering, P1 Morgen, etc. DR.dk, jeg elsker dig!) and iTunes obliged my request. And I believe I hit the motherlode jackpot when I found the iPhone app WunderRadio which gives access to any Danish radio station that happens to publish an audio stream. And so for now this is my path.

I have scaled back on the weekly language hygge because I was having trouble balancing everything else, but to this point I have settled on the wonderful class (and a great teacher from Copenhagen, who I must credit for helping me with my glottal stop and vowels, doggedly) and the audio immersion as best I can. Now if I can only get some conversation club going, I could say all senses would be engaged. I hope to have more and better news to report as the journey to truly understanding Danish continues.