Languages of Denmark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Languages of the Kingdom of Denmark [1][2]
Danishdialectmap.png
Danish dialects
OfficialDanish
Regional(Officially recognised)
Faroese
Greenlandic
MinorityGerman
ForeignEnglish (about 86%)
German (about 47%)
Swedish (about 13%)
SignedDanish Sign Language
Keyboard layout
Danish QWERTY
Keyboard Layout Danish.png
Knowledge of the German language in Denmark, 2005. According to the Eurobarometer,[1] 58% of the respondents indicated that they know German well enough to have a conversation. Of these 15% (per cent, not percentage points) reported a very good knowledge of the language whereas 33% had a good knowledge and 52% basic German skills.

The Kingdom of Denmark has only one official language,[3] Danish, the national language of the Danish people, but there are several minority languages spoken, namely Faroese, German, and Greenlandic.

A large majority (about 86%)[1] of Danes also speak English as a second language; it is mandatory for Danish students to learn from third grade in the public elementary schools (Danish: folkeskole), by far the most popular option in the country. In the 1st (or 3rd, depends on the school) grade of folkeskole, a third language option is given, usually German or French. The vast majority pick German (about 47% of Danes report being able to speak conversational German). The third most widely understood foreign language is Swedish, with about 13% of Danes reporting to be able to speak it.[4]

Officially recognized minority languages[]

Main article: Minority languages of Denmark

Faroese[]

Further information: Faroese Dane

Faroese, a North Germanic language like Danish, is the primary language of the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom. It is also spoken by some Faroese immigrants to mainland Denmark. Faroese is similar to Icelandic, and also the Old Norse language spoken.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Europeans and their Languages" (PDF). Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Denmark". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Facts and Statistics". Denmark.dk. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages" (PDF). European Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
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