Swedes take time to learn Danish
For my non-Scandinavian readers: The Scandinavian languages are similar and closely related, but you still make a mistake if you think they are "all the same". As a rule of thumb, educated Scandinavians should be able to read each other's languages (that's why I frequently quote Swedish or Danish newspapers), but it is a bit more complicated when it comes to spoken dialects. It is not unusual for Swedes and Danes in particular to switch to English because they have a hard time understanding each other:Swedes take time to learn Danish
Unemployed academics in Sweden have begun to look to Denmark as the land of opportunity and have signed up for a weeklong intensive Danish class in record numbers. The programme, which is offered by the Centre for Danish Studies at Lund University, reported a 50 percent increase in the number of applicants. 'There has been a particular increase in ph.d. students this year who want to enter the Danish workforce, but who recognise that good Danish skills are a necessity,' said the programme's co-ordinator Barbro Bergner. Although the Swedish and Danish languages are closely related and share a number of similarities, the differences between them are significant enough to give some Swedes problems when they cross the Øresund Sound to Denmark. The class consists of morning sessions in a language lab where participants can practice their pronunciation and analyse the Danish language. Afternoon sessions include lectures on various aspects of Danish society and culture.
posted by Unknown @ 3:12 AM
4 Comments:
Actually the French has just released a report saying that anti-semitic incidents are dramatically (about 50%) down in comparison with the last year.
Argh, wrong place, sorry. :(
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Why would the market for academic types be much better in Denmark than in Sweden?
Post a Comment
<< Home