Practice makes perfect

Learn the language and meet the Danes

Good Advice from Newcomers

Some newcomers to Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality have given us some pieces of good advice as to how to become good at Danish:

  • Sign up for Danish classes as quickly as possible and make an effort to learn the language. It is important to learn Danish as quickly as possible.
  • Always turn on Danish subtitles if you are watching foreign films, and watch Danish films, too.
  • Buy a small notebook and jot down new words that you learn. Or write down when you are in doubt about anything, so you remember to ask the next time you speak to a Dane.
  • Take snaps with your mobile, e.g. when you see different signs in town or in nature. Ask your neighbour or colleague for help for pronunciation or understanding.
  • Go to the library and borrow children’s dictionaries for free, so you can expand your vocabulary, and borrow children’s easy-readers. Ask the librarians for advice - they will gladly help you.
  • Put small post-it notes on things in the kitchen cupboard and in your home, so you automatically practice Danish words.
  • Speak with the Danes. Venture into it, even though you do not quite master it yet.
  • Laugh at yourself when you make a linguistic error. Danes love self-irony.

 

Foto: AGM

 

The Language can be Tricky

As a newcomer you will of course experience that the language may be tricky. It can be hard to understand, and there are words, which are difficult to pronounce. Furthermore, the Danes love teasing a little. You will definitely experience an almost impossible task to begin with, when the Danes want you to pronounce: “Rødgrød med fløde og mælk”. (Red berry pudding with cream and milk). In return it elicits laughter. Do joke with your own linguistic mistakes. The Danes love self-irony.

 

Rødgrød med fløde - Foto:AGM

 

The language may easily give rise to misunderstandings. Several times a newcomer was puzzled by being told that the Danish children were having a good time going on a weekend trip to a scout hut. She could not understand that Danes had houses for spiders, and that - on top of that - they would let their children stay in them! Only after a long time she asked, and it was explained to her how scout life for children works. (Danish word for scout = spejder - pronounced “spider”!)

Many newcomers also become hesitant and insecure when the cashier at the till asks: “For the exact amount or over”? However, this question is just a friendly request as to whether you want a cashback.

 

What do we talk about?

Practice the language by speaking with Danes, but what do we Danes then talk about? Admittedly, this differs a lot, depending on whom we are together with, but on informal occasions we generally talk a lot about the weather.

There is always something to talk about, because the Danish weather is so unsettled. Sometimes it may seem as if the seasons even change in just one day.

The Danes are also fond of talking about food, holidays, children, leisure activities, and work, while most people in return would rather not talk to strangers about their wages or salaries or their personal relation to religion and politics.

The Danes like to help, so do ask when you are in doubt about something or repeat your question if you do not understand what is being said.

 

More about the Danes

On DENMARK.DK you can read more about Denmark and the Danes. You may for example be able to see a video depicting what foreign newcomers say about the Danish language: 

 

The Chinnow family

 
German family:

Good working conditions leaving room for a family life close to the North Sea

In 2019 the Chinnow family moved from Löbau in Germany to Hvide Sande in Denmark. Four years later the family is not in doubt: -We’ll stay here!

The couple Dagmar and Udo are working at the local companies, Hvide Sande Røgeri and Danwest, and they both see the career opportunities as one of the really big gains of having moved to Ringkøbing-Skjern Kommune. Here they have been able to let go of their previous worries about job safety and fair pay, and last year their dream of buying their own house came true. 

The two children, Pauline and Pepe, are also happy about having moved to Hvide Sande. They like their new school and appreciate the Danish school system with less tests and more variety during the day. 

In Ringkøbing-Skjern Kommune the family has found both tranquility, a house, career opportunities, and new friends. When the holiday makers have to go back after 1-2 weeks’ holiday all four of them are pleased that they can stay and fulfil more dreams in the middle between the North Sea and Ringkøbing Fjord.

The Chinnow family - Read the full story here

Ioana and Sorin

 
Romanian Family:

We have been made very welcome

”We love our country, Romania, but we have also grown very fond of Denmark which has become our home,” says 37-year-old Sorin Ungureanu who - together with his wife Ioana and their two children - find themselves so much at home that in the autumn of 2017 they bought the house of their dreams in Borris. Borris is a town with approximately 800 inhabitants in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality – geographically the biggest municipality in Denmark.

“We have been living here since 2011 and our children are fully integrated in the local community and gradually, so are we. We have been made to feel really welcome in this town. People gladly help us and we are very happy about living here,” Sorin says whilst simultaneously smiling at Erling Søndergaard - one of the passionate locals who likes to give a lending hand. Erling has helped the family with the purchase of their house, and as a friend of the family he joins our conversation as to why Sorin and Ioana came to Denmark and what it is like for a foreign family to move to Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality.

”We are also happy having you here. We can tell that you like being here, and you have also done a great deal to become a part of the community,” Erling points out referring to the fact that Sorin among others has been active in leading a father-child gymnastics team and a table tennis team in town.

Ioana und Sorin - Read the full story here