Jeg hedder Gem
My name is Gem
One week has gone by, four lessons, random sounds, quizzical looks, and lots of frowning, and my mind is crammed with words i cant even pronounce.
And as i so rightly suspected, the immersion method is in full force in my lessons (no english is spoken)
The pronounciation just kills me, i have never contorted my face, neck and whole body for that matter by just trying to speak a language. I truly believe the Danes are so trim and lean because not only do they ride bikes for cars, have fat tax and an excellent genetic pool that seems to be protected by the fact that most Danes live in Denmark and do not venture out, they also use their bodies to speak. Italians also speak with such enthusiasm, hands are in the air, heads are bopping and shoulders are being thrown back but with Danes it is not this type of body language i speak of, Danes speak from their core, they literally use their stomach to pronounce certain sounds, and there are so many.
In order to get pronounciation right its almost as though you have to dig deep in your gut and speak from the shallows. ...Absurd.
My tongue has had a full workout too, in order to say certain words and stress or put emphasis on certain sounds, your tongue has to be behind your teeth or up on your pallette or so far back in your throat you almost gag.
The classes take place three times a week, there are extra classes you can take to perfect pronounciation. We have 18 students in our class, i get the feeling a few will wither away shortly as the course is intensive and moves quickly. You really have to put the hard work in if you want to keep up. There will also be exams, first one will be oral and in order to pass into the next module, you have to complete the first.
Im not sure what i have gotten myself into here
If its not absolutely necessary, I'd not recommend you to learn it:
ReplyDeleteFirst: you will never be able to be fluent as native Dane, hence people would still look at you weird when you're speaking it. There might be time like when you are comfortable enough in talking it, but the first few years would be painful. I am not kidding when I say the locals (read: Danes) equate people who speak Danish with accents with retards. They don't know yet that having accent has nothing to do with one's intelligence level.
Second: They'll respect you more if you speak English.
But of course, all the yada yada about you should learn to speak it when you live here blah blah.
I have lived in DK for over 6 years, I speak Danish fluently, and I never watch Danish TV ever again, because knowing / understanding Danish opens a new world to you, the world that keeps talking about how immigrants are unwanted and need to get rid of, how immigrants are blah blah (negative). I wish I had never learned the language.
That said, I use Danish in my daily work. Fortunately most of my colleagues are Swedish and Norwegians and we converse in Scandinavians (as in I speak Danish, they speak Norwegian and Swedes speak Swedish), which I learn how useful Danish is, but apart from that, forget it - it's not worth the effort.
Hi there
ReplyDeleteEnrolling myself in Danish classes came after much hard thought. I personally feel learning a language that can only benefit me in one place : Denmark... is crazy. Secondly, the language is not easy and mastering it would take quite a long time, having said that I do not plan to live here for more than four years. Thirdly; many Danes speak English so why should I convert to their language when on some level they can speak my own.
To conclude; if I weigh up all the reasons why I shouldn't bother learning Danish, well; it far outweighs the reasons why I should. Sure, its great to broaden your horizons and learn another language but not one where the chance to speak it is really just limited to a single country. My dream is to learn Italian, but Danish batted that one out the park when i landed in Copenhagen.
The only reason I am learning Danish is because I cannot find work, every job seems to require Danish ( might be a global company but the fact remains they are positioned in Denmark, I am into Marketing and if i wanted to get on board and my job was to market a product, how would i go about this if i could not speak the territories language?)
I cant seem to even get a waitressing job in my area because i dont speak Danish, and although Danes can speak English, it makes them uncomfortable to have to do so, they should be able to speak their native tongue - this has been the response on numerous attempts when I have enquired about work.
So, am i excited to learn a language that will die the minute i leave this country?; NO
Do i feel like revising pronounciations and attempting to make O Y I U sounds when they all just actually sound the same?: NO
But the fact remains that I have to do something to increase my chances of finding work.