Hear the Danes Speak

by Bill Savage
(Lakeside, Montana USA)

I'm native to the USA but lived in Denmark for a few years back in the '60s. Married a Danish girl over there and the first of our three children was born in Denmark. We've been in the USA the past 40 years but travel to Denmark every few years. While I could once speak Danish reasonably well I began to lose the ability to converse easily over the years.

We would travel to Denmark for a couple of weeks and about the time I was getting "tuned in" to the language again it was time to return home.

We're going again this year. I decided to brush up on the language again but wasn't all that confident that things would be any better than before. I've started watching the TV news on Danmarks Radio (www.dr.dk - look for TV Avisen). The newscasts last about an hour and it is a wonderful opportunity to hear a variety of people speak Danish in more or less of a conversatinal mode.

I'd highly recommend you give it a try if 're trying to brush up on the language or are learning Danish for the first time and want to get a little more "immersed" in it. You can concentrate on what the people are saying or just listen to it in the background and pick up a phrase or two on occasion.

The radio news is fine too but I like to watch the TV News as I can watch people as they speak and see what they are talking about. It really helps.

My wife and I are looking forward to our upcoming visit. Maybe this time the natives will understand what I say!