The Danish Language Authorities* (DLA for this purpose) have the habit of documenting the language rather than leading. This creates a massive grey-zone in what is correct Danish and what is not. As a Danish linguist, this was a challenging situation until the website www.sproget.dk was launched a few years ago. Before then, you had to pay for dictionaries and textbooks that were already out of date by about 10 years when released.
This website has made it easier and a lot more fun to be a Danish linguist based abroad. Providing small, entertaining articles discussing linguistic dilemmas, and providing guidance whenever particularly unusual usage of syntax or grammar has been applied in a text I am checking, this website is brilliant.
And it is a much needed tool because common practice used to be the only guidance in Danish. This becomes a problem; for example, the comma-rules have changed more times than I care to count in my parents' lifetime, making it impossible for generations to agree. Most younger people have entirely given up on learning the correct way to set a comma.
The DLA provide a descriptive science rather than prescriptive. They have tried to lead the path some years back by danifying the spelling of words adapted from other languages; the most discussed example being the French 'Mayonaise'. But the Danish people did not want to adapt their spelling. It was a foreign word, why deny that by spelling it in a Danish way? It is not like Danish is particularly phonetic anyway.
It is in the Danish mentality, that we do not like being told what to do. Also journalists in Denmark are rebellious - it would be nice if they were directing more of that rebellion toward unjust happenings in society, rather than toward spelling and grammar rules, but nothing is perfect.
This seems like an impossible dilemma for the DLA. On one hand, they are criticised for not leading, on the other when they try to lead, people don't follow. So what do they do to be taken seriously?
Well, creating useful, interesting content-based websites with short, interesting articles that are easy to share is a really good start. The way into the Danish people's hearts have always been through debate (if you are interested in the historical view on this, I can recommend some texts by Holberg and Kierkegaard) so let's keep the debate on language going. Then the DLA will have a better chance of getting to know the people - and it is always easier to lead, when you know who you are leading.
*Language Board may be a more accurate translation, but I wanted to make the point that they are an authority, although we don't like to acknowledge those in Denmark.
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Flights with Great Scandinavian Writers
When I fly Norwegian I am reconnected with literature which has described Scandinavian cultures for centuries. Lately, I flew with a plane that had a large image of Aksel Sandemose and his name printed on its tail. He was the one who coined the term "Janteloven" which is something all Scandinavians suffer from to various degrees.
I have also flown with Selma Lagerlöf who wrote the fantastic story about a little mischievous boy who gets flown across Sweden by a flock of geese.
Being reminded of these great writers makes me enjoy the journey a little more. And if I can't remember who they are, I make use of the free in-flight Wifi to look them up.
Do you enjoy Scandinavian authors and which ones?
I have also flown with Selma Lagerlöf who wrote the fantastic story about a little mischievous boy who gets flown across Sweden by a flock of geese.
Being reminded of these great writers makes me enjoy the journey a little more. And if I can't remember who they are, I make use of the free in-flight Wifi to look them up.
Do you enjoy Scandinavian authors and which ones?
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Saga is Legend
The Danish/Swedish TV series 'The Bridge' captivates UK viewers on BBC 4 at the moment and the last double-bill airs tonight. The female heroine, Saga Noren, is a strange creature. She is socially awkward and not very popular. It is probably because her idea of small talk includes mentioning her period or questioning people about what makes them cheat on their partner. The male lead character, Martin Rohde, describes her as "annoying in a league of her own". She plays by the rules and follows them rigidly, a cause of great nuisance to the more laid-back Danish colleagues.
On the other hand she does have a refreshingly direct approach to what she wants and doesn't want in life. When asked if she has children, her reply is "why would I?" and she picks up a guy in a bar by simply asking if he wants to come back to her place to have sex. She appears not to care about what others think of her, but actually she is just not aware of social norms until they are explicitly pointed out to her. It creates many funny situations and I hope there is going to be either a sequel or a spin-off her character once 'The Bridge' is over.
On the other hand she does have a refreshingly direct approach to what she wants and doesn't want in life. When asked if she has children, her reply is "why would I?" and she picks up a guy in a bar by simply asking if he wants to come back to her place to have sex. She appears not to care about what others think of her, but actually she is just not aware of social norms until they are explicitly pointed out to her. It creates many funny situations and I hope there is going to be either a sequel or a spin-off her character once 'The Bridge' is over.
Inspirational Music
I have just discovered the White Zulu - a South-African musician by the name of Johnny Clegg who has been active on the music scene since the late 1970'ies. Due to the fact that he is a white man playing and dancing in traditional Zulu-style, his music was forbidden during the Apartheid-Regime. If you think of it as politically motivated music, it is surprisingly cheerful. But perhaps this light and happy feature of his music makes it all the more powerful.
If you watch some of his YouTube videos you will see South-African men dancing and playing traditional Zulu tribe music. In some of the videos he dances with another man, and they move the same way and are painted the same way. It would have been very offensive to the rulers of the Apartheid-Regime precisely because it looks so natural. It looks like two guys of the same tribe celebrating an ancient ritual. One is white, one is black but they are moving in perfect sync. It does not look like a protest. It looks like something natural and that makes it much more powerful than many more angry protest songs that came out of the 1970'ies.
From a musical angle, these rhythms have clearly inspired many other genres. It reminds me of Motown and of soul musicians such as Sade. Motown was also political in a way although it was primarily driven by commercial interests. It was a one of the first commercialisations of black music in the US. The musicians were found in jazz-clubs around the city of Detroit. Many of them had moved there to find work in the automotive industry which was booming in the 60'ies - hence the name 'Motown'. The fact that you suddenly saw black musical pop-icons had an impact in the way black people in the US defined themselves. According to an Oprah Winfrey show with Diana Ross from many years back, it gave young black people something to aspire to in a culture where there were few black role-models.
So besides the fact that this is music that makes me happy to listen to, it is also nice to think about that it has inspired people in different parts of the world to do things their parents might never have thought possible.
From a musical angle, these rhythms have clearly inspired many other genres. It reminds me of Motown and of soul musicians such as Sade. Motown was also political in a way although it was primarily driven by commercial interests. It was a one of the first commercialisations of black music in the US. The musicians were found in jazz-clubs around the city of Detroit. Many of them had moved there to find work in the automotive industry which was booming in the 60'ies - hence the name 'Motown'. The fact that you suddenly saw black musical pop-icons had an impact in the way black people in the US defined themselves. According to an Oprah Winfrey show with Diana Ross from many years back, it gave young black people something to aspire to in a culture where there were few black role-models.
So besides the fact that this is music that makes me happy to listen to, it is also nice to think about that it has inspired people in different parts of the world to do things their parents might never have thought possible.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Childs play
Browsing Alfies Antiques with my childhood friend Charlotte a while back I discovered how different the children's world is in different countries. We came across a section of vintage children's books and toys and Charlotte got really excited and nostalgic about all these things I'd never seen before. It surprised me because we grew up together, but her English mum had presented her and her brothers for all these characters and stories, that I never heard of. I thought I knew about British children's stories just because I also grew up with Winnie the Pooh and the Wind in the Willows, but it became apparent that there is much more to it.
So I thought I'd write a little about the fantasy world created for children where I come from - I don't want to make myself an authority on children's stories but if you have any stories you want to share from your childhood, I'd love to hear them.
To start with the building blocks of a child's world I will tell you about the toys we had. Everyone had Lego. The beauty of this concept is that they open up for many different ways of playing. To give an example my brother would always build what was portrayed on the picture, which came with the blocks. I on the other hand didn't see the point in that and wanted to build randoms shapes that looked different everytime I played. No wonder I never became a scientist. The great thing was that the toy allowed for both types of play.
Of course we also had dolls, muppets and little cars to play with - I even had a big red flashy car for my Barbies, which I believe my mother's colleague's little daughter now sleeps with every night. It's nice to know it is still giving someone joy.
The Smurfs were a bit of an obsession for me. I had comic books with stories about them and them I had lots of little smurf figures and mushroom houses for them. I loved these little Belgian creatures. It was a little surreal when I recently saw these little figures in a glass montre in Amsterdam in a shoop where you had the option of taking your mushrooms there or to go....I guess the Smurfs grew up since last time I saw them.
My favourite children stories are Swedish and were written by Astrid Lindgren. She created characters that I admired and could relate to. The coolest ones were Pippi Longstocking, Emil and Ronja the Robber's daughter. Especially the latter was a great inspiration - it is a bit like a Romeo and Juliette story, except with a happier ending and with characters that are wild creatures of the forest.
Fairytales also played a great role in the house I was a child in. First of all, fairytale is "eventyr" in Danish and they didn't have much to do with fairies most of the time. Most of them were written by H.C. Andersen and they were often about travellers. The most famous are The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid and Thumbelina.
I also heard a lot of Folklore - to get an idea about these type of stories, I can reccommend the Norwegian film TrollHunter. In addition to stories about the trolls in Norway, there were also stories about elves - similar to the ones in Lord of the Rings but more see-through and airy...perhaps these stories were simply an attempt to make fog interesting...
Another child of Folklore is the "Nisse" - a pixie like creature that would play tricks on you if you didn't treat them well and gave them food/presents. They have become more of a Christmas thing these days, but according to old superstition they lived on the loft of the farms and could cause a bad harvest or sour milk if they were not content.
And lastly, here is an American's take on the current Danish children's TV in Denmark. Just to give you a more contemporary picture of what it is like to be a child in Denmark.
So I thought I'd write a little about the fantasy world created for children where I come from - I don't want to make myself an authority on children's stories but if you have any stories you want to share from your childhood, I'd love to hear them.
To start with the building blocks of a child's world I will tell you about the toys we had. Everyone had Lego. The beauty of this concept is that they open up for many different ways of playing. To give an example my brother would always build what was portrayed on the picture, which came with the blocks. I on the other hand didn't see the point in that and wanted to build randoms shapes that looked different everytime I played. No wonder I never became a scientist. The great thing was that the toy allowed for both types of play.
Of course we also had dolls, muppets and little cars to play with - I even had a big red flashy car for my Barbies, which I believe my mother's colleague's little daughter now sleeps with every night. It's nice to know it is still giving someone joy.
The Smurfs were a bit of an obsession for me. I had comic books with stories about them and them I had lots of little smurf figures and mushroom houses for them. I loved these little Belgian creatures. It was a little surreal when I recently saw these little figures in a glass montre in Amsterdam in a shoop where you had the option of taking your mushrooms there or to go....I guess the Smurfs grew up since last time I saw them.
My favourite children stories are Swedish and were written by Astrid Lindgren. She created characters that I admired and could relate to. The coolest ones were Pippi Longstocking, Emil and Ronja the Robber's daughter. Especially the latter was a great inspiration - it is a bit like a Romeo and Juliette story, except with a happier ending and with characters that are wild creatures of the forest.
Fairytales also played a great role in the house I was a child in. First of all, fairytale is "eventyr" in Danish and they didn't have much to do with fairies most of the time. Most of them were written by H.C. Andersen and they were often about travellers. The most famous are The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid and Thumbelina.
I also heard a lot of Folklore - to get an idea about these type of stories, I can reccommend the Norwegian film TrollHunter. In addition to stories about the trolls in Norway, there were also stories about elves - similar to the ones in Lord of the Rings but more see-through and airy...perhaps these stories were simply an attempt to make fog interesting...
Another child of Folklore is the "Nisse" - a pixie like creature that would play tricks on you if you didn't treat them well and gave them food/presents. They have become more of a Christmas thing these days, but according to old superstition they lived on the loft of the farms and could cause a bad harvest or sour milk if they were not content.
And lastly, here is an American's take on the current Danish children's TV in Denmark. Just to give you a more contemporary picture of what it is like to be a child in Denmark.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
The Quirkiness of Britain
Everyone knows the British have a special sense of humour and noone knows how to have fun and dress up like the British. When you've lived in London for a few years, you don't look twice at the teletubbie or man in a tiger-costume on the tube. I recently saw an ad that summs up the bonkersness of the Brits:
T-Mobile add
The chasing of the cheese down a mountain is an actual annual event
Cheese Rolling Competition
I must admit it took me a while to get used to British cheese like cheddar and it's crumbly cousins but if it's melted, it's ok. Good thing about London is that it is outward looking in terms of cousine....British food is an aquired taste.
But another thing the British do well is cross-dressing. Jake Emlyn is a good example off a camp boy
My Names Jake
A Danish man can't pull off a pink shirt and a purple tie without being called camp but I see many in the City of London dressed like that without being teased.
But perhaps it is simply a more feminine dressing culture compared to the Nordics. Even the woman seem to be more likely to wear skirts and more femininely shaped outfits in general. And definitely more make-up.
Compare the videos of this Danish song with it's English version with the same artist:
Fuck dig
Fuck you
T-Mobile add
The chasing of the cheese down a mountain is an actual annual event
Cheese Rolling Competition
I must admit it took me a while to get used to British cheese like cheddar and it's crumbly cousins but if it's melted, it's ok. Good thing about London is that it is outward looking in terms of cousine....British food is an aquired taste.
But another thing the British do well is cross-dressing. Jake Emlyn is a good example off a camp boy
My Names Jake
A Danish man can't pull off a pink shirt and a purple tie without being called camp but I see many in the City of London dressed like that without being teased.
But perhaps it is simply a more feminine dressing culture compared to the Nordics. Even the woman seem to be more likely to wear skirts and more femininely shaped outfits in general. And definitely more make-up.
Compare the videos of this Danish song with it's English version with the same artist:
Fuck dig
Fuck you
Friday, 27 January 2012
Fairytale
Growing up, I have heard this story often:
Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle. The frog hopped into the princess's lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and setup housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.
That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on a repast of lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled to herself and thought: I don't f**king think so.
So the morale is for all you guys out there: don't let an evil witch cast a spell on you. Stay true to yourself :-)
Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle. The frog hopped into the princess's lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and setup housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.
That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on a repast of lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled to herself and thought: I don't f**king think so.
So the morale is for all you guys out there: don't let an evil witch cast a spell on you. Stay true to yourself :-)
Saturday, 21 January 2012
The Queen of Denmark since 1972
Last weekend when I was in Denmark, it happened to be the 40th anniversary of the Queen of Denmark. I went into town to see the Golden Carriage with HRM and the Prince travel from the royal castle to the town hall of Copenhagen together with my mum. We had a nice day together with a many other people who were there to take part in the celebrations.
I am not a royalist as such but I admire her. I think it is impressive that a woman past 70 goes on a sleighride across the Greenlandic Ice to camp in a tent. She speaks at least 3 foreign languages at a level to express herself artistically. And she is an artist and an inspiring public speaker. And she does it all with a fairly relaxed attitude. She is natural and unpretentious.
As long as the Monarch can act as an inspiration for ordinary people and represent the country to the outside world in a favourable way I think it is worth supporting.
I am not a royalist as such but I admire her. I think it is impressive that a woman past 70 goes on a sleighride across the Greenlandic Ice to camp in a tent. She speaks at least 3 foreign languages at a level to express herself artistically. And she is an artist and an inspiring public speaker. And she does it all with a fairly relaxed attitude. She is natural and unpretentious.
As long as the Monarch can act as an inspiration for ordinary people and represent the country to the outside world in a favourable way I think it is worth supporting.
Borgen
Recently a British bloke told me excitedly how he and his wife are watching the new Danish TV-series Borgen on BBC. They enjoyed it but had to pause it every now and then to discuss: "it is a bit unusual with all this political stuff" he explained.
His comment surprised me but then I realised that it was because I come from a culture where most movies and TV-series are political. Some are funny, some are serious, some are only funny to Danes but most take a stand politically or raises questions. It's normal for us.
The Danish mentality is very critical and sarcastic. It means that if we are not careful, foreigners might feel hurt or accused by a statement which was only an attempt to be funny or seem clever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/
In this episode Birgitte Nyborg goes to Greenland. She suggests to one of her closest advisors that she will apologize to the leader of the Greenlandic homerule but is advised against it as an apology could incurr costs. In this case it is obviously a political decision about her position in relation to Greenland but it is also an example of how serious an apology is taken by the Danes. Compared to the English, we consider much more carefully if we were at fault and if we are willing to pay for our mistake before we apologise.
His comment surprised me but then I realised that it was because I come from a culture where most movies and TV-series are political. Some are funny, some are serious, some are only funny to Danes but most take a stand politically or raises questions. It's normal for us.
The Danish mentality is very critical and sarcastic. It means that if we are not careful, foreigners might feel hurt or accused by a statement which was only an attempt to be funny or seem clever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/
In this episode Birgitte Nyborg goes to Greenland. She suggests to one of her closest advisors that she will apologize to the leader of the Greenlandic homerule but is advised against it as an apology could incurr costs. In this case it is obviously a political decision about her position in relation to Greenland but it is also an example of how serious an apology is taken by the Danes. Compared to the English, we consider much more carefully if we were at fault and if we are willing to pay for our mistake before we apologise.
Suspiciously happy
Danish people don't do compliments very well. If you say something nice to a Danish person, you might get a reply like: what do you want from me? Especially when complimenting a woman you know on her looks, she will often say: so I don't normally look good? Don't get me wrong, the tone is jokingly friendly and it is only meant as a diversion because our Jantelov does not allow us to show if we are proud of ourselves or might agree with the compliment.
In general Danish people can be very suspicious if someone is too carefree and happy. Not that it meets disapproval, but you are less likely to be taken seriously in the Danish culture if you don't criticise anything. People will think you are either fake or a little slow.
I have met English people who seem to think like that but in Denmark that attitude is predominant in schools and the media, so you constantly get these attitudes reinforced.
The English media appears more focused on telling a story where the Danish media usually try to anticipate if the events of the story will have any consequences and if they are good or bad. Or if the motives behind the actions in the story were good or bad.
You can't change everything all the time and that is hard to accept if you have always been told you can change the world. While we need to be critical of some things in life, it is up to each individual to choose what is worth our attention. And why not try and spread some sunshine by pointing out the good things about other people in the process?
In general Danish people can be very suspicious if someone is too carefree and happy. Not that it meets disapproval, but you are less likely to be taken seriously in the Danish culture if you don't criticise anything. People will think you are either fake or a little slow.
I have met English people who seem to think like that but in Denmark that attitude is predominant in schools and the media, so you constantly get these attitudes reinforced.
The English media appears more focused on telling a story where the Danish media usually try to anticipate if the events of the story will have any consequences and if they are good or bad. Or if the motives behind the actions in the story were good or bad.
You can't change everything all the time and that is hard to accept if you have always been told you can change the world. While we need to be critical of some things in life, it is up to each individual to choose what is worth our attention. And why not try and spread some sunshine by pointing out the good things about other people in the process?
O'Manne Light: Ironien forsvandt i en bundløs trusse
O'Manne Light: Ironien forsvandt i en bundløs trusse: Ting veninder siger til hinanden, når det bliver lidt akavet: I dildobutikken, efter at have stået med en vibrerende dims i hånden i ubort...
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
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