Danish / Dansk Resources

[Raconteur]

Compared with other languages I have studied in the past, I'm finding it rather hard to find good resources for Danish. Could someone recommend a comprehensive autodidactic course (or alternatively a combination of resources) for a Danish beginner?

Some language methods I have enjoyed in the past were Assimil, Michel Thomas, and Pimsleur (there are only 10 lessons for Dansk I think). I also like comprehensive textbook/grammar approaches with introduction to grammar divided into chapters. Usually presented alongside vocabulary sections and conversation tidbits. But, I'm also open to other approaches, which do not fit the above description.

So, anything good for Dansk?

— — — — — UPDATE — — — — —
For those who find this post at a later date, I will include my findings below. Please comment if you have anything to add to the list.

Active links in the original post LINK HERE
General Language Tools

Google Translate: Obvious, Basic, Sometimes Innacurate.

LiveMocha: Language Learning Community, with multiple languages.

The Noun Project: A page full of generic icons and their general meanings. Useful for getting basic ideas across. Multiple languages available.

Rosetta Stone: Language learning software, with many languages available. Currently only Danish Level 1.

Danish Dictionaries and Other Resources

Adgang for alle: a program that reads Danish text aloud. Useful for catching the mumbles, elides, and contractions in Danish. (;

Den Danske Ordbog: Free Online Danish Dictionary, in English and Danish.

Gyldendals Røde Ordboger: Good, basic dictionary for Primary-to-Highschool Level words.

Ordbogen: Denmark's largest online dictionary, a paid service, but many schools have a subscription. Many features, including mobile apps.

Retskrivningsordbogen; an online dictionary, best use for spellchecking and grammatical forms; in Danish.

Danish, Reading and Writing

Dansk på Arbejde A website in Danish that details about the Danish job culture. Works in conjunction with Adgang for alle.

Den Lille Net Avis: A news site geared towards integration, in Danish. A little out of date but it links to other, more updated news sites and places to learn Danish.

Karolines Leksikon: This has been useful, specifically for me, in understanding food, how food is prepared, and some aspects of the Danish food culture. Some sections have pictures, some don't, which is helpful to understand what foods are what in Denmark. I spend a lot of time cooking, though, so I can pick up a lot on context. If you don't spend as much time in the kitchen, then this may not be as helpful.

TED Talks in Danish: Useful for getting a feel of how English Translates to Danish and getting a feel for written language in a broad category of subjects.

Danish, Comprehensive

Danmark til Daglig: In Danish; a website with video and interactive presentations on 15 general topics of daily Danish life; Everyday Living, Work, and Education.

Dansk her og nu: A free online course for Danish for Beginners. In Danish and English.

Dansk Opgaver: Home page for those who do not have Danish as their mother tongue, where you can learn about the Danish Language, Culture, and Society. Another basic language course.

Historien bag Danmark: An interactive course on the history and culture of Denmark. Pictures, text, film, and sound.

Ligetil: A comprehensive news site with a focus social issues.

NetDansk, Aarhus School of Business: Not to be confused with LærDansk NetDansk, which is a pay service, ASB NetDansk is free, but only goes to a certain level of Danish. It is nonetheless a useful program, especially for those who don't have the cash to pay for schooling.

Ny i Danmark, Medborger i Danmark: A website that talks about the general culture of Denmark, and how it applies to immigrants. PDF and Soundfiles available.

Vores Fælles Sprog: A Danish grammar website in many languages, that covers the basics of Danish Grammar and compares them to the language spoken.

Useful links for Danish (powered by Emme):
Original post LINK HERE

Courses and more:
NetDansk
Online Dansk
Fjern-UV.dk
Anders Basby
dansg on Danish pronunciation
IRSAM
Vores fællessprog
Vfs parallel Danish/English grammar
Danmark til daglig
Dansk på arbejde
Historien bag Danmark on the history and culture of Danmark
Book2
Loecsen
Copenhagencast
Subjektivt & Objektivt: Danish for the medical profession
Self-study guide
Learn Oasis
Danish Grammar
Tsca’s Danish Grammar
Basic Danish Grammar
Kan du tale dansk? Dansk for voksne
Kan du tale dansk? Dansk for børn og unge
Lärobjekt om Köpenhamn - dansk hörförståelse: videogame come listening comprehension exercise with transcript
Lyssna på danska

Easy media:
Ligetil Nyheder, der er lette at læse

Native media:
DR.dk: state broadcaster
DR Radio
DR podcasts
TV2: commercial broadcaster
Berlingske Tidende: major newspaper
Politiken: major newspaper
Jyllands-Posten: major newspaper
Ekstra Bladet: tabloid
B.T.: tabloid
Wikipedia: homepage of Danish Wikipedia
Arkiv for Dansk Litteratur
Project Runeberg: free legal books online
Illustreret videnskab: scientific magazine
Videnskab dk: scientific website
Geoviden – Geologi og Geografi: scientific magazine
Træneren: didactic materials on different subjects for schoolchildren through to adult education

TV online:
DR.dk
Bonanza

Audiobooks:
lydbog.com

Vocabulary:
List of the 250 most-common verbs
Lexin Billedtema
Frequency list (5000 words)
Goethe Verlag’s vocabulary tests

Dictionary:
Den Danske Ordbog monolingual dictionary of modern Danish
Historisk Ordbog monolingual dictionary of older Danish
Forvo only for audio

Extra audio from publishers:
LEXTRA Dänisch Turbokurs
LEXTRA Dänisch Sprachkurs Plus: Anfänger

Booksellers/Audiobook sellers:
mibook.dk
Lytenbog

More suggestions by Jaynie

Courses:

Duolingo
Speak Danish (fee)
Skapago (fee)

These publishers offer educational material, but some of the offerings are better for self-teaching than others. Admittedly, shipping outside of Denmark is quite expensive.
Alfabeta
Synope

Native Media:

Sproget.dk: Language rules and more
Grammatik for dummies: Grammar Videos
Vejr: DMI: weather
Studieportalen Grammar and much more

Ebook / Audiobook sellers:

Arnold Busck
SAXO
Pottermore (Harry Potter)

Film Sales
Laserdisken

Original post LINK HERE

Teach Yourself Danish
Rosetta Stone Danish
Assimil: Le Danois sans Peine
Assimil: Dänisch ohne Mühe
Colloquial Danish
Linguaphone Danish (old, used only)
Comprehensive grammar [link awaits clarification]
Light weight but helpful Danish grammer, bilingual
Free beginner's courses (with fair amount of audio): Dansk her og nu and Netdansk. Comment: Both great for for the price... nothing.
Pay Site: Speak Danish. Free online intro lesson (lesson one).
http://www.basby.dk/udtale.html: A revelation for Danish pronounciation and prosody, countless examples and exercises to train Danish pronunciation, for example a short film demonstrating the pronounciation of the soft d: http://www.basby.dk/F/F055/F055.html. Click above the table at Film: "made male". There’s also a list with 400 Danish verbs in all tenses – all with downloadable mp3-files and much more.
Audiobooks for free: http://lydbog.com/
Danish Tongue Twisters: http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/da.htm
461 old Danish songs with text and melody: http://www.ugle.dk/sange.html
Everything one could want to know about Danmark and all with mp3-files. And the pdf's are in several languages, for exampel in English or German: Link.
Here you can find everday dialogs with videos: http://www.nyidanmark.dk/da-dk/Medborgerskab/laer_om_danmark /danmark_til_daglig.htm
This is about Danish history, also with videos: Link
Programs about culture, and lots of movies: http://www.dr.dk/K/S%c3%b8ndag.htm
A five minute story from Monday to Friday about a Danish topic: http://www.dr.dk/P1/danmarkkort/20050902132728.htm
Kanten, a weekly column, comes with mp3 files and transcripts: http://www.dr.dk/P1/Kanten/20081206152456.htm
"Thought provoking radio": http://www.dr.dk/P1/Forside.htm
Language TV in Danish as a foreign language, with lots of grammar topics and different exercises: http://www.fjern-uv.dk/sitem.php
Most frequently used Danish verbs: http://www.fjern-uv.dk/250.pdf. The first eleven pages list the Danish verbs according to their frequency, the second eleven are the same in alfabetical order.

[Deinonysus]

I briefly studied Danish. I got about half-way through Pimsleur, which has 30 lessons. I also used Duolingo, and Danish seemed to be one of Duolingo's better courses.

Assimil does have a Danish book, but I believe it's only available in French.

There's also some good stuff on YouTube, if memory serves.

[Raconteur]

Assimil does have a Danish book, but I believe it's only available in French.

Yes, too bad there isn't an English-base version!

There's also some good stuff on YouTube, if memory serves.

Do you remember some of the channel titles by any chance, or could you possibly link them?

Thanks

[Speakeasy]

Here are couple of links that you might wish to review:

Advice for Danish – LLORG – October, 2016
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&p=51700&sid=39dfd3aaadc92a00f90ced250c899e82#p51700

Team Nordic [study and support group] – LLORG – January, 2016
https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1856

Scandinavian-Nordic Language Resources – HTLAL – February, 2010
http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19352

[Deinonysus]

There's also some good stuff on YouTube, if memory serves.

Do you remember some of the channel titles by any chance, or could you possibly link them?

Thanks

I liked the "Dansk på tre minutter" videos from Danish Class 101. I don't remember any other exact titles or channels, but if you search terms like "Danish language", "Danish pronunciation", and "Danish spelling", you will find some useful results.

[eido]

There's some language schools in Denmark that offer lessons online for a fee.

[Kat]

Do you happen to speak some German?

Assimil Danish is available with a German base.

[jeff_lindqvist]

Compared with other languages I have studied in the past, I'm finding it rather hard to find good resources for Danish. Could someone recommend a comprehensive autodidactic course (or alternatively a combination of resources) for a Danish beginner?

You might get some pointers from AlOlaf.

[IronMike]

Hey guys! This list is pretty old. Anyone have a recommendation for a one-book text for learning Danish? Along the lines of TY/Complete or Colloquial.

[Speakeasy]

Old List: Stands the Test of Time

Raconteur put a great deal of effort into UPDATING the list of resources, it would be difficult adding to it. Nevertheless, I would add the following (some of which are listed as “NONE” so as to save other prospective students’ time in conducting their own searches).

My Study Plan

… Anyone have a recommendation for a one-book text for learning Danish? Along the lines of TY/Complete or Colloquial.

With reference ONLY to the items that I have listed below, and taking into consideration that I am quite fond of the audio-lingual method for the initial stages of learning, were I to study Danish, I would use these resources in the following sequence: (1st) The Way to Danish*, (2nd) Assimil** Danish, (3rd) NFLC supplements, then (4th) native materials. In addition, I would read through “Danish: A Comprehensive Grammar” and I would acquire both a bilingual pocket dictionary and a large, comprehensive one.

*The Way to Danish: you can’t beat 10 hours of sentence-pattern drills and dialogues supported by concise notes on grammar. Teach Yourself and Routledge Colloquial would never give you the depth and the practice time.
**Assimil: This step would be more for acclimating myself to a more current vocabulary and register of speech. Nice, but not absolutely necessary as, with a bit of hard work, one could progress from The Way to Danish directly to the NFLC supplements. It just so happens that I enjoy the advantage of having a near-native level in French and an advanced level in German, not every does.

Legacy Courses

Linguaphone Dansk Kurus (1940s-1960s)
Out-of-print. Publishing history lists a Linguaphone Danish course. Resellers on the internet offer a course comprising: course manual, handbook, mp3 files digitized from 2 audio cassettes. The unusually small amount of recordings might be an indication that this was a reprint of Teach Yourself Danish (a few Linguaphone courses for the more remote languages were copies of TY courses). Probably CEFR A1, at best. Available from resellers or, possibly, directly from Linguaphone upon request. IMO, of historical interest only.

Spoken Danish: Books 1 and 2 (1945, reprinted 1976), circa 600 pages total, by Jeannette Dearden et al.
Out-of-print. Developed to meet the needs of U.S. Armed Forces personnel during WWII. Employed the nascent audio-lingual method. Sets of 78 rpm vinyl records accompanied the half-sized course books. Reprinted in 1976 by Spoken Language Services. Copies of the course manuals are rare; copies of the audio cassettes are even rarer. CEFR A0-A1. Of little interest in today’s context.

Way to Danish (The): A Textbook in the Danish Language Written for Americans (1959, 1964, 1979, 1983), 306 pages, by Erling Norlev et al.; Munksgaard
Way to Danish (The): AUDIO Recordings – Indiana University CeLT
Out-of-print. Introduction to spoken Danish. Probably CEFR A2. Audio-lingual method. Approx. 10 hours of AUDIO recordings freely-available via the Indiana University CeLT website. Copies still available on the internet. Positive chatter on the HTLAL and the LLORG. Despite its age, this course still represents a good place to start building your chops.

Contemporary Courses, Supplements, etc.

Assimil Danish – Current Generation
Assimil le danois (sans peine) (2014?), 708 pages, by Mette Olesen
Available in FRENCH only. Might be out-of-print (not available via Assimil's website). One hundred (100) lessons. CEFR A2-B1. Amazon customer reviews are consistently positive.

Assimil Danish – Preceding Generation
Assimil le danois sans peine (1969?), 464 pages, by by Jean-François Battail, Kark Ejby Poulsen & Claudia Mahr
Assimil Dänisch ohne Mühe (1969?), 480 pages, by Jean-François Battail, Kark Ejby Poulsen & Claudia Mahr
Available in FRENCH and GERMAN only. Out-of-print. Sixty-four (64) lessons. CEFR A2-B1. Dating this generation is problematic; the listings range from 1969 through 2004. Amazon customer reviews are consistently positive.

Old vs. New Edition of Assimil's 'Le Danois' – LLORG -- March 2016 What to do? What to do?

Beginner's Danish (2007), 352 pages, by Nete Schmidt; Hippocrene Books
Likely CEFR A1. Includes 2 AUDIO CDS. Amazon customer reviews are mostly positive; the negative ones betray inexperience in foreign language learning.

Colloquial Danish (2nd ed., 2015), 294 pages, by W. Glyn Jones et al.; Routledge
Staple CEFR A0-A1 course. Approx. 2 hours of AUDIO recordings (available via Routledge website). Amazon customer reviews for the preceding generation were quite positive. At present, only one review of the current edition: unsupportive, but betrays inexperience in foreign language learning.

Complete Danish (2010), 400 pages, by Bente Elsworth; Teach Yourself Books
Staple CEFR A1 course. Includes 2 hours of AUDIO recordings. Amazon customer reviews mostly positive; however, the dissenting comments bear reading.

DLI Danish GLOSS - NONE

DLI Danish Headstart2 - NONE

Glossika Danish

Hugo: Danish In Three Months (1999), 239 pages, by Knud Ravnkilde; DK Publishing
Out-of-print. Staple CEFR A1+. Approx. 4 hours of AUDIO. Only three Amazon reviews: all very positive.

Laerdansk: Learn Danish Your Way
Courses, classes, tutors, online, etc.

Michel Thomas Danish - NONE

NFLC (National Foreign Language Center) Danish - University of Maryland
Collection of graded exercise sets for supplemental practice (reading, aural, occasionally videos). Similar to DLI GLOSS. Access: US$ 5.00 monthly subscription.

Pimsleur Danish: Level I (30 Lessons)

SpeakDanish: Learn to Speak Danish
Free online course with AUDIO files. Presumably CEFR A0-A1. Impossible to evaluate without trying it.

Stella Online Danish

Contemporary Grammar, Verbs, Phonology, etc.

======= General =======

Danish: A Comprehensive Grammar (2nd ed., 2010), 752 pages
Danish: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., 2011), 288 pages
By Tom Lundskaer-Nielsen et al.; Routledge

Danish: A Grammar (1988), 170 pages, by W. Glyn Jones et al.; Arthur Vanous Co

====== Workbooks =======

Aktivt Dansk: Grammar and Wordlist (2006), xxx pages, by Lise Bostrup; Alfabeta

Danish Tutor: Grammar and Vocabulary Workbook (2019), 224 pages, by Anne Grydehøj et al.; Teach Yourself Books

====== Verbs =======

Danish verbs: 100 conjugated verbs (2018), 232 pages, by Editorial Karibdis et al.; Independently published

Verbix: Online Verb Conjugator

====== Phonology =======

Danish Phonology - Wikipedia

Danish Pronunciation - The Economist

Den Danske Ordbog
Dictionary AND Pronunciation Guide

Phonology of Danish, The (2005), 624 pages, by Hans Basboll; Oxford University Press

======= Comparative, Historical, etc. =======

Languages of Scandinavia: Seven Sisters of the North, The (2017), 224 pages, by Ruth H. Sanders; University of Chicago Press

Contemporary Dictionaries, etc.
This list is not exhaustive, it is but a sample of the many dictionaries available for this language.

Berlitz Danish-English, Engelsk-Dansk Dictionary (1998), 368 pages, by Berlitz Publishing

Danish Dictionary: Danish-English, English-Danish (2015), 716 pages, by Anna Garde; Routledge

Danish-English/English-Danish Dictionary (1989), 607 pages, by Marianne Holmen; Hippocrene Books

Danish Learner's Dictionary: 1001 Danish Words in Frequency Order with Example Sentences (2017), 128 pages, by Kamila Helger et al.; Wolfedale Press

Den Danske Ordbog
Dictionary AND Pronunciation Guide

Engelsk-Dansk, Dansk-Engelsk (2nd ed., 2005), 948 pages, by unspecified; Gyldendals Books

English to Danish – Free Online Dictionary

Current and Legacy Readers, Literature, etc.
For reasons of expediency, irrespective of their dates of publication, “legacy” readers and similar materials have been listed here, in the “contemporary” section of this file.

Danish: An Elementary Grammar and Reader (1965), 390 pages, by Elias Bredsdorff; Cambridge University Press

Languages on the Web - Parallel Texts

Learn Danish with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Danish to English (2017), 117 pages, by Kees Van den End; Bermuda Word

Learn Danish - Parallel Text; Polyglot Planet Publishing
Accompanied by AUDIO CDs

Short Stories in Danish for Beginners (2019), 224 pages, by Olly Richards; Teach Yourself Books

Miscellany

Berlingske – Online News

Bible Gateway – The Bible in Danish

B.T. Nyheder – Online News

Project Gutenberg - Danish

Librivox - Danish

Multilingual Books – Danish Online Newspapers

Wikipedia in Danish

EDITED:
Tinkering.
Typos, as always.