Danish orthography
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(October 2014) |
Danishorthographyis the system and norms used for writing theDanish language,including spelling and punctuation.
Officially, the norms are set by theDanish language councilthrough the publication ofRetskrivningsordbogen.
Danish currently uses a 29-letterLatin-script Alpha betwith an additional three letters:⟨æ⟩,⟨ø⟩and⟨å⟩.It is identical to theNorwegian Alpha bet.
The orthography is characterized by a low degree of correspondence between writing and pronunciation.[1]: 680
History[edit]
There werespelling reformsin 1872, 1889 (with some changes in 1892), and 1948. These spelling reforms were based in the decisions of the Nordic spelling conference of 1869, whose goal was to abolish spellings that are justified by neitherphoneticsnoretymologyand to bring Danish andSwedishorthographies closer.
The reform of 1872 replaced the letter⟨e⟩by⟨æ⟩in some words (Eg>Æg,fegte>fægte,Hjelm>Hjælm;however, for words with⟨je⟩the change was reverted in 1889), abolished the distinction of the homophonous wordsThingandTing(however, the distinction betweenthiandtiwas retained), replaced the letter⟨q⟩by⟨k⟩(Qvinde>Kvinde), deleted the silent⟨e⟩after vowels (faae>faa), abolished doubling of vowels to signify vowel length (Steen>Sten), replaced⟨i⟩by⟨j⟩after vowels (Vei>Vej), and introduced some smaller spelling changes. In some cases, spelling of loanwords was simplified, but in general the question of spelling loanwords was largely left undecided.[2]
In 1889,⟨x⟩was abolished from native words and most loanwords:Oxe>Okse,Exempel>Eksempel.The letter⟨j⟩was deleted from the combinationsgje, gjæ, gjø, kje, kjæ, kjø:Kjøkken>Køkken.Additionally, spelling of loanwords was standardized. In some cases, simplified spellings were adopted (⟨c⟩sounded⟨k⟩mostly becomes⟨k⟩;⟨ch, ph, rh, th⟩in words of Greek origin are replaced by⟨k, f, r, t⟩), but in many cases original spellings were retained.[3]
Danish formerly used both⟨ø⟩(inFraktur) and⟨ö⟩(inAntiqua), though it was suggested to use⟨ø⟩for /ø/ and⟨ö⟩for /œ/, which was also sometimes employed.[4]The distinction between⟨ø⟩and⟨ö⟩was optionally allowed in 1872, recommended in 1889, but rejected in 1892, although theorthographic dictionariescontinued to use⟨ø⟩and⟨ö⟩(collated as if they were the same letter) until 1918 and the bookFolkehöjskolens Sangbogcontinued to use⟨ø⟩and⟨ö⟩in its editions as late as 1962.[5]
Earlier instead of⟨aa⟩,⟨å⟩or aligatureof two⟨a⟩was also used.[4] In 1948⟨å⟩was re-introduced or officially introduced in Danish, replacing⟨aa⟩.The letter then came from theSwedish Alpha bet,where it has been in official use since the 18th century. The initial proposal was to place⟨å⟩first in the Danish Alpha bet, before⟨a⟩.Its place as the last letter of the Alpha bet, as in Norwegian, was decided in 1955.[6]The formerdigraph⟨aa⟩still occurs in personal names and in Danish geographical names. However, in geographical names,⟨å⟩is allowed as an alternative spelling:AabenraaorÅbenrå,AalborgorÅlborg,AarhusorÅrhus.⟨aa⟩remains in use as a transliteration, if the letter is not available for technical reasons.⟨aa⟩is treated like⟨å⟩inAlpha betical sorting,not like two adjacent⟨a⟩,meaning that while⟨a⟩is the first letter of the Alpha bet,⟨aa⟩is the last.
All nouns in Danish used to be capitalized, as in German. The reform of 1948 abolished the capitalization of all nouns.
Alphabet[edit]
TheDanish Alpha betis based upon theLatin Alpha betand has consisted of the following 29letterssince 1980 when⟨w⟩was separated from⟨v⟩.[7]
| Letter | Pronunciation | Most common corresponding phonemes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | [ˈɛˀ] | /a/or/aː/ |
| B | b | [ˈpe̝ˀ] | /b/ |
| C | c | [ˈse̝ˀ] | /k/or/s/(in foreign words) |
| D | d | [ˈte̝ˀ] | /d/or/ð/ |
| E | e | [ˈe̝ˀ] | /ə/,/eː/,/ɛ/or/ɛː/ |
| F | f | [ˈef] | /f/ |
| G | g | [ˈke̝ˀ] | /ɡ/,/j/,/v/or silent |
| H | h | [ˈhɔˀ] | /h/,silent before other consonants |
| I | i | [ˈiˀ] | /i/,/iː/or/e/ |
| J | j | [ˈjʌð] | /j/,sometimes/ʒ/ |
| K | k | [ˈkʰɔˀ] | /k/or/ɡ/ |
| L | l | [ˈel] | /l/ |
| M | m | [ˈem] | /m/ |
| N | n | [ˈen] | /n/or/ŋ/ |
| O | o | [ˈoˀ] | /o/,/oː/or/ɔ/ |
| P | p | [ˈpʰe̝ˀ] | /p/or/b/ |
| Q | q | [ˈkʰuˀ] | /k/ |
| R | r | [ˈɛɐ̯] | /ʁ/orsilent |
| S | s | [ˈes] | /s/ |
| T | t | [ˈtsʰe̝ˀ] | /t/or/d/ |
| U | u | [ˈuˀ] | /u/,/uː/or/o/ |
| V | v | [ˈve̝ˀ] | /v/ |
| W | w | [ˈtʌpl̩ˌve̝ˀ] | /v/ |
| X | x | [ˈeks] | /ks/,/s/ |
| Y | y | [ˈyˀ] | /y/,/yː/or/ø/ |
| Z | z | [ˈset] | /s/ |
| Æ | æ | [ˈeˀ] | /ɛ/or/ɛː/ |
| Ø | ø | [ˈøˀ] | /ø/,/œ/,/øː/or/œː/ |
| Å | å | [ˈɔˀ] | /ɔ/or/ɔː/ |
- /p,t,k/,/pʰ,tsʰ,kʰ/and/ʁ/are often transcribed with ⟨b, d, ɡ⟩, ⟨p, t, k⟩ and ⟨r⟩ even though the first set is voiceless, the second one isaspiratedand the rhotic isuvular,notalveolar.
- In monomorphematic words, vowels are usually short before two or more consonants +⟨e⟩.
- Vowels are usually long before a single consonant +⟨e⟩.
- In two consecutive vowels the stressed vowel is always long and the unstressed is always short.
The letters⟨c, q, w, x, z⟩are not used in the spelling of native words. Therefore, the phonemic interpretation of letters inloanwordsdepends on the donating language. However, Danish tends to preserve the original spelling of loanwords. In particular, a⟨c⟩that represents/s/is almost never transliterated to⟨s⟩in Danish, as would most often happen in Norwegian. Many words originally derived fromLatinroots retain⟨c⟩in their Danish spelling, for example Norwegiansentrumvs Danishcentrum.However, the letter⟨c⟩representing/kʰ/is mostly normalized to⟨k⟩.The letter⟨q⟩is used in a few loanwords likequiz(from English), but⟨qu⟩is normally replaced by⟨kv⟩in words from Latin (e.g.kvadrat) and by⟨k⟩in words from French (e.g.karantæne).⟨x⟩is normally replaced by⟨ks⟩in words from Latin, Greek, or French, e.g.eksempel, maksimal, tekst, heksagon, seksuel;but⟨x⟩is retained: 1) at the beginning of words of Greek origin, where it sounds/s/,e.g.xylograf, xylofon;2) before⟨c⟩in words of Latin origin, e.g.excellent, excentrisk;3) in chemical terms, e.g.oxalsyre, oxygen;4) in loanwords from English, e.g.exitpoll, foxterrier, maxi, sex, taxi;5) at the end of French loanwords, where it is silent, e.g.jaloux[ɕæˈlu].The verbexe/ekse,derived from the name of the letter⟨x⟩itself, can be spelled either way. The letter⟨x⟩is also used instead ofeks-in abbreviations:fx (for eksempel,also writtenf. eks.), hhx (højere handelseksamen), htx (højere teknisk eksamen).
The "foreign" letters also sometimes appear in the spelling of otherwise-indigenous family names. For example, many of the Danish families that use the surnameSkov(literally: "Woods" ) spell itSchou.Also⟨x⟩has been restored in some geographical names:Nexø,Gladsaxe,Faxe.
The difference between the Dano-Norwegian and theSwedish Alpha betis that Swedish uses.⟨ä⟩instead of⟨æ⟩,and⟨ö⟩instead of⟨ø⟩— similar toGerman.Also, thecollating orderfor these three letters is different: Å, Ä, Ö.
In current Danish,⟨w⟩is recognized as a separate letter from⟨v⟩.The transition was made in 1980;[8]before that,⟨w⟩was considered to be a variation of⟨v⟩and words using it were Alpha betized accordingly (e.g.: "Wales, Vallø, Washington, Wedellsborg, Vendsyssel" ). The Danish version of theAlpha bet songstill states that the Alpha bet has 28 letters; the last line readsotte-og-tyve skal der stå,i.e. "that makes twenty-eight". However, today the letter⟨w⟩is considered an official letter.
Diacritics[edit]
Standard Danish orthography has no compulsorydiacritics,but allows the use of anacute accentfor disambiguation, and some words, such asallé'avenue' oridé'idea', are listed in the spelling dictionary both with and without the accent. An accent on⟨e⟩can be used to mark a stressed syllable in one of a pair ofhomographsthat have different stresses, for exampleen dreng(a boy) versusén dreng(one boy), i.e. to disambiguate the use ofen/etasindefinite article) andén/étas thenumeral'one'.[1]: 678–679 Any vowel (though not recommended on⟨å⟩) may be written with an accent to indicate stress or emphasis on a word, either to clarify the meaning of the sentence, the form of a word or to ease the reading otherwise. For example:jeg stód op( "I was standing" ), versusjeg stod óp( "I got out of bed" );kopiér( "copy", imperative of verb), versuskopier( "copies", plural of noun).[9]Most often, however, such distinctions are made using typographical emphasis (italics, underlining) or simply left to the reader to infer from the context, and the use of accents in such cases may appear dated.[citation needed]
The current Danish officialspelling dictionarydoes not use diacritics other than⟨é⟩in loanwords:facade[faˈsæːðə],jalapeno[χɑlɑˈpɛnjo,jalaˈpɛnjo],zloty[ˈslʌti];[10]in the spelling rules, it is stated that foreign letters and diacritics may occur in proper names and in words and texts quoted from other languages.[11][12]Thegrave accentmay occur on⟨a⟩,i.e.⟨à⟩,in a restricted number of words and formulations ofFrenchorigin, such asà la carteandris à l'amande.[1]: 680 These spellings were part of the Retskrivningsordbog until 1986, when they were replaced bya la carteandrisalamande.[13]Other diacritics such as thecircumflex,diaeresisandtildeare only found on words from other languages that use them.[1]: 680
Principles[edit]
The Danish Language Council makes use of two overall principles when deciding the spelling norms: the principle of language use (sprogbrugsprincippet)) use and the principle of tradition (traditionsprincippet). These principles are established by ministerial deed.[14]
The principle of tradition states that spelling, generally, should not change. This can lead to spellings that do not match the pronunciation. Secondarily, the principle means thatloanwordsshould be adapted to existing Danish spelling norms, e.g. based on how earlier loanwords have been adapted. This includes the lack of adaption, which is common forEnglishloanwords.[15]
The principle of language use states that the norm should be set on the basis of the written practice among "good and certain" language users. A deviation from existing norms can thus become a norm (or replace an earlier norm) if enough exemplary writers make use of it, thus breaking the principle of tradition. [16]
Who constitutes a "good and certain" (god og sikker) language user is widely discussed,[17] but usually includes people who work professionally with language or communication in some way.[18]
Spelling-to-sound correspondence[edit]
The following tables lists graphemes used in Danish and phonemes they represent.
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization (IPA) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | in open syllables | tale[ˈtsʰæːlə]"speech" hale[ˈhæːlə]"tail" gade[ˈkæːðə]"street" |
| in closed syllables before⟨d, t, n, l, s⟩ | halv[ˈhælˀ]"half" dansk[ˈtænˀsk]"Danish" flaske[ˈflæsˀkə]"bottle" | |
| beside⟨r⟩ | svare[ˈsvɑːɐ]"to answer" rase[ˈʁɑːsə]"to rage" vare[ˈvɑːɐ]"article" | |
| before other consonants than⟨d, t, n, l, s⟩ | pakke[ˈpʰɑkə]"package" aften[ˈɑftn̩]"evening" | |
| af | as first part of compound | afrejse[ˈɑwˌʁɑjsə]"departure" aftale[ˈɑwˌtsʰæːlə]"agreement" |
| aj | [ɑj] | maj[ˈmɑj]"May" fajance[fɑˈjɑnsə]"faience" |
| au | in words of French origin | chaussé[ɕoˈse]"highway" chauffør[ɕoˈføˀɐ̯]"driver" |
| in words of Greek or Latin origin | august[ɑwˈkɔst]"August" auditorium[ɑwdiˈtsʰoˀɐ̯iɔm]"auditorium" | |
| av | syllable finally | hav[ˈhɑw]"ocean" havn[ˈhɑwˀn]"harbour" |
| b | [p] | barn[ˈpɑːˀn]"child" løbe[ˈløːpə]"to run" skib[ˈskiˀp]"ship" |
| c | before⟨a, o, u, l, r⟩ | café[kʰɑˈfeˀ]"café" creme[ˈkʰʁɛˀm]"cream" |
| before front vowels⟨e, i, ø, y, æ⟩ | center[ˈsɛnˀtɐ]"centre" cirkel[ˈsiɐ̯kl̩]"circle" cykel[ˈsykl̩]"bicycle" | |
| ch | in loanwords | chef[ˈɕeˀf]"chef" march[ˈmɑːɕ]"march" |
| ci | before vowels in loanwords | social[soˈɕæˀl]"social" |
| d | 1) word initially, 2) between consonants (except⟨l, n⟩) or a diphthong and unstressed vowel, 3) word final after a consonant | dag[ˈtæˀj]"day" byrde[ˈpyɐ̯tə]"burden" arbejde[ˈɑːˌpɑjˀtə]"work" bygd[ˈpykt]"village" |
| 1) syllable finally before[ə];2) after a stressed vowel before⟨j, l, m, n, r⟩;3) word final after a vowel | bade[ˈpæːðə]"to bathe" bedre[ˈpe̝ðʁə]"better" smedje[ˈsmɛðjə]"smithy" mad[ˈmæð]"food" | |
| dd | syllable finally before[ə] | sidde[ˈseðə]"to sit" fødder[ˈføðˀɐ]"feet" |
| ds | anywhere except if the⟨s⟩is the genitive morpheme | plads[ˈpʰlæs]"place" bedst[ˈpɛst]"best" |
| dt | [t] | midt[ˈmet]"middle" lidt[ˈlet]"little" |
| e | in most words except the below cases | se[ˈse̝ːˀ]"see" leve[ˈle̝ːvə]"live" |
| in certain specific words | sjette[ˈɕeːtə]"sixth" der[ˈteːˀɐ̯]"there" | |
| in most words except the below cases | endelig[ˈenn̩li]"finally" mellem[ˈmelˀm̩]"between" | |
| beside⟨r⟩ | rest[ˈʁɑst]"remainder" herre[ˈhæɐ̯ɐ]"lord" | |
| inde"they" andDe"polite you" | ||
| unstressed | give[ˈkiˀ]"to give" gade[ˈkæːðə]"street" | |
| eg | after⟨n, l⟩or word finally | negl[ˈnɑjˀl]"nail" regn[ˈʁɑjˀn]"rain" leg[ˈlɑjˀ]"game" |
| f | [f] | |
| g | word or syllable initially | |
| syllable final or before schwa-vowel | ||
| in loanwords | ||
| h | [h] | |
| hj[1]: 683 | [j] | hjem[ˈjɛmˀ]"home" |
| hv[1]: 683 | [v] | hvem[ˈvemˀ]"who" hval[ˈvæˀl]"whale" |
| i | [iː] | |
| [i] | ||
| in closed syllable | ||
| ig | [ɑj] | |
| j[19] | [j] | jage[ˈjæːjə]"hunt" |
| in loanwords from French | jonglere[ɕʌŋˈleˀɐ]"juggle" | |
| in some loanwords from English | jazz[ˈtjæs]"jazz" | |
| k | before schwa vowel | |
| before non-schwa vowel or word initially | ||
| l | [l] | |
| ld | often representslwithstød | |
| lv | often representslwithstød | |
| m | [m] | |
| n | [n] | |
| nd | often representsnwithstød | |
| ng | [ŋ] | |
| nk | [ŋk] | |
| o | in open syllables | |
| in closed syllables | ||
| og | [ɒw] | |
| ov | [ɒw] | |
| p | word finally, after a vowel, or before a consonant | |
| word initially or between vowels when the next vowel is a non-schwa vowel | ||
| qu | [kv] | |
| r | [ʁ] | |
affects the quality of nearby vowel
|
||
| s,sc | [s] | |
| sch,sh | [ɕ] | |
| si | before vowels in loanwords | |
| sj | [ɕ] | |
| t | [t] | |
| [tsʰ] | ||
| [ð] | ||
| ti | before vowels in loanwords | |
| u | [uː] | |
| [u] | ||
| [o] | ||
| [y] | ||
| v | [v] | |
| [w] | ||
| w | [v] | |
| x | in loanwords | |
| y | [yː] | |
| [y] | ||
| [ø] | ||
| z | in loanwords | |
| æ | [ɛː] | |
| [ɛ] | ||
| beside⟨r⟩ | ||
| ø | [øː] | |
| [œː] | ||
| [ø] | ||
| [œ] | ||
| øg | [øj] | |
| øj | [ʌj] | |
| å | [ɔː] | |
| [ʌ] |
Computing standards[edit]
Incomputing,several different coding standards have existed for this Alpha bet:
See also[edit]
- Comparison of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish#Writing_system
- Comparison of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish#Pronunciation and sound system
- Danish braille
- Danish phonology
- Icelandic orthography
- Futhark,the Germanic runes used formerly
- Spelling Alpha bets
- Swedish Alpha bet
References[edit]
- ^abcdefTom Lundskær-Nielsen; Philip Holmes (2010).Danish: A comprehensive grammar(2nd ed.).Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-49194-5.OL23910105M.WikidataQ58003087.
- ^Grundtvig, Svend (1872).Dansk Haandordbog med den af Kultusministeriet anbefalede Retskrivning(PDF).Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel.RetrievedJuly 24,2022.
- ^"Bekendtgørelse fra Ministeriet for Kirke- og Undervisningsvæsenet om Retskrivningen".Retsinformation.February 27, 1892.RetrievedJuly 24,2022.
- ^abN. M. Petersen:Dänische Sprachlehre für Deutsche(i.e. Danish Grammar for Germans), Kopenhagen, 1830, p. 1–3 (at books.google)
- ^Nyt fra Sprognævnet 2000/3
- ^Einar Lundeby:"Bolle-å-ens plass i det danske alfabet" [The placing of Å in the Danish Alpha bet] in Språknytt, 1995/4.http:// sprakrad.no/Toppmeny/Publikasjoner/Spraaknytt/Arkivet/Spraaknytt_1995/Spraaknytt-1995-4/Bolle-aa-ens_plass_i_det_dans/
- ^"Informationsordbogen - kommentar".informationsordbogen.dk.RetrievedSeptember 2,2021.
- ^Dansk Standard DS 377:1980. Alfabetiseringsregler.
- ^"§ 5. Accenttegn (accent aigu) – DSN".DSN – Dansk Sprognævn(in Danish).RetrievedAugust 20,2023.
- ^Pronunciations are given according toDen Danske Ordbog:[1].
- ^"§ 1. Bogstaverne – DSN".dsn.dk(in Danish).RetrievedAugust 20,2023.
- ^"§ 2. Tegn – DSN".DSN – Dansk Sprognævn(in Danish).RetrievedAugust 20,2023.
- ^Spelling changes in 1986 (RO 1986, pp. 497–506).
- ^"BEK nr 178 af 09/03/2009, Kulturministeriet".Retsinformation(in Danish).RetrievedOctober 7,2023.
- ^Jensen, Jørgen Nørby (November 26, 2021)."traditionsprincippet".Den Store Danske(in Danish).RetrievedOctober 18,2023.
- ^Jensen, Jørgen Nørby (October 11, 2022)."sprogbrugsprincippet".Den Store Danske(in Danish).RetrievedOctober 18,2023.
- ^Diderichsen, Philip; Schack, Jørgen (2015)."Jagten på den gode og sikre sprogbruger"(PDF).Nyt fra Sprognævnet(3): 1–8.RetrievedOctober 17,2023.
- ^Larsen, Kirstine Dalsgaard (December 21, 2011)."Giv agt! Retskrivningsordbogen kommer".Kristeligt Dagblad(in Danish).RetrievedOctober 17,2023.
- ^Karker, Allan; Tortzen, Chr. Gorm (April 20, 2023)."J, j (bogstav) - Oprindelse, udtale og dansk brug".Den Store Danske(in Danish).RetrievedSeptember 3,2023.
External links[edit]
- Type Danish characters online
- 1889 spelling reform (in Danish)
- 1948 spelling reform (in Danish)
- Current orthographic rules (in Danish)
- Spelling of loanwords (in Danish)
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