Transition from Norwegian to Danish

[csjc]

I'm very interested in learning how to pronounce and comprehend spoken Danish. My Norwegian is at about an intermediate level, so I don't have any problems comprehending written Danish. Nonetheless, I'm also really interested in learning how to write more like a Dane, and use Danish constructions/vocabulary, along with adapting my spelling from Bokmål.

How would you suggest I go about this? Or should I just learn Danish from scratch, maybe at an accelerated pace?

[ILuvEire]

I recommend that you get a hold of a book in danish, and a dictionary, and work through the book. Bokmål and Danish have really similar grammars, it'll just be getting you used to danish vocab. As for pronunciation...er...well...try finding a childrens movie, like the Lion King or something that has been translated into Danish, and watch it, maybe with subtitles on. (Danish ones, not English, you won't learn that way!)

[Jayan]

yay!!! csjc lærer dansk!!!!

Well, having never made the transition between Scandinavian languages, I don't have any advice. Focusing on the pronunciation of Danish in relation to Norwegian probably won't work. Danish is such a maverick language, it's probably best to just approach the pronunciation from a fresh perspective. But really, that should be the only major difficulty. There are some minor differences in the vocabulary (-else vs. -ing differences bl.a.) and some different idiomatic constructions, but otehr than that, they are the same, AFAIK

[csjc]

I recommend that you get a hold of a book in danish, and a dictionary, and work through the book. Bokmål and Danish have really similar grammars, it'll just be getting you used to danish vocab.

I read quite a bit in Danish already, I'm worried doing something like that wouldn't teach me much in terms of Danish itself, but just build on my Danish reading skills. The similarity between the two written languages is what makes me think I should start Danish from scratch, even if I speed through it a bit - just to create a "Danish" section in my brain. Something that would make it possible for me to write and speak Danish, real Danish, not just overly Danish-accented Norwegian.

Focusing on the pronunciation of Danish in relation to Norwegian probably won't work. Danish is such a maverick language, it's probably best to just approach the pronunciation from a fresh perspective. But really, that should be the only major difficulty. There are some minor differences in the vocabulary (-else vs. -ing differences bl.a.) and some different idiomatic constructions, but otehr than that, they are the same, AFAIK

Yeah, it seems that the similarity is what poses the most difficulties. I'm trying to listen to a lot of it though, just to train my ear, for the time being.

[ILuvEire]

I read quite a bit in Danish already, I'm worried doing something like that wouldn't teach me much in terms of Danish itself, but just build on my Danish reading skills. The similarity between the two written languages is what makes me think I should start Danish from scratch, even if I speed through it a bit - just to create a "Danish" section in my brain. Something that would make it possible for me to write and speak Danish, real Danish, not just overly Danish-accented Norwegian.

Ahh, I see! In that case, I recommend Teach Yourself Danish, it's a good book, and they have it on UZ. Another thing to look into'd be Rosetta Stone for Danish. Some people swear by it, and others hate it (like me ), so you could look at the trial and see if it's something that would work for you. I still stand by the "reading a book" thing too, maybe after you finish your textbook, or you could just wait until you've got a decent ability with the language.