Danglish

Mixture of Danish and English languages

Not to be confused with Denglisch or Dunglish.

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Danglish is a form of speech or writing that combines elements of Danish and English. The word Danglish is a portmanteau of Danish and English and has been in use since 1990.[1] A variant form is Denglish, recorded since 2006.[2] The term is used in Denmark to refer to the use of English or pseudo-English vocabulary in Danish. While it has been argued that the influx of English words, similar to the import of Latin and French words in the past, makes the language more expressive, it remains controversial in many sectors of society, notably with older people, who are often less accustomed to English terms.

"Danglish" is also used as a pejorative referring to the use of poor and/or clumsy English by Danes.[3]

## Danification of English words

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Danglish words often receive standard Danish endings and prefixes; in other words, they are conjugated or declined in the same manner as Danish words. The following are examples of sentences featuring Danified English words; the correct terms in Danish are also included as well:

* "Jeg blev nødt til at genstarte/reboote computeren, fordi programmet crashede. (I had to reboot the computer because the software crashed.)
* "Har du allerede hentet/downloadet den nyeste version?" (Have you already downloaded the newest version?)

## Twisting of Danish idioms and grammar rules

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The adaptation also takes the other route, where literal translations of popular English expressions slowly but insistently replace the correct Danish words and idioms. Widespread examples of this evolution include but are not limited to:

* at handle på noget (to act on something/take action. Correct term: at skride til handling)
* tager ikke nej for et svar (to not take "no" for an answer. Correct term: tager ikke nej for et nej)
* at få alting frem i det åbne (to get everything out in the open. Correct term: at få alting frem)
* at svare telefonen (to answer the telephone. Correct term: at tage telefonen)
* at spørge [om] et spørgsmål (to ask [about] a question. Correct term: at stille et spørgsmål)

These phrasings may have originated from (subtitled) English-language films and television shows translated into Danish, but are also used in everyday language.

## Anglicisation of Danish sentences

[edit]

Although large majority of Danes are familiar with English as a second language, non-idiomatic sentences can still result from overly literal translations:

* "I am at the beginning of my period." ("My term in office has just begun." – Falsely attributed to Helle Degn, former Minister of Development Cooperation. Started as an internal, intentional joke at a Christmas party in Danida in 1993.[4])
* "Screw down a little bit the expectations"[5] ("Lower your expectations" – Richard Møller Nielsen, National Football Manager)
* "The prick over the I" (Danish saying meaning "the finishing touch", or "dot the i's and cross the t's" – Jytte Hilden, Former Minister of Culture)
* "Can I borrow the toilet?" ("May I use the toilet?")

## Examples of common mistakes made by native Danish speakers when speaking English

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Grammar mistakes such as:

* Omitting the article "the", because its Danish equivalents ("den", "det", "de") are used less often than in English. For example, "Train is delayed" or "Restaurant is booked".

Words with multiple meanings in one of the languages:

* Confusing "fun" with "funny." This is due to the Danish word "sjov" meaning having both meanings. ("We had a very funny time.") [6]
* Mixing up "lose" and "drop". This is due to the Danish word "tabe" meaning having both meanings. ("I was sorry to drop so much money in the stock market, but at least I dropped a lot of weight worrying about it.")
* Confusing "prize" and "price" (both called "pris" in Danish)

False friend mistakes such as: (see also  The dictionary definition of Appendix:False friends between Danish and English at Wiktionary)

* Mistranslating "eventuelt" (possibly) as "eventually" and "aktuelt" (current/currently) as "actually."
* Writing "consumer" instead of "customer."[7]

## Non-translation

[edit]

Several schools have lately changed their names to become more internationally recognized. "Handelshøjskolen i København" is now known as "Copenhagen Business School" or "CBS". Of the three music conservatories offering classical music programs, the English names of Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg and Danish National Academy of Music deviate from their original Danish names that show strong geographical emphasis, "Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (DJM)" and "Syddansk Musikkonservatorium (SDMK)", which are translated as "The Jutlandic Music Conservatory" and "Southern Denmark Music Conservatory" respectively. Their English acronyms "RAMA" and "DNA of Music" are also employed in such informal settings as social media, for instance, the former's annual "RAMA Festival" and the latter's Facebook page URL.

Many English-language films such as Armageddon, Toy Story or Ice Age, do not translate their titles into Danish, even if the films themselves are otherwise fully translated. Menus of many global fast food chains also usually go partly or completely untranslated, such as "Double Whopper,"

## See also

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* The Julekalender—certain characters in said television series speak entirely in Danglish.
* Denglisch
* Dunglish

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 31-32. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
2. ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 31-32. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
3. ^ Mellish, Kay Xander. (2016) "Top 35 Mistakes Danes Make In English," p. 9. KXMGroup, Copenhagen. ISBN 9788771141887
4. ^ Helle Degn fylder 60 GlobalNyt 2006-10-20
5. ^ "Screw Down a little bit the Expectations" - Richard Møller Nielsen YouTube
6. ^ Mellish, p. 37.
7. ^ Mellish, p. 43.

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Interlanguages

Multiple
languages|

* Cameroon Pidgin+French+English Camfranglais
* Bengali+Persian+Arabic Dobhashi
* Italian+Spanish+French+Arab Sabir †
* English+Chinese+Malay+Tamil Singlish and Manglish
* Hebrew+Aramaic+German+Slavic Yiddish
* Chinese+Mongolian+Tibetan Wutun language
* Chinese+Tagalog+English Hokaglish
* Malay+Chinese+Javanese+Sundanese+Arabic+Dutch Betawi

English|

* Arabic Arablish
* Bengali Banglish
* Czech Czenglish
* Chinese Chinglish
* Chinese+Tagalog Hokaglish
* Danish Danglish
* Dutch Dunglish
* Finnish Finglish
* French Franglais
* German Denglisch
* Greek Greeklish
* Hebrew Heblish, Yeshivish
* Hindi Hinglish
* Hong Kong
* Hungarian Hunglish
* Irish Béarlachas
* Italian Itanglese
* Japanese Engrish, Wasei-eigo, Bonin English
* Kannada Kanglish
* Korean Konglish
* Maltese Maltenglish
* Malayalam Manglish (Malayalam)
* Malaysian Manglish
* Namibia Namlish
* Polish Poglish
* Portuguese Porglish/Portuglish
* Russian Runglish, Solombala English
* Sicilian Siculish
* Singaporean Singlish
* Spanish Spanglish, Llanito
* Swedish Swenglish
* Tagalog Taglish/Englog
* Tamil Tanglish
* Telugu Tenglish
* Thai Tinglish
* Turkish Turklish
* Urdu Urdish
* Vietnamese Vinish
* Visayan Bislish
* Yiddish Yinglish, Yeshivish
* See also:
* English-based creole languages
* Englishization

Arabic|

* English Arablish
* South Sudan local languages Juba Arabic
* Greek Cypriot Arabic
* Jordanian+Bengali Jordanian Bengali Pidgin Arabic

Chinese|

* English Chinglish, Chinese Pidgin English
* English+Malay+Tamil Singlish and Manglish
* English+Tagalog Hokaglish
* Tibetan Daohua
* Mongolian+Tibetan Wutun language
* Uyghur Hezhou language
* Russian Kyakhta
* Japanese Kyowa-go
* Inter-topolects Linghua, Shaozhou Tuhua
* Tai E language
* Hmongic Maojia dialect
* Santa Tangwang language
* Malay+Javanese Baba Malay, Betawi

Dutch|

* English Dunglish
* Malay Betawi, Petjo
* Javanese Javindo

French|

* Spanish Frespañol/Fragnol
* Japanese Franponais
* Occitan Meridional French
* English Franglais
* Hebrew Zarphatic
* Gallo-Italic Franco-Italian

French Sign
Language|

* American Sign Language Bolivian Sign Language, Thai Sign Language, Philippine Sign Language, Malaysian Sign Language

German|

* Russian Deutschrussisch
* Spanish Belgranodeutsch
* English Denglisch
* Portuguese Hunsrik (when Portuguese-influenced)
* Hebrew Yiddish
* Yiddish Lachoudisch

Greek|

* English Greeklish
* Hebrew Judeo-Greek
* Turkish Cappadocian Greek

Hebrew|

* Arabic languages Judeo-Arabic languages
* Aramaic languages Judeo-Aramaic languages
* Iranian languages Judaeo-Iranian languages
* Romance languages Judaeo-Romance languages
* German Yiddish
* Spanish Judaeo-Spanish, Haketia
* English Heblish, Yinglish, Yeshivish
* Georgian Judaeo-Georgian
* Malayalam Judeo-Malayalam
* Tatar Karaim, Krymchak
* Slavic Knaanic
* Greek Yevanic
* Indic Judeo-Marathi

Italian|

* English Itanglese
* Spanish Cocoliche, Lunfardo
* Portuguese Macaronic Portuguese
* Croatian Fiuman dialect
* Hebrew Judeo-Italian

Japanese|

* English Engrish, Wasei-eigo, Bonin English
* Portuguese Dekasegi Portuguese
* French Franponais
* Chinese Kyowa-go

Malay|

* Malay trade and creole languages
* English+Chinese+Tamil Singlish and Manglish
* Chinese Baba Malay
* Chinese+Javanese+Sundanese+Arabic+Dutch Betawi
* Sinhalese+Tamil Sri Lankan Malay
* Ternate Manado Malay, North Moluccan Malay, Ambonese Malay
* Dutch Petjo
* Makassarese Makassar Malay

Portuguese|

* Spanish Portuñol/Portunhol
* English Porglish/Portuglish
* Italian languages Macaronic Portuguese
* Bengali Bengali Portuguese
* Japanese Dekasegi Portuguese
* Gallo-Italic languages Talian (when Portuguese-influenced)
* Hunsrückisch German Hunsrik (when Portuguese-influenced)
* Bantu languages Cafundó dialect (cupópia), Gira da Tabatinga, Kalunga
* Hebrew Judeo-Portuguese
* Southeast Asian languages Macanese Patois

Russian|

* German Deutschrussisch
* Ukrainian Surzhyk, Balachka
* Belarusian Trasianka
* Norwegian Russenorsk
* English Runglish, Solombala English
* Chinese Kyakhta

Scandinavian
languages|

* Danish+English Danglish
* Norwegian+Russian Russenorsk
* Norwegian+Spanish Norspañol
* Norwegian+Swedish Svorsk
* Swedish+English Swenglish

Spanish|

* Portuguese Portuñol/Portunhol
* German Belgranodeutsch
* English Spanglish, Llanito
* Italian languages Cocoliche, Lunfardo
* Gallo-Italic languages Chipilo
* Galician Castrapo
* French Frespañol/Fragnol
* Guarani Jopará
* Norwegian Norspañol

Tahitian|

* Te Parau Tinito

Tagalog|

* Chinese+English Hokaglish
* English Taglish/Englog
* Visayan Bisalog

Turkish|

* English Turklish
* Greek Cappadocian Greek

Ukrainian|

* Belarusian West Polesian
* English Canadian Ukrainian
* Polish Balak
* Russian Surzhyk, Balachka

Yiddish|

* English Heblish, Yinglish, Yeshivish
* Scots Scots Yiddish
* German Lachoudisch

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Danish language

* Alphabet
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* Danish Braille
* Grammar
* History
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* Orthography
* Phonology
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Dialects|

* Jutlandic (jysk)
* South Jutlandic
* Insular Danish (ømål)
* East Danish (østdansk)
* Bornholmsk
* Scanian (historically)
* Southern Schleswig Danish

Variants,
derivatives, etc.|

* Standard Danish (rigsdansk)
* Gøtudanskt
* Petuh
* Perkerdansk
* Dano-Norwegian
* Riksmål
* Bokmål
* Danglish

Related topics|

* Comparison of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish
* Dansk Sprognævn

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