Colloquial Danish

Kirsten Gade, W. Glyn Jones

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781138957336
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317305705
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Colloquial Danish provides a step-by-step course in Danish as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Danish in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Key features include:

• progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills

• structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar

• an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises

• realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios

• useful vocabulary lists throughout the text

• additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries

Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Danish will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Danish.

Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.

1 Familien Nielsen i Køge

The Nielsen family in Køge

This unit deals with:

• Identifying someone
• Introducing yourself
• Nationality words
• Stress in Danish
• Personal pronouns as subject
• Talking about the present
• How to begin a conversation
• Asking how people are
• Saying ‘Yes, please’ and ‘No, thank you’
• How to end a conversation
• Numbers 1 to 20

Dialogue 1 (Audio 1: 5)

Two young men talking to each other at a party.

A: Hvem er det derovre?

B: Det er Martins søster.

A: Hvad hedder hun?

B: (Hun hedder) Nina.

A: Who is that over there?

B: That’s Martin’s sister.

A: What’s she called?

B: (She’s called) Nina.

Dialogue 2 (Audio 1: 6)

Another partygoer, Hans, approaches Nina, who is unknown to him.

HANS: Hej! Hvem er du?

NINA: Jeg hedder Nina. Jeg er Martins søster.

HANS: Nå, så det er dig! Jeg kender Martin fra badminton.

NINA: Hvad hedder du?

HANS: Hans.

NINA: Nå, jeg har også hørt om dig.

HANS: Hi, who are you?

NINA: I’m (called) Nina. I’m Martin’s sister.

HANS: Oh, so that’s you! I know Martin from badminton.

NINA: What’s your name? (What are you called?)

HANS: Hans.

NINA: Oh, I’ve also heard about you.

Dialogue 3 (Audio 1: 7)

A third couple talking at the party.

A: Skulle vi ikke have en øl?

B: Er der nogen?

A: Ja, derovre.

B: Hvem er det, der taler med Nina?

A: Han hedder Hans. Han er meget glad for piger.

A: Shouldn’t we have a beer?

B: Are there any?

A: Yes, over there.

B: Who’s that talking with/to Nina? (Who is it that is talking to Nina?)

A: He’s called Hans. He’s very fond of girls.

Useful phrases 1

Hvem er det?	Who is that?
Hvad hedder du?	What's your name?
Jeg/han/hun hedder . . .	I/he/she is called . . .

Reading text (Audio 1: 8)

Jørgen, Nina’s and Martin’s father, introduces himself and his family.

Hej! Jeg hedder Jørgen Nielsen. Jeg er dansker, og jeg bor i Køge. Jeg er gift med Pamela. Hun er englænder, men hun taler dansk. Vi har to børn: Martin og Nina. De taler både dansk og engelsk.

Jeg er lærer og arbejder på en skole her i Køge. Pamela arbejder som sekretær på et turistkontor i København. Hun rejser til København med toget hver dag.

Nina er seksten år (gammel). Hun går i skole endnu. Martin går ikke i skole. Han er tyve (år) og er i lære hos en tømrer. Hi! I’m called Jørgen Nielsen. I’m a Dane, and I live in Køge. I’m married to Pamela. She’s English, but she speaks Danish. We have two children: Martin and Nina. They speak both Danish and English.

I’m a teacher and work at a school here in Køge. Pamela works as a secretary at a tourist information office in Copenhagen. She travels to Copenhagen by train every day.

Nina is sixteen years old. She...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About this book
• A simple guide to pronunciation
• 1 Familien Nielsen i Køge
• 2 På arbejde
• 3 Hvad koster det?
• 4 Hvad dag er det i dag?
• 5 Telefonen ringer!
• 6 Den daglige tummerum
• 7 Små problemer
• 8 Jeg ønsker, jeg kræver og jeg foreslår ...
• 9 Skål!
• 10 Så er det weekend!
• 11 Hvad vil du være?
• 12 Hvordan bliver vejret?
• 13 Hvordan ser hun ud?
• 14 Vil du med?
• 15 Hvordan har du det?
• 16 Du er smuk!
• 17 Hvad skete der?
• 18 Lad os gå ud!
• Ready-reference grammar
• Key to exercises
• English-Danish glossary
• Danish-English glossary
• Index