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The Danish Language Right Now: From Emojis to Linguistic Facelifts

October 24, 2024

The Danish language is constantly evolving, often driven by linguistic creativity on social media. Is the language becoming richer and more exciting? Or is it becoming coarser and blunter? Renowned linguist Marianne Rathje recently shed some light on these questions during a captivating lecture at Studieskolen. Her research offers a unique insight into Danish communication across generations, and here we share her key points.

Although we all speak the same language, we use it very differently – for instance, depending on our age. This is particularly evident in text messages and the use of emojis. So, if you’ve ever sent a message and received an entirely unexpected reaction, you’re not alone. Take, for example, this exchange between a mother and daughter via text:

Daughter: Handler du på vej hjem i dag? (Are you going shopping on your way home today?)
Mother: Det kan jeg godt. (Yes, I can do that.)
Daughter: Er du sur? (Are you mad?)

Full stops can seem stern!

Most 50- to 70-year-olds would be puzzled as to why the daughter thinks her mother is mad. But for the young generation, there’s no doubt: the mother’s message seems cold and harsh because it ends with a full stop, rather than a friendly emoji, for example. The more correctly you write, the cooler it comes across to young people.

In an interview about language use, 16-year-old Maya describes it like this:

“I don’t care about commas and such when I’m texting Lea, but my mum can’t even send a message to one of her close friends without using commas correctly and spelling everything right.”

One of Marianne Rathje’s conclusions is that speed is engagement. Accuracy isn’t as important for young people. That’s why you see plenty of examples of clipped language, where the subject (e.g., ‘I’) or the verb (e.g., ‘am’) is omitted:

  • Jeg håber, det går godt. (I hope it’s going well.)
  • Så er han væk. (Now he is gone.)

Becomes:

  • Håber det går godt. (Hope it’s going well.)
  • Så han væk. (Now he gone.)

And when it comes to emojis, there’s a significant generational divide too. The following emoji in particular causes a split: 🙂. For 50- to 79-year-olds, it’s just a truly positive and happy emoji. They use it to communicate friendliness and joy. But for young people, it comes across as passive-aggressive. One young person explained it like this to Marianne Rathje: “I think it’s a very ‘cold’ smiley. So I’d only use it with people I know well.”

Can you sound younger in Danish?

Yes! And, of course, Marianne Rathje has plenty of tips for anyone who wants to sound younger in Danish. Here are two of the easiest ones:

  • Say ‘føler’ (feel) instead of ‘tror’ (think).
  • Don’t use ‘sygt’ (sick) or ‘seriøst’ (seriously) as slang for ‘very’. Instead, use ‘ægte’ (genuinely) or ‘vitterligt’ (really).

In this way you can give yourself a little ‘linguistic facelift’.

Are swear words and coarse language on the rise?

A linguistic trend that can be cause for concern is the use of coarse language and swear words. But is there really reason to worry? Both yes and no, according to Marianne Rathje. On one hand, there are more swear words in TV series for older children. On the other hand, there hasn’t been an increase in swear words in newspapers.

Both older and younger people adjust their language depending on whom they’re speaking with. Young people swear less when talking to an older person. And older people swear more when talking to a younger person. But overall, they swear about the same amount. The younger generation doesn’t swear more than other generations, despite what many might think.

However, there is a tendency for swear words to lose their impact over time. This was discovered in a study where 13- to 14-year-olds were asked whether they thought ‘sgu’ (a shortening of ‘så gud hjælpe’ - ‘so god help’), ‘for fanden’ (literally ‘for the devil’), and ‘pis’ (piss) were swear words. They were asked twice. First in 2011, and then again in 2021. And they asked people aged 13-14 both times. It was clear that fewer people considered these three words to be swear words in 2021. For example, the swear word ‘pis’ had devalued by a whole 30% over the ten years that had passed.

Are ‘sgu’, ‘for fanden’ and ‘pis’ swear words?

Here is the percentage of people who answered ‘yes’.

Sgu
2011: 47%
2021: 18%

For fanden
2011: 66%
2021: 51%

Pis
2011: 54%
2021: 24%

‘Woke’ language

Marianne Rathje has also explored attitudes towards the new ‘woke’ language that’s emerging. And although many in Denmark are fully on board with the trend, there are still a number of Danes who remain sceptical. As many as 30% have a negative view of woke language.

Supporters of woke language are primarily found among younger, well-educated women. They are largely the ones driving the change. Only a minority of Danes accepts terms such as ‘forkvinde’ (chairwoman) and ‘forperson’ (chairperson). Acceptance is highest among the young.

English has influenced the Danish language in more ways than just vocabulary!
Danish newspapers often express concern over ‘the increasing number of English words in the Danish language’. But in 2019, the Danish Language Council noted that the number of English words in Danish newspapers had been declining over the past 10 years!

However, there’s a considerable influence from English in spoken language. And it’s not just about English words. Young people use English word order, English suffixes, and English pronunciation when they speak Danish.

Examples of English word order in Danish:

Take these two correct Danish sentences:

  • ‘Giv aldrig op.’ (Never give up.)
  • ‘Læg ikke madpakken på bordet.’ (Don’t put the packed lunch on the table.)

More and more young people are instead saying these incorrect sentences (inspired by English word order):

  • ‘Aldrig giv op.’
  • ‘Ikke læg madpakken på bordet.’

Are you learning Danish? Then be extra careful when listening to young Danes in particular! There’s a risk you’ll hear them use incorrect word order inspired by English. And although a native Danish speaker might say: ‘Aldrig giv op’, it is still incorrect. The correct sentence is: ‘Giv aldrig op.’ And that’s also the best approach to learning Danish, we think!

More about Marianne Rathje

Marianne Rathje is a Senior Researcher employed at the Danish Language Council.
She researches:

  • Aggressive language use
  • Language and gender/gender neutrality
  • Linguistic accuracy in the education system and the media

Read more about Marianne Rathje here.