Hej! Danish is spoken by some six million people, more than five million of whom live in Denmark. It is the second language of Greenland, and of the Faroe Islands, located between Britain and Iceland. Greenland and the Faroes are politically autonomous, but remain part of the Danish Kingdom, anrd are represented in the Danish parliament.

Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are closely related, and belong to the Northern Germanic linguistic group.

Mind you, as Nationally Syndicated Talk Host Barry Farber points out, that's something for you to know and enjoy—not something to mention to Scandinavians.

They're horrified when outsiders say, 'Gee, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian are all alike.' They prefer to dwell on the differences. There was a popular movement in Norwegian early in the twentieth century to change the language for no apparent reason other than to make it less like Danish.

Swedish and Danish have common origins, although, as Denmark and Norway were unified for four hundred years prior to 1814, Norwegian and Danish developed similarities.

With the rising popularity of TV programmes such as 'The Bridge,' there has been a surge of interest in learning Danish.

Meet

your Danish Teachers

Bent

Danish teacher @ #BHLingual
for 4 years

The best part about living in Los Angeles is...

The diversity and opportunity you find here. Contrasting neighborhoods, different architecture, and the diversity of cultures and languages you can see and hear on the street every day reassure you that the whole world is represented here.

Recommend a place to visit where Danish is the native language, and tell us why you like it.

There is no place outside the country of Denmark where Danish is the native language. Therefore Denmark is the only place to be if you want to hear the everyday use of the Danish language. From Copenhagen with its old castles and classic urban feel to the west coast with the roaring North Sea and raw wind blew coast there is only 180 miles, but the Danish dialect between the two places can sound just as different as the surroundings seem to be.

What Danish film or musical artist do you recommend students watch or listen to?

One of the better Danish movies from recent years is 'The Hunt' (Jagten) with Mads Mikkelsen. It captures ordinary Danish small-town life, the Danish open-mindedness and pride as well as the following hypocrisy.

What most surprises your students about Danish?

Just as much as some of the sounds in the Danish language can be challenging for foreigners to pronounce, they also often get surprised of how many words are similar to the English language, or if not similar then easy recognizable. Furthermore the grammar is also pretty straight forward.

What one thing would you like your students to know about you?

I lived 45 years in Denmark, I taught Danish literature and writing as well as Danish social studies in the Danish public school for 10 years. In addition, I worked in the field of business in the private sector in Denmark for 12 years.

When you learn Danish, you also get proficiency in two other languages: Norwegian and Swedish.

Norwegian is an almost identical to Danish, with just a few distinctions that are irrelevant to everyday use. In fact, bokmål, one of the two official dialects spoken in Norway, is sometimes referred to as Dano-Norwegian. The two languages also share the same alphabet, which comprises all the letters of the English alphabet, with the additional vowels: æ, ø and å.

Swedish uses some unique words and phrases but is, to a large extent, understood by Danish speakers.

In any list of non-English-speaking countries with the highest percentage of people fluent in English, the three Scandinavian countries—Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—are close behind Holland. You may never need their language no matter where you go or who you deal with in Scandinavia, but Scandinavians are among the most appreciative people on earth if you're prepared to make the effort.

Besides, the Scandinavian languages are relatively easy for Americans to learn. They're Germanic languages, related to English, but vastly easier to learn than German. The verbs don't change for person and number, and only slightly for tense. The word order follows English obligingly most of the way.

By learning Danish, you will also be able to read the native labels of some of the best beers and spirits in the world; speak the language of the oldest monarchy in Europe, and read Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid' 1837 original in its original language (Den lille havfrue).

You could soon be well on your way to learning Danish. Good luck! Held od lykke!

Mastering a new language can change your life.

More About Danish

The most typical greeting, Hej! (Hi!), is used when meeting someone and when departing. On your departure, you may also use Hej-hej! (Bye) and Vi ses! (See you) or Hav det godt! (Take care!)

When you meet with friends, you may ask Hvordan går det? (How are you?) to which they may reply, Fint, hvad med dig? (Fine, how about you?)

It is customary for people to introduce themselves rather than have others introduce them. The titles Hr. (Mr.), Fru (Mrs.), Frk. (Miss) or the abbreviation Fr. (Ms.) are rarely used in spoken Danish, but may be used in letters.

In Danish, there are two words for you: De (formal) and du (informal). The use of the formal De has declined in the past several decades.

Like Dutch, the Scandinavian languages have two genders—common and neuter—and the definite article follows the nouun and becomes one word. For example, 'a pen' in Norwegian is en Penn, 'the pen' is pennen.)

Variations of Tak (Thanks) include Manage tak (Many thanks), Tusind tak (A thousand thanks), and Tak skal du have! (literally, Thanks shall you have). A dinner guest would say Tak for i dag! (Thanks for today) or Tak for i aften! (Thanks for tonight).

Online Language Classes at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute

The Beverly Hills Lingual Institute offers the most comprehensive selection of language classes you'll find in the Los Angeles area.

Classes are held in live online sessions, where students interact with their teacher and peers in real-time.

Classes are held at our facility located at 8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 800 in Beverly Hills, California.

Some of our 80-minute classes are scheduled during the evening with the first session running from 6:00 to 7:20 pm, and the second session running from 7:35 to 8:55 pm.

Classes are also offered during the day. See the schedule for a complete list of all classes.

We all speak one.
Some of us speak several.
A few of us know dozens.

Languages are a staple of everyday life, a necessity for getting by in the world and communicating with each other. They can help you get jobs, help you enjoy another country and culture—and even get you out of trouble.

Learning a new language can change your life.

Knowing how to say at least a few words in another language will break the ice at any business meeting, and will certainly make your vacation more pleasant.

You may also want to get in touch with your heritage by learning some of the language that your ancestors spoke. Language is a particularly good bridge in this regard, as it can often be a guide to the ways in which different cultures express not only ideas, but emotions. By exposing you to every aspect of the human condition, language allows you to study the past, understand the present, and ponder the future.

Choose a language and begin to enjoy the extraordinary benefits of being bilingual or multilingual.

Private Classes

Some students prefer private lessons instead of a scheduled class, or occasionally take private classes to augment their existing, scheduled group course.

Private classes are more flexible than Group classes. They are tailored to specific learning and scheduling needs. They can be useful if a student's language knowledge is uneven, if a more intensified study program is needed, or if privacy is a concern.

With our large staff of native speakers, we can schedule private lessons in most languages.

Private lessons are available in packages of eight, 80-minute sessions; or, if you are enrolled in a group class, your private lesson can be scheduled individually.

Please write us or call (323) 651-5000 to schedule your private class.

Alternative Programs

The majority of our scheduled language classes are designed for adult students who want to learn another language. We also offer the following alternative programs.

English · Accent Reduction

Classes evaluate the student's problem areas and focus on exercises designed to target and remedy those areas. Our Accent Reduction course focuses on pronunciation, stress, enunciation, diction, tonality, musicality, syntax, and articulation, through vowel and consonant exercises, work chants, tongue twisters, and readings. Individual attention is given to each student's area of difficulty.

English · Native Speaker

These classes are for those who grew up speaking English but want to improve and refine their English. Designed to give you the critical edge in English communication, they target grammar, spelling, and pronunciation.

Little Linguals

Designed for children aged 6 - 11, our "Little Lingual" classes meet once a week during the afternoon for one hour. Class content includes Alphabet, Songs, Games, Practical Words and Phrases, and Basic Dialogue. Children aged 12 and above can join our regularly scheduled adult classes.

These exciting classes are geared to get an early start on language learning while helping children enjoy and appreciate a different culture. This is the best time for them to learn a foreign language. The younger the learner, the better they are at mimicking new sounds and adopting pronunciation. The brain is open to new sounds and patterns in preadolescence.

Young children have the luxury of taking in a new language naturally. A child's brain is like a sponge, soaking up new vocabulary, sentence structure, words stress, pronunciation, and everything that makes up language quickly, easily—and, most importantly, without explicit grammatical instruction.

When you're an adult, learning a new language takes a bit more effort!

Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. Language lessons can be informal. Children's minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. Before children become self-conscious, they can try out their newly acquired languages without fear of embarrassment.

Children who grow up learning about languages develop empathy for others and a curiosity for different cultures and ideas. They're better prepared to take their place in a global society. In later years, career opportunities increase for those with additional languages to offer.

Studies by Harvard University confirm that learning additional languages increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of the mind in young children. Moreover, pupils who learn a foreign language outscore their non-foreign-language-learning peers in standardized verbal and math tests, indicating that learning additional language is a cognitive—and not just linguistic—activity. The brain, like any muscle, functions better with exercise. Learning a language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary, which helps strengthen that mental muscle.

Travel Classes

Our Travel Classes are designed for those who are planning a trip and want to get more out of their travel experience. These classes are held twice a week for one month. They are language classes focused on travel conversation, pronunciation, and culture.

Translating and Interpreting

With a roster of over eighty native-speaking teachers in over 30 different languages, the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute has the expertise to address many translating and interpreting challenges. This is a highly customized service. Please contact us to discuss your translating or interpreting requirements.