And by pronunciation, I don't even mean the quality of sound, but simply how the words are read aloud. There seems to be no way to predict that, and I feel so helpless! :) I know English is maybe even worse in this respect, but I started learning English when I was 6, so I don't really remember how I coped with that. All the other languages I studied afterwards, like German or French, had very strict spelling/pronunciation rules, but not Danish.
I try to listen to Danish speech as much as possible, and I have an excellent tutor who corrects me, but I still struggle. So fellow Danish students, do you have secrets to share? Or is it the case when nothing can help but a lot of practice?
I will also be glad if you share with me your favourite songs in Danish. Danish Disney dubs, which I mostly listen to, are really fun, but some diversity would be great!
You are not the first one to struggle with the Danish pronounciation, even the people who live here do that :-) My best advice would be to use the phonetics in the dictionaries, if you are able to read that.
Good luck :-)
I like to use forvo.com whenever I'm not sure how to say a word.
With Danish pronunciation, I find that most words do follow a pattern. I picked up on these once I listened to enough audiobooks (while following along in the text) and followed along with lyrics while listening to music. That's also how I found out the pronunciation of the words that don't quite follow the typical Danish pattern.
For Danish music that isn't Disney, you can look through the Danish Top 20 (Tracklisten). A lot of English, but a lot is also Danish. Find some songs that you like, especially if you're into pop music.
Some Danish music that I like:
Natten by Thomas Holm
Django and Gi' Mig Et Smil both by Wafande
Kongens Have by TopGunn
Multiple songs by Yepha (or UFO Yepha) or featuring him.
(The song Klovn, related to the TV Show, that has him in it is reallly funny.)
Songs by Rasmus Seebach. He has a fairly clear pronunciation in his songs, too.
Har Du Glemt by Medina
Klokken 25, Igen og Igen, and others by Nephew
DJ Blues by Panamah
Inden Du Falder I Sovn (particularly the Lulu Rouge Remix) by Mikael Simpson
Nordhavn Station and Milan Allé both by Magntens Korridorer
Papirsklip and Sømand Ombord both by Kim Larsen
En Sidste Sang by Kaka
That damn song, Fugle by Djämes Braun, that won't get out my head
If you're not trying to find specific words, but rather are hoping to build a base of vocabulary that you know how to pronounce correctly, I'd recommend getting a book or two in both written (or ebook) format as well as audiobook format so you can follow along. I find books are a great way to build vocabulary in general, since you learn words in context rather than by rote memorization.
Try reading through a portion first (a chapter, a page; whatever makes sense to you) and figure out what it means. Then read it aloud as best you can. Then listen to the audio and read along to compare.
I find that books written for kids around 10-12 years old are a terrific place to start, because kids are expected to read independently by that age, but the grammar is still relatively simple, and it typically includes a lot of everyday-speech dialogue.
Thank you both! Yes, phonetic transcription isn't a problem for me, I was just wondering if there is a system behind this all. Now I'll be on my quest for Dansk udtale øvebog...
A book/cd combination called "Dansk udtale øvebog" by Lisbet Thorborg has been a huge help to me, but it's hard to find. I got one from Arnold Busck, but I had to wait weeks for it to become available. It was worth it, though, because the course presents Danish pronunciation in systematic way and gives examples and audio exercises that zero in on one particular aspect at a time. Here's a link:
http://www.arnoldbusck.dk/boeger/sprog-grammatik/dansk-udtale-oevebog
Held og lykke!
