Inside Cover Blurb
- The present book is intended, in the first place, for the study of the Danish language at home. The texts are arranged so as to introduce the most common Danish words and expressions in a context which should be of interest to the average foreign student, whatever his personal motive for learning the language may be.
- Stress has been laid on introducing the student to aspects of Danish life and culture, as well as to the vocabulary and grammar of the language. A certain number of texts are not specially constructed for the purpose, but have been selected from Danish literature with very little revision, so as to ensure an authentic picture of the Danish language today and of the different styles in use; but throughout the emphasis has been laid on colloquial or conversational language.
Preface
- The present book is intended, in the first place, for the study of the Danish language at home, but it is hoped that it will also prove useful in School and University — and other places where Danish is taught.
- The student should first read through the general introduction and then Part I, Notes (§§) 1-31, 40-54, on pronunciation.
- The Danish texts in Part II should be translated with the help of the vocabulary. The texts are arranged so as to introduce the most common Danish words and expressions in a context which should be of interest to the average foreign student, whatever his personal motive for learning the language may be. Stress has been laid on introducing the student to aspects of Danish life and culture, as well as to the vocabulary and grammar of the language. A certain number of texts are not specially constructed for the purpose, but have been selected from Danish literature with very little revision so as to ensure an authentic picture of the Danish language to-day and of the different styles in use, but throughout, the emphasis has been laid on colloquial or conversational language.
- Each text is followed by a small number of questions relating to the content, which the student should attempt to answer (preferably aloud) in order to ensure his understanding of the text and also to acquire some conversational practice.
- The grammatical notes contain reference to the complete grammar in Part III, to which the advanced student may resort for more details, as well as to Part I. The exercises should be answered in writing.
- It ought to be emphasized that the thirty-two text groups do not correspond to so many "lessons". This is not a “Danish in 32 Hours”-book; it is left to the student himself to decide how many paragraphs he is able to cope with at a time according to his individual capacity. It is natural to spend rather a long time over the early texts, which involve essential parts of elementary grammar.
- In the grammar, I have tried to pay due attention to recent grammatical theories without losing sight of the practical purpose of the book. Similarly, the general method adopted is a compromise between the modern “natural method ” and more traditional ones. Experience has taught me that practice in translating from the native language into the foreign tongue is the quickest and safest control of what has been learnt in vocabulary and grammar.
- In the Key to the Exercises, answers are suggested to the questions in Part II (which does not mean that other answers may not be equally correct), as well as a key to the grammatical exercises and translations into Danish. At the end of the book there is an index of about the 1,000 most common Danish words with reference to the vocabularies.
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Book Comment
Teach Yourself Books, London, 1969
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025
- Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)