Interested to learn Dutch or Danish, but confused which one is easier to learn? Or maybe you are lured by the awesomeness of these two languages.
Whatever your goal, whether it’s for personal growth, for the job or for business, rest assured after reading this content you will be able to find the answers you’re looking for.
Is Dutch or Danish easier to learn? It depends on the circumstances. If the student is an English speaker, these languages are easy for him or her, as both languages share many resemblances in the English language.
But, how about the non-English speakers? Do these languages are easy for them to learn?
For non-English speakers or with zero knowledge in the English language, I might say this may be quite difficult especially to Latin speakers. Also, it relies on the factors, and elements of the language as well.
For you to spot the differences between Danish and Dutch, let’s take a look at different factors relying on grammar, language family, word order, the conjunction and pronunciation of each language-
Dutch is a West Germanic language while Danish is a North Germanic (Scandinavian language). They have both resemblances in terms of vocabulary, and Dutch carries closer to English than Danish in similarities of words.
Corresponding on sentence structure, Danish is much closer in English than Dutch, with the third person singular pronoun deriving from the similar root as that in English.
In grammar, like English, Dutch uses a different article that comes first before the noun to designate, finality. But, when an adjective is used in a sentence Danish it is nearly the same to Dutch.
In word order, Danish is closer to English which object comes after the verb.
Nonetheless, when differentiating conjunction, Danish word order changes slowly, compared to Dutch word order.
Dutch and Danish are very different from each other in terms of pronunciations. Dutch word pronunciation is much more straightforward, while Danish is pronounced closer to the English.
In contradiction, with the large use of the “glottal stop “in Danish, it makes harder for speakers of other languages to pronounce Danish except (Norwegian and Swedish). However, Dutch has the “sch” sound which has the similarity in Scheveningen pronunciation.
Overall, Dutch is not easy. Dutch has various irregular verbs, the conjunction of adjectives, and nouns have gender, but not applicable in most situations which makes learners hard to grasp. Another problem is the variety of Dutch- there are Dutch-Dutch and Flemish or Belgian Dutch dialects which have many differences.
Dutch is easier for English speakers in terms of vocabulary. In grammar, both have difficulties while in pronunciation and spelling Dutch is easier. Dutch is not easy to learn and has complexity, closely like German while Danish is terrible as the English language.
Analysis:
If you choose to learn Danish and your goal is only to learn to speak the language the element you should look unto is the pronunciation and sentence structure of the particular language. Based on the above details I may say Danish is a bit easier to learn in the aspect of pronunciation than Dutch, which is closer to the English language.
Therefore, from my point of view, if you are an English speaker you definitely find Danish easy to learn but if you are a non-speaking English, Danish is a challenging language to learn too.
If you are a Latin speaker and with zero knowledge of English language I don’t think in this situation may apply the same.
For students, with or without knowledge of the English language the Dutch language is not easy and has complex features to learn.
What are the differences between Danish and Dutch?
Many people are confused about these two languages. Most Americans have difficulty in determining Danish over Dutch that leads into confusion. Some say Dutch and Danish are” the same language” because they come from the same family which is the Germanic family.
This confusion is a big mistake, we need to clear up this “misinterpretation.”
Gathering some facts, here are the differences between the Danish language and the Dutch:
Dutch and Danish Language Family
Dutch is belonging to the West Germanic family while Danish belongs to the North Germanic family.
Areas
Dutch is the language spoken in the Netherlands and Belgium, whereas Danish is the language spoken in Denmark.
Dutch is mainly spoken in the Netherlands and Belgium. It belongs in the West Germanic language family spoken by around 23 million people and used by 5 million people as a second language.
Danish is a North Germanic language which is basically spoken in Denmark. It is used by around six million people. Danish-speaking people are in Sweden, Norway, Spain, the United States, Brazil, and Argentina.
Vowels
Dutch has sixteen vowels while Danish has twenty-seven phonemically different vowels.
Danish is frequently considered to be a hard language to learn as it has a wide vowel and extraordinary prosody. The language is composed of 27 phonemically different vowels and distinguish by prosodic characteristic called stød.
Alphabet/Writing Script
The Dutch use their own Alphabet which is the Dutch alphabet, whereas Danish utilizes the Dano-Norwegian alphabet.
Subjunctive Form
Dutch has a subjunctive, but seldom used, however, Danish has no subjunctive.
Vocabulary
Dutch vocabulary words are influenced by Romance languages and Germanic while Danish vocabulary is influenced by Old Norse, Low German and English languages as well.
When addressing people
Dutch and Danes differ when it comes to addressing people – the Danes have a natural approach to the respective authorities. The kids will address adults by their first names including teachers. The formal form of the word “you” is rarely used, in business letters too.
Danes don’t look this ill-mannered, however Dutch are opposite, they used formal titles and the formal word “you” in addressing the people.
Different backgrounds
Genuinely, Dutch and Danes have definitely different from each other. Danes are very well-known for “going a-Viking” which they are fond of riding, trading and used to ship in their “long ships” around the coastlines of Europe. But, the Dutch is somewhat inclined who are famous for their farmlands.
The Danish nation is proud of its Viking history, while the Dutch have Greenland and believed by historians to have traveled to America using their boat before Columbus did.
Despite their differences, these nations played a great part in the contribution in English words which can’t be drawn apart from their language, history and identities.
How the Danes and Dutch in Modern Day?
Curious how these two nations evolve and changes today? You probably want to travel across Europe and you’re interested to visit one of these places.
From the early years and today, Danes and Dutch people develop much progress over the years. This really brings them more connected to the English language and technology today.
Some people are interested to learn Dutch or Danish because of many reasons since these countries, both make an achievement to their brands, trade and economy. Foreign people are very much lured and wanted to learn about their language because of the many benefits they can get.
Let’s take a glance how the Danes and Dutch changes in the modern day.
Danes
Danes today still preserved the old buildings and modern architecture of the cities, treasuring the old and embracing the new. They give value on their environment and the importance of keeping the place free from pollution and agricultural reserved.
Denmark has the progressive economy that is ranked as the top-income economy by the World Bank today. The country is one of the most free in terms of economic and financial which got the 6th place in Europe and 10th place in the world.
Currently, Denmark has reached a progressive stance on preserving the environment the first nation in the world to execute an environmental law. The country has an excellent performance in the Environmental Performance Index or EPI in 2016 which a future implementation of law of air quality is expected until today.
Denmark is really a better place to spend a family vacation because the country keeps on maintaining and caring a clean fresh air environment at present.
Today the cities have inclusive systems of bicycle lanes and bicycle routes in the world and one of among bicycle- friendly cities. In fact, one third of Danes people used bicycles for their transportation. Due to its law implementation of maintaining clean air to the extent – bicycles today are their primary means of transportation all throughout the place.
Danes gives significance to agricultural, farmlands, environment and preserving old, but not afraid to take steps into the modern world. By being one of the most economic country leaders in the world and technology.
Based on the report the Danes people live harmoniously in life. They love a balanced environment, maintain work and living life the freedom of financial security.
Dutch
Meanwhile, the Dutch society nowadays can be viewed as a very multicultural society with a democracy of an open society. This nation has no religion rather Calvinism – much influences the values and beliefs of Dutch people. Calvinism dictates Dutch many values, including the pleasure of benefiting of wealth.
Inasmuch in the 16th century Netherlands have been progressing the Dutch economy; in fishing, agriculture marketing, banking and shipping. They are one of the top countries globally in trading and the second most innovative nation in the whole wide world.
Apart from being the travelers and known for its sailing ships, since before the Dutch really enjoy life through travelling frequently abroad. They are popular of extravagant lifestyle over the other neighbouring countries.
Netherlands unity inherited from its colonial history still impacted the foreign relationships today. Numerous people in these foreign countries are still dwelling in the Netherlands. In which contributed more on the language, culture and heritage.
The Dutch society is very great today – political utmost and extreme lifestyles. Most Dutch people have luxurious lives they opt for vacations abroad and comfortable living.
Above all, these two nations are greatly evolve in the modern age including political, democracy, environmental, technology, agricultural and so forth.
Related Questions?
How Dutch is associated to English language?
Know more about the Dutch language history and features of Dutch along with some Dutch words and sentences.
Dutch is a West Germanic language family, which is nearly related to English, Scandinavian and German languages. It is spoken as a native tongue by around 23 million people in the Netherlands, and some parts of Belgium.
The Dutch are normally good at learning other foreign languages, especially English. This is because English is widespread in the daily lives of Dutch people. Furthermore, the Dutch embraced the English language into their lives like the French do.
Latin alphabet
Dutch and English shared the same Latin alphabet-in phonology they sound similar. Resulting learners have no difficulty in producing oral English. Although there are mispronunciation in vowel sounds, but in minimal pairs only.
Stress and Intonation
Intonation patterns and stress in English are similar in Dutch. That’s why Dutch learners don’t find it hard for them to sound like native speakers.
Vocabulary
English and Dutch shared a number of Romance and Germanic vocabulary that Dutch able to understand quickly when they hear or read the word.
According to research, 90% to 93% of the Dutch are better in English conversation. Seemingly, they are distinguished as one of the best English speakers from other non-native country.
How the Danish language related to English?
How To Speak Danish | Pronunciation 1: Vowel Sounds
Have you ever thought that the English language is originally a Scandinavian language? Researchers prove that English belongs to the Northern Germanic language along with Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese.
In that case, Danish is closely related to English that’s the reason why Scandinavians are so good in speaking English.
Old English and the Scandinavians unite
During the time when the Normans arrived, the miserable situation of the people living caused the two languages Old English and the Scandinavians speakers to unite this caused the Middle English language born and prosper. It results the predecessor of Modern English.
Borrowed Words
In contrary to the popular beliefs almost 90% of English loan words were originating from the language itself, nor from the Scandinavians (the North Germanic languages). They assumed that Old English had 90 percent of these notions in its own vocabulary which the language already had. Whichever, still Danish (part of the North Germanic languages) is closely related to the English language; 90% of its vocabulary comes from the old English.
Syntax
Since Danish was part of the North Germanic languages it can have a preposition at the end of the sentence structure. In word order the object is positioned after the verb like in English and they both have a split infinitive which possibly can be put between the infinitive marker and the verb.
New research proved that English is a Scandinavian language, a continuance of the Norwegian-Danish language which was utilized in England throughout the middle Ages.
Conclusion:
Non-Europeans and Americans are among the people who are confused about the distinction between the Dutch and Danish and the countries where they originated.
Due to the similarities between the nations, the uncertainty is understandable.
Because of this, people are also confused about which language is easier to learn. Whichever language may be, remember that they are both closely related to English language.
English speakers have the edge to take a lesson in learning Dutch or Danish however, if non-English speakers tend to learn either of these languages certainly they might have the difficulty to grasp compared to English speakers.
Moreover, it’s very rewarding to grasp some thoughts about these two nations – the Danes and Dutch have reached spectacular acquirement to their names. In terms of politics, democracy, economic, trading, agriculture and many more.
Modern English involves a group of words borrowed from another language, but, the Dutch also contributed the profusion of English words that are absolutely used today. Since research proves that English is a Scandinavian language, a continuity of the Norwegian-Danish language – Danish too has contribution in the modern English today.
The Netherlands builds naval trade routes that widely opened the opportunities to our modern day economy. Nowadays, the Dutch remains economically stable through exports of goods and sailing.
Maybe one day you’ll have trips in the Dutch city or in Danish city, at least you have some ideas and a head start about these nations for not feeling totally stranger in these places.
You’ll surely amaze how their structures and buildings similar and how these two languages different in sound. Each nation stands its own beauty and diversity which makes them more interesting to visit and to learn their local language by some foreigners.
If you are looking for a place to spend your vacation think to add Europe in your list. Rest assured you will never be confused about their distinction again and you will appreciate more whatever the place could offer.