Introduction
The Danish Language
Denmark's offical language is Danish. It is the mother tongue of practically the entire nation and is the language used in most official situations. Danish has been an official EU language since 1973.
The Danish language remains somewhat organic, in that it has had little or no influence from either foreign citizens living in Denmark or immigrants who have obtained Danish citizenship.
Danish is widely used in both the Faroe Islands and Greenland and is a compulsory subject in schools in these countries. Until the late 1990’s, Danish was also the first foreign language to be taught in schools in Iceland. Still to this day it remains a language commonly used in other Nordic countries.
Around 50,000 pro-Danish German citizens have Danish as their first language, as well as some Danish immigrants who have relocated to Australia and the USA.
Also in this section
- Introduction: The Danish Language
- Learning the language: Do I need to learn Danish?
- Learning Danish: Language courses
- Free language classes in Denmark: Danish course for foreigners