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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Linguistics Studies

Research Question about Danish Speakers Learning English

0Hello Everyone,02br
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00I am an American doing some research for a book I am writing and wondered if you could give me some input. I hope you don't mind me using this forum to do that. I just discovered your wonderful site today.02br
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00For both the teachers and Scandinavian speakers out there, how difficult is it for a Danish native speaker to learn English? And what are the reasons why one immigrant (from Denmark) would learn English so well that he or she would have a barely discernable accent, and another person from the same country for about the same number of years retain a very heavy accent so that it is difficult at times to understand him? The person with difficulties came to the USA many years ago, in the early 1900s, with no English skills at all.02br
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00It may be a naive question, but I am trying to understand the reasons for this person's difficulty: is it simply a matter of individual differences? And if so, what makes one person "better" than another in learning a language than another? Is it wiring in the brain? Or could it be that there are other things at work like a speech impediment that goes beyond simple language issues (the person in question had difficulty with "R's" for example, pronouncing them like "W's")02br
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00Thanks very much! Any input would be much appreciated. Happy Holidays, Everyone.02br
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00Regards,02br
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00Laura0-
  

Top answer

0 Hi Laura02br 02br 00As you don't seem to get any answers from Danes, I'll offer you one from a Finn. 02br 02br 00It is easier for a speaker of a Germanic language to learn any other Germanic language. Danish - or Old Norse, or Old Scandinavian - is one of the languages English derives from.

— Cool Breeze

  • 0 Hi Laura02br 02br 00As you don't seem to get any answers from Danes, I'll offer you one from a Finn.
  • 02br 02br 00It is easier for a speaker of a Germanic language to learn any other Germanic language.
  • Danish - or Old Norse, or Old Scandinavian - is one of the languages English derives from.
  • English grammar is easy for a Dane to learn because it is a simplified version of Danish grammar.
  • 02br 02br 00There are differences in people's ability to learn foreign languages, just as there are differences in their ability to learn their native language.
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5 Answers
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0 Hi Laura02br
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00As you don't seem to get any answers from Danes, I'll offer you one from a Finn. 02br
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00It is easier for a speaker of a Germanic language to learn any other Germanic language. Danish - or Old Norse, or Old Scandinavian - is one of the languages English derives from. English grammar is easy for a Dane to learn because it is a s
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0Hi CB,02br
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00Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it! Very interesting about the Danish grammar, this is helpful! 02br
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00About the other issue related to accents--you are absolutely right, we are all very different and some people are just not as good at learning other languages. I definitely don't expect everyone to be the same, the world
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01cite10Musidora12cite10I suppose what intrigues me is what is going on physically in the brain or body that accounts for the accent differences? Why does one person retain an accent perceived by others as thick and hard to understand while another person barely keeps their original accent? 12br
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10 what are the reasons why one immigrant (from Denmark) would learn English so well that he or she would have a barely discernable accent, and another person from the same country for about the same number of years retain a very heavy accent so that it is difficult at times to understand him? 12blockquote
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0Thanks Forbes, good point about the age. The person in question arrived in the U.S. in 1916, when he was 29 years old. Also, since he lived in a Scandinavian enclave in Brooklyn, this would have provided a refuge from the language issues that would further handicap him and slow his progress. 02br
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00Happy New Year to everyone!02br
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00Regards,02
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