By AEJ Belgium member Julian Hale
With Brussels organising its first ever Multilingualism Week (from 9 to 14 February), I thought it would be quite timely to publish a short podcast on the Danish language and culture. It’s part language, part culture, part history and lots of fun. My guest, Søren [which is Danish for ‘stern/severe’] Dalsgaard, is a former Danish interpreter and current head of the Danish section of the European Parliament’s visitor’s service. The podcast was recorded during an informal event that I organised at the Press Club in Brussels, with the support of the Belgian Chamber of Translators and Interpreters (CBTI). If journalists, teachers/translators/interpreters/anyone interested in languages/culture are interested in attending the next event, suggesting another language and/or speaking at an event. All ideas welcome.
Podcast on Danish: https://open.spotify.com/show/3B6OM3MDyGlG6o4NAmj8g9
It was also played, along with a discussion in French, on the local radio station, Radio Panik (go to the last 30 minutes for the part about Danish): https://www.radiopanik.org/emissions/les-promesses-de-l-aube/propaganza/
Danish event
Søren’s expose of linguistic gems about the Danish language and historical gems about Denmark was nothing short of fascinating. Holding a replica rune stone in his hand, he explained how the Jelling stones, carved way back in the 10th century, the “Rolls Royce of rune stones”, is the birth certificate of Denmark and about where the term ‘bluetooth’ comes from.
There was also plenty of etymology, Danish language pronounciation tips and plenty about the many vowels in Danish and hilarious moments, including how ‘A æ u å æ ø i æ å’ [I am out on the island in the river] is perfectly understandable to a Dane.
I also have a longer audio version of the evening if anyone is interested.
And I would recommend, for a fun and light read, a book called ‘The Year of Living Danishly’, by Helen Russell. Among other things, I learnt that the name ‘Lego’ comes from the Danish expression ‘leg godt’, meaning ‘play well’ and the unusual word ‘arbejdsglaede’, which means ‘happiness at work’, something very important for Scandinavians.
Future language events
I’ll announce the next one soon. Meantime, I very much welcome ideas for speakers about a particular language/culture. Among others, I’m considering Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, German but also non-EU Asian languages, Russian and different versions of French.
I like to make them as interactive as possible, so please bring along anecdotes, words and questions about the language/culture that we’ll be delving into.
The events are publicised by Belgium’s Chamber of Translators and Interpreters (CBTI) and the UK’s Institute of Translation and Interpreting and hosted by the Press Club on Rue Froissart.
If you’re interested in attending/suggesting ideas/speaking at a future informal language event, email: JulianAHale@gmail.com
If you’re interested in Brussels Multilingualism Week events, check out https://multilingualism.brussels/ or go to Instagram @brusselsmultilingualismweek