Danish humor and global English

A remarkable number of Danes speak English very well. Quite a few of my foreign students in my grad seminar came here primarily to study English, since the U.K. schools see student "exchanges" as a money making proposition, rather than the integration measure the rest of the European Union has in mind.

A few years ago, people even wondered whether the Scandinavian languages might just fade away since so many of them spoke English. That doesn't seem likely anymore. And I think I am getting a better fix on why.

Jokes, clever word play, double entendre, even the right kind of plain old slapstick. See exhibit A. Guldhornene, "Golden Horns," a Viking slapstick comedy due out in Denmark shortly. It is based on characters from a former pre-Christmas television serial called "Christmas in Valhalla."

In the film, Viking gods Thor, Loki and Heindall come down to Copenhagen to make sure the golden horns, copies of real pre-Viking artifacts whose orignals were stolen 200 years ago, don't get stolen (again -- the copies were stolen again recently but recovered), which would result in grevious harm to humanity, etc. The kid heroes help the gods (the hairy guys in the back in the photo) out.


This movie might sound really goofy. (Although no worse than much of what comes out of Hollywood.) But clearly humor is in the ear, eye and culture of the audience. And it matters.

I have been noticing my colleagues at Aarhus U. When I am around, they usually shift into English to accommodate me (and for some, to practice English a bit more), but many do so just a bit reluctantly. Fluent as they are in English as a second language, they are funnier and cleverer in Danish. One colleague told me that I was getting an invitation to a party first in Danish because he wanted to be clever in it, but would send an English version to make sure I got all the info straight.

So don't expect Danish to fade away. The five and a half million Danes here are having way too much fun with it.

And for Americans, Brits, Aussies, etc., don't think that you are learning all you need (or want) to know about the world because an increasing number of non-native speakers of English can talk business with you or talk you through a computer crisis on the phone. If you really want to understand what makes people tick (and laugh), it is still very important to learn their language.

I can't even begin to calculate the number of doors in Brazil that opened for me, or opened a lot wider, because I spoke pretty good Portuguese. One time, showing up at an office in Brasilia, representing a U.S. organization, I hear someone behind the door say. "What do you know! They actually got someone who can speak Portuguese this time." They were very helpful. Not to mention the sheer fun of understanding jokes. I still remember how much fun it was, late into my first year in Rio, to actually understand a complicated pun as it was being made. So that is why at the ripe old age of 56, I find myself studying Danish tonight, prepping for my class in it tomorrow. Hoping that maybe I will get a few jokes by the time I leave.