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    DE-DK

Germany-Denmark

The border region at a glance

  • Consists of the region Sønderjylland-Schleswig in southern Denmark (Region Syddanmark) and northern Germany (the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein)  
  • ~700,000 inhabitants (~250,000 on the Danish side of the border and ~450,000 in Germany)
  • Official languages: German, Danish, Friisisk 

Language situation

  • A wide variety of languages exists in this border region: German, Low German, Danish, Sønderjysk (South Jutlandic) and Frisian. Low German and Sønderjysk are regional languages, while Danish, German and Frisian are minority languages. In addition, Danish and German are also foreign and neighbouring languages. Further, the extinct mixed language Flensburg Petuh is occasionally  used. 
  • German, in particular, is under pressure in Denmark. In recent years, there has been a declining interest in the German language, including across the education system, from primary school to university.  Given that Germany is Denmark's leading export partner, this  trend is alarming. German is seen as a difficult language,  while English is perceived as the lingua franca (Hansen, 2018). 
  • Danish is primarily taught in the northern part of Germany as a neighbouring or minority language. Danish "belongs to the spectrum of foreign languages that can be taught in schools" (Jacob, 2018), but is not mandatory;  schools can decide whether Danish is offered. Danish is also taught as a first language in the approximately 45 schools serving  the Danish minority in Schleswig (Hansen & Hallsteinsdóttir, 2022).  

 

References in German, Danish and English

 

Auge O. (2020), “Der deutsch-dänische Grenzraum”, in Dingel I. and Paulmann J. (eds), Europäische Geschichte Online (EGO), Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, available at www.ieg-ego.eu/augeo-2020-de, accessed 24 February 2021.

BDN = Bund deutscher Nordschleswiger (2019), Status der deutschen Sprache in Dänemark. Analyse und Vorschläge, available at https://nordschleswig.dk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Deutsch-in-Daenemark_Analyse-2019.pdf, accessed 8 April 2024.

Fredsted E. (2018), “Hvorfor er dansk og tysk ikke fremmedsprog i Sønderjylland-Schleswig?”, in Nabosprog i Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig, Interreg Deutschland-Danmark, KursKultur, available at www.region.dk/downloads/Publikationen/DK/dk_sprogpublikationKursKultur.pdf?m=1611559752&, accessed 5 April 2024, pp. 4-12.

Graw-Teebken A. (2020), 1920-2020: Das deutsch-dänische Grenzgebiet – von der Grenzziehung bis zur Zusammenarbeit, Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig, Pattburg, available at www.region.de/downloads/Publikationen/DE/graensen_1920-2020_DE.pdf?m=1585648106&, accessed 24 January 2022.

Hansen C. F. and Hallsteinsdóttir E. (2022), “Nachbarsprachendidaktik in Theorie und Praxis am Beispiel Deutsch und Dänisch”, Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht No. 27 (1), pp. 17-46.

Hansen C. F. (2018), “Tyskfagets status i Danmark”, in Nabosprog i Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig, Interreg Deutschland-Danmark, KursKultur, available at www.region.dk/downloads/Publikationen/DK/dk_sprogpublikationKursKultur.pdf?m=1611559752&, accessed 5 April 2024, pp. 13-17.

Jacob R. (2018), “Die Nachbarsprache in der Schule lernen. Dänisch als Fremdsprache an öffentlichen Schulen in Schleswig-Holstein”, Grenzfriedenshefte No. 65 (2), available at www.dein-ads.de/fileadmin/download/pdf_grenzfriedenshefte/2018/12_gfh_2.2018.pdf, accessed 5 April 2023, pp. 197-206.

Contacts in this project

Camilla Hansen
UC SYD - Centre de Mindretalspædagogik, Denmark
cfhaucsyd.dk