en  fr  de
  1. Home
  2.  > 
    Programme
  3.  > 
    Programme 2020-2023
  4.  > 
    Crossborder vocational education
  5.  > 
    Border regions
  6.  > 
    DE-DK

Germany-Denmark

The border region at a glance

  • It consists of the Sønderjylland-Schleswig region in the south of Denmark (the Syddanmark region) and the north of Germany (the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein).
  • Of the region’s approximate  700 000 inhabitants (~250 000  are on the Danish side of the border and ~450 000 in Germany). 
  • Official languages: German, Danish, Friisisk (Frisian)

Language situation

  • A large variety of languages exists in this border region: German, Low German, Danish, Sønderjysk (South Jutlandic) - a dialect of the Danish language  and Frisian. Low German  is a regional language and Sønderjysk a regional dialect; Danish, German and Frisian are minority languages. In addition, Danish and German are also foreign and neighbouring languages. Flensburg Petuh is also sometimes used - this is a mixture of German, Low German, Danish, and Southern Jutlandic.
  • German in particular is under pressure in Denmark. In recent years and throughout the education system (from primary school to university), there has been a declining interest in the German language. With Germany as Denmark's leading export partner, the trend is alarming. While German is seen as a difficult language,  English is seen as lingua franca (Hansen, 2018).
  • Danish in Germany is taught mainly in the northern part of the country as a neighbouring or minority language. Danish "belongs to the spectrum of foreign languages that can be taught in schools" (Jacob, 2018), but  it is not mandatory; schools decide whether to offer Danish. Additionally, Danish is  taught as a first language in approximately 45 schools in  the Danish minority region 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 08 April 2024.

Fredsted E. (2018), “Hvorfor er dansk og tysk ikke fremmedsprog i Sønderjylland-Schleswig? I Nabosprog i Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig”, Interreg Deutschland-Danmark, KursKultur, available at https://www.region.dk/downloads/Publikationen/DK/dk_sprogpublikationKursKultur.pdf?m=1611559752&, accessed 05.04.2024, pp. 4-12.

Graw-Teebken A. (2020), 1920-2020: Das deutsch-dänische Grenzgebiet – von der Grenzziehung bis zur Zusammenarbeit, Pattburg, Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig, available at https://www.region.de/downloads/Publikationen/DE/graensen_1920-2020_DE.pdf, 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 27(1), pp. 17-46.

Hansen C. F. (2018), “Tyskfagets status i Danmark. I Nabosprog i Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig”, Interreg Deutschland-Danmark, KursKultur, available at https://www.region.dk/downloads/Publikationen/DK/dk_sprogpublikationKursKultur.pdf, accessed 05 April 2024, pp. 13-17.

Jacob R. (2018), “Die Nachbarsprache in der Schule lernen. Dänisch als Fremdsprache an öffentlichen Schulen in Schleswig-Holstein”, Grenzfriedenshefte 65 (2), available at https://www.dein-ads.de/fileadmin/download/pdf_grenzfriedenshefte/2018/12_gfh_2.2018.pdf, accessed 05 April 2023, pp. 197-206.

Contacts in this project

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