Today, I am continuing my series on the pronunciation of the Scandinavian languages, looking at vowels and the consonants associated with certain vowels. As an introduction, I would like to point out that the general pronunciation of Danish seems more ‘logical’ or ‘common’ than those of Norwegian and Swedish, which have numerous particularities, something which contributes to their charm and unique musicality.

As far as vowels are concerned, these three languages pronounce them in the same way. Let’s start with the y, which is not pronounced as an i, but a bit like the French u, almost as if you were whistling it. Let’s take the word by as an example, which is common to all three languages and means town. Well, it is pronounced like the French words bu (drunk) or lu (read). The letter o is pronounced ou (like in ‘you’), as in mor (mother), which is pronounced ‘mour’. Oslo, as you may have guessed, is therefore pronounced ‘Ouslou’. The letter u is also pronounced ‘ou’, while the letter e is pronounced ‘ay’, ‘ey’ or even like the indefinite article a (a car) or the pronoun her if it is at the end of a word.

Let’s now look at the consonants associated with certain vowels. In particular, the letter g. In Danish, there is no problem, it is pronounced like a g, as in the word gøre (to do), ‘gherher’. However, its Swedish equivalent, göra, is pronounced ‘yherha’: the g has become a y. Göteborg, the Swedish name of the city of Gothenburg, is therefore pronounced ‘yhertherborg’ and not ‘ghertherborg’! In Norwegian, g is often combined with a j, as in gjøre (to do), which is pronounced in the Swedish manner, ‘yearher’: gj = y. Another notable difference between Danish and Swedish/Norwegian is the pronunciation of the syllable gi. In Danish, it is ‘standard’, as in the word ‘gift’ (poison or married… Please do not jump to the conclusion that marriage is a poison in Scandinavia!), which is also common to all three languages and is pronounced like the English word gift. In Norwegian and Swedish, however, it is pronounced ‘yeeft’: gi = yee. The same rule applies in Swedish to the syllable ge which is sometimes also found in Norwegian: ‘ge’ (to give) is pronounced ‘yey’.

Let’s move on to the letter k. In Danish, it is pronounced like a standard k, regardless of which other letter it is combined with. However, as you have gathered, in Norwegian and Swedish, it is a different story! In Knut Hamsun’s language, for example, the combination kj is pronounced as a very soft ‘ch’, a bit like the German ‘ich’ (I) or ‘dich’ (you): ‘kjærlighet’ (love) is pronounced ‘cherlihet’. In Henning Mankell’s language, k is often combined with the letter ä, and is also pronounced ‘ch’, as in ‘kärlek’ (love), ‘cherlake’. The same rule applies when k is combined with the letters i or e in Norwegian and Swedish: Kina (China) is pronounced ‘Cheena’ (simply ‘Keena’ in Danish). Kemi (chemistry) becomes ‘cheymee’ in Swedish.

‘ch’: skje (spoon) is pronounced ‘chey’. Its Swedish equivalent, sked (without the ‘j’), is also pronounced ‘cheyd’. Last combination of the day. I notice that you are getting a bit tired! Sk combined with i or y. Yeah, in Norwegian and Swedish, it is always pronounced ‘ch’ (in Swedish, the ‘ch’ very often turns into a sort of very soft w… a bit like in ‘we’). Skyldig’ (guilty) is therefore pronounced ‘chuldee’ (or rather ‘wuldee’ in Swedish)! You got it all right!!! In Norwegian and Swedish, people say they are ‘cheeing’ when they are sliding down snow-covered slopes, while the Danes simply say they’re… skiing!

And if you are soon planning to take part in a biathlon competition in Norway or Sweden, how will you pronounce ‘skiskyting’ or ‘skidskytte’? The winners of this little Scandinavian pronunciation contest will win a glass of gløgg or… glögg! Please feel free to reply to me using the contact form.