Minister seeks to curb English influence on Danish language

Culture Minister Zenia Stampe wants to curb the growing use of English words and protect the Danish language, DR reports. She says the decline in Danish vocabulary could also mean losing part of the country’s history.

Words such as “deal,” “like,” “nice” and “chatte” are increasingly entering Danish and have become a natural part of the language for many people.

“We have a wonderful language, but we also have a very small language. We spend a lot of time in front of screens, where we encounter many English words, and that affects our language,” Stampe said.

For 18-year-old Julian Norden Søndergaard, who attends a technical upper-secondary school in Holstebro, English words have also become part of everyday speech.

“I mostly speak Danish, but sometimes, if I cannot find the Danish word, I use English words. My vocabulary is largest in English,” he said.

Stampe said this worried her, but added that young people should not be blamed. She said older generations had a responsibility to teach young people Danish words, expressions and proverbs.

Among her proposals, Stampe wants the Danish Language Council to take a more active role. She also plans to include public service media’s responsibility for the Danish language in upcoming media negotiations.

“The Danish Language Council will not have access to a book of fines, but it will have the authority and the right to lead the way and criticise things that make our language poorer,” she said.

Thomas Hestbæk Andersen, director of the Danish Language Council, said in a written response that the council looked forward to carrying out the tasks assigned to it through the proposed amendment to the law.

Julian’s classmate Tobias Hjortkjær Jensen said language naturally changed as society changed. “My generation does not speak ‘old Danish’, so I do not actually know whether I think it is worth holding on to,” he said.

Stampe disagreed, arguing that the development could cause people to lose part of the history contained in the Danish language.

“It does not just mean that the number of Danish words becomes smaller. It also means that our history is forgotten,” she said.