Thomas Olander
Overview of the Danish sound system

version 0.6 · August 2019

dansk udgave

download the overview (v. 0.6) as a PDF file

introduction
vowels
consonants
stød
stress
special problems
distinct vs. normal speech
example text
literature

The Overview of the Danish sound system is work in progress, but I hope that it may nevertheless be useful in the theoretical understanding of the Danish sound system and in the practical acquisition of the pronunciation of Danish.

“Danish” in this overview means Modern Standard Copenhagen Danish spoken distinctly by young people (appr. 30 years old). The overview is based on Grønnum 2005 and Basbøll 2005, but differs in several respects from the systems given in those publications.

In the overview Danish is referred to at two levels:

• The phonetic level: the pronunciation of Danish speech sounds and words is presented in square brackets, e.g. [ˈsbʁɔʊ̯ˀ]
• The orthographic level: the written representation of Danish speech sounds and words is presented in italics, e.g. sprog

All the example words and sentences given here are available as audio files at sproghistorie.dk/lydsystem/index.php .

Danish has a rich vowel system with several distinct vowel qualities, most of which have both short and long counterparts. In stressed syllables we find the following short vowel qualities :

	unrounded			rounded
front	[i]	[ˈmid]	mit	[y]	[ˈnyd]	nyt
	[e]	[ˈmed]	midt	[ø]	[ˈmød]	mødt
	[ɛ]	[ˈmɛd]	mæt	[œ]	[ˈsœmˀ]	søm
	[æ]	[ˈsæʊ̯ˀ]	sav	[ɶ]	[ˈdʁɶʊ̯]	drøv
	[a]	[ˈmad]	mat
back				[u]	[ˈmud]	mut
				[o]	[ˈfoðˀ]	fod
				[ɔ]	[ˈɔsd]	ost
				[ɒ]	[ˈtˢɒʊ̯]	tov
				[ʌ]	[ˈtˢʌd]	tot
	[ɑ]	[ˈtˢɑɡ]	tak

Distribution of short stressed vowels

• short [æ] is found only before [ðˀ] and [ʊ̯ˀ], where [a] is not found
• short [ɒ] is found only before [ʊ̯], where [ʌ] is not found
• short [ɶ] is found only after [ʁ], where [ø] is not found, and before [ɐ̯], where [œ] is not found

In stressed syllables we find the following long vowel qualities :

	unrounded			rounded
front	[iː]	[ˈmiːlə]	mile	[yː]	[ˈsyːlə]	syle
	[eː]	[ˈmeːlə]	mele	[øː]	[ˈsøːlə]	søle
	[ɛː]	[ˈmɛːlə]	mæle	[œː]	[ˈhœːnə]	høne
	[æː]	[ˈmæːlə]	male	[ɶː]	[ˈɡɶːɐ]	gøre
back				[uː]	[ˈmuːlə]	mule
				[oː]	[ˈmoːlə]	mole
				[ɔː]	[ˈmɔːlə]	måle
				[ɒː]	[ˈɒːnə]	orne
				[ʌː]	[ˈhʌːɪ]	høje
	[ɑː]	[ˈkʰɑːbə]	karpe

Distribution of long stressed vowels

• long [ɶː] is found only before [ɐ], where [œː] is not found
• long [ʌː] is found only before [ɪ], where [ɒː] is not found

Distribution of short and long vowels

In some positions vowel quantity is distinctive:

• before obstruents, nasals and laterals both short and long vowels are found, e.g. [ˈpʰɑɡɐ ˈpʰɑːɡɐ ˈœfɐ ˈsœːfɐ ˈmenə ˈmeːnə ˈlɛɡə ˈlɛːɡə] pakker, parker; øffer, surfer; minde, mene; lægge (vb. inf.), lægge (sb. pl.)

In other positions vowel quantity is predictable, i.e. non-distinctive:

• before another vowel, a stressed vowel is always long, e.g. [ˈlɑːɪ ˈleːʊ ˈpʰiːɐ ˈyːð̩] leje, leve, piger, yde
• before a word-final semivowel, before a semivowel with stød and before a semivowel followed by a consonant (including semivowels), a vowel is always short, e.g. [ˈhɑɪ̯ ˈhɑʊ̯ ˈdɑɪ̯ˀ ˈkʰuɐ̯ˀ ˈbɑɪ̯ˀɐ ˈlyðˀɐ ˈʁɑɪ̯sə ˈuɐ̯nə ˈlɑɪ̯ɪ̯ɐ ˈyððɐ] hej, hav (sb. sg.), dej, kur, bajer, lyder, rejse, urne, lejre, ydre
• before a semivowel followed by a vowel, a vowel is usually half-long, e.g. [ˈlɑˑɪ̯ɐ ˈyˑðɐ] lejer, yder, but the quantity may vary

Vowel chart

This chart shows the position of the Danish stressed vowels relative to each other according to place of articulation (adapted from Basbøll 2005: 48):

Unstressed vowels

The following short vowels are never found under stress:

	vocoid			contoid
	[ɪ]	[ˈlɑːɪ]	leje	[m̩]	[ˈlɑbm̩]	lappen
	[ʊ]	[ˈleːʊ]	leve	[n̩]	[ˈkʰadn̩]	katten
	[ɐ]	[ˈpiːɐ]	piger	[ŋ̩]	[ˈtˢɑɡŋ̩]	takken
	[ə]	[ˈfadə]	fatte	[l̩]	[ˈsyɡl̩]	cykel
	[ð̩]	[ˈfadð̩]	fattet

The unstressed vowels [ ɪ ʊ ɐ ] are phonetically close to the stressed vowels [ e o ʌ ].

The Danish consonant system is relatively simple compared to those of other languages. Consonants are always short except in compounds of the type [ˈhussalˀ] hussalg .

For the obstruents (comprising stops, fricatives and affricates) it is characteristic that the only difference between [pʰ tˢ kʰ] and [b d ɡ] is that the former stops are aspirated (or affricate) while the latter are unaspirated. Both the [pʰ tˢ kʰ] and the [b d ɡ] series are unvoiced and lenis.

The following obstruents are found in Danish:

		syllable-initial		syllable-final
stops	[pʰ]	[ˈpʰas]	pas
	[tˢ]	[ˈtˢɑɡ]	tak
	[kʰ]	[ˈkʰad]	kat
	[b]	[ˈbas]	bas	[ˈlɑb]	lap
	[d]	[ˈdas]	das	[ˈsad]	sat
	[ɡ]	[ˈɡas]	gas	[ˈtˢɑɡ]	tak
fricatives	[f]	[ˈfad]	fat	[ˈlɔf]	luf
	[s]	[ˈsad]	sat	[ˈpʰas]	pas
	[ɕ]	[ˈɕad]	sjat	[ˈhaɕ]	hash
	[h]	[ˈhɑɡ]	hak
affricates	[tɕ]	[ˈtɕanˀs]	tjans
	[dɕ]	[ˈdɕas]	jazz	[ˈbadɕ]	badge

The sonorants are divided into approximants, semivowels, nasals and laterals. Nasals and laterals behave similarly in many respects.

	syllable-initial			syllable-final
approx.	[j]	[ˈja]	ja
	[v]	[ˈvad]	vat
	[ʁ]	[ˈʁɑd]	rat
semivowels	[ɪ̯]			[ˈhɑɪ̯]	hej
	[ʊ̯]			[ˈhɑʊ̯]	hav
	[ɐ̯]			[ˈmoɐ̯]	mor
	[ð]			[ˈmað]	mad
nas. and lat.	[m]	[ˈmad]	mat	[ˈhɑm]	ham (pron.)
	[n]	[ˈnad]	nat	[ˈman]	man
	[ŋ]			[ˈbʌŋ]	bon
	[l]	[ˈlad]	ladt	[ˈtˢal]	tal

After [pʰ tˢ kʰ f] we find unvoiced [j ʁ l] , e.g. [ˈpʰj̥ad ˈkʰʁ̥ɑd ˈkʰj̥oːlə] pjat, krat, kjole ; unvoiced [l̥] is also found after [s] , e.g. [ˈsleɡ] slik.

Danish stød , written [ˀ] , consists of irregularities in the vibrations of the vocal chords, typically realised as creaky voice, but frequently as a full glottal closure, especially in careful speech. Occasionally an echo vowel is found after the stød , e.g. [ˈseːˀe] se . Stød is usually regarded a suprasegmental feature, not a segment.

The following structures may or may not have stød ; in these structures stød is distinctive, although it is largely predictable on the basis of the morphological structure of the word:

• a long vowel, e.g. [ˈhuːˀs ˈviːˀsɐ] hus, viser (vb. prs.) (cf., without stød , e.g. [ˈviːsɐ] viser (sb.))
• a short vowel plus a sonorant, i.e. a semivowel (e.g. [ˈvɑɪ̯ˀ ˈbɑɪ̯ˀɐ] vej, bajer ), a nasal (fx [ˈlɑmˀ ˈkʰɑmˀɐ] lam, kammer ) or a lateral (fx [ˈhalˀ ˈbalˀɐ] hal, baller (pl. of bal )) (cf., without stød , e.g. [ˈdɑɪ̯ ˈvɑɪ̯ɐ ˈhɑm ˈkɑmɐ ˈtˢal ˈbalɐ] dig, vejer, ham (pron.), kammer (vb.), tal (sb.), baller (pl. of balle ))

The phonetic requirement for stød is referred to as “ stød base”. Stød is excluded in syllables without stød base, i.e. syllables containing a short vowel not followed by sonorant, e.g. [ˈkhad ˈpʰas] kat, pas .

Danish stress, written [ ˈ ], is primarily characterised by a change in pitch. In modern standard Copenhagen Danish the pitch rises from the stressed syllable to the following syllable. Thus in a word like [ˈsbiːsə] spise the first syllable has lower pitch than the second.

At the sentence level a verb is often unstressed if it forms a syntactic unity with a following element. This phenomenon is referred to as enhedstryk or “unit stress”. The most important cases of unit stress are the following:

• verb + object without determiner (always unit stress): ˈPia læser aˈvis (cf. with determiner: ˈPia ˈlæser en aˈvis ), ˈNiels passer ˈbørn (cf. with determiner: ˈNiels ˈpasser ˈbørnene ), ˈPia spiller ˈskak
• verb + “actual subject” der without determiner (always unit stress): der mangler 'vand
• verb + prepositional phrase or adverb (unit stress in fixed expressions): 'barnet 'leger i 'vandet )
• verb + predicative (always unit stress): 'Pia malede 'huset 'rødt
• auxiliary verb + main verb (always unit stress): 'Niels skal 'sove

Several consecutive verbs may be subject to unit stress, e.g. 'Pia har kunnet stå på 'vandski .

When the verb is unstressed both quantity and stød disappear, e.g. [ˈnels ˈgɒːˀ pɔ ˈɡæːð̩n] 'Niels 'går på 'gaden ).

Quantifiers except numerals are also unstressed, e.g. et ton 'stål .

The articulation of certain sounds presents special difficulties for non-native speakers. The degree and character of the difficulties obviously depend on the speaker’s first language, but special attention should be paid to the following sounds:

• unrounded front vowels: [i e ɛ æ a]
• rounded front vowels:: [y ø œ ɶ]
• the semivowel [ð] and the vowel [ð̩] , e.g. [ˈmað ˈmɑːð̩] mad, meget
• the approximant [ʁ] and its unvoiced variant [ʁ] , e.g. [ˈʁɑd ˈtˢʁɑd] rat, træt
• the affricated alveolar stop [tˢ] , e.g. [ˈtˢɑɡ ˈtˢʁɑɡtˢɐ] tak, traktor
• the unvoiced pronunciation of [b d ɡ] , including the unvoiced pronunciation of the sequences [sb sd sɡ] ] (not [zb zd zɡ] ), e.g. [ˈtˢiɐ̯ˀsda] tirsdag
• the articulation of [h] (not [x] ), e.g. [ˈhɑɪ̯] hej
• the pronunciation of [ŋ] (not [ŋɡ] ), e.g. [ˈfɑŋɐ] fanger
• stød , e.g. [ˈmæːˀlɐ] maler (vb. prs.) vs. [ˈmæːlɐ] maler (sb. sg.); [ˈmanˀ] mand vs. [ˈman] man
• Stød , e.g. [ˈmanˀ] mand
• unit stress, e.g. 'Pia kan spille 'skak

The basis of this overview is distinctly spoken Danish. Some points where normal speech may deviate from distinct speech are the following:

• after a stressed vowel, a nasal or lateral + [ə] becomes syllabic and the [ə] is lost, e.g. [ˈfɑŋə ˈkʰoːnə] fange, kone > [ˈfɑŋ̩ ˈkʰoːn̩] (cf., after a consonant or an unstressed vowel, e.g. [ˈvesnə ˈɛːblə ˈleːonə] visne, æble, levende )
• two identical consecutive vowels are contracted, e.g. [ˈlanð̩ ˈlɛŋɐ]
• after a vowel + an obstruent [ə] disappears, e.g. [ˈæːbə ˈlɛːsə ˈlɑbə ˈlɛsə] abe, læse, lappe, læsse > [ˈæːb ˈlɛːs ˈlɑb ˈlɛs]

[en ˈdæːˀ ble ˈsoːˀln̩ ʌ ˈvenˀn̩ uˈeːˀniːi ˈʌmˀ ˈvɛm dɑ vɑ ˈsdaɐ̯ɡəsd // ˈneːð̩ pʰɔ ˈjoːˀɐn ˈsɔːˀ di en ˈmanˀ dɑ vɑ pʰɔ ˈvɑi̯ˀ ˈɡɛmˀm̩ en ˈsɡɒʊ̯ˀ // ˈvenˀn̩ ˈsæːæ tˢe ˈsoːˀln̩ // kʰa du ˈseːˀ ˈdɛnˀ ˈmanˀ dɑ ˈɡɒːˀ ˈdeɐ̯ˀ ˈneːð̩ pʰɔ ˈsɡɒʊ̯vɑːˀɪn // la ʌs pʰʁœʊ ˈkʁɑfdɐ pʰɔ ˈhɑm // ˈdɛnˀ dɑ kʰa fɔ ˈfʁɑɡŋ̩ ˈa hɑm a dn̩ ˈsdaɐ̯ɡəsdə // ˈɔʊ̯ ˈkʰɛɪ̯ / ˈsvɑːð̩ð̩ ˈsoːˀln̩ / ˈdu ˈsdɑːdɐ // ˈsʌ beˈɡønˀdə ˈvenˀn̩ ʌ ˈblɛːsə ʌ ˈsdɒːmə // ˈsdoːɐ ˈtˢʁæːˀɐ vɛldð̩ð̩ ʌmˈkʰulˀ // ˈdyːˀɐnə i ˈsɡɒːˀʊn søɡdə lyːˀ i dæːɐs ˈhuːlɐ ʌ ˈsɡjuːˀl // ˈmɑŋə ˈfuːləʁæːðɐ ble blɛsd ˈneðˀ a ˈvenˀn̩ / mɛn ˈmanˀn̩ / dɑ ˈslɛd ˈeɡə fʌˈsdoðˀ a de vɑ ˈhɑm dɑ vɑ ˈɒːsæːˀ tˢe ˈsdɒːmvæːˀɐð / tˢʁɑɡ ˈfʁɑɡŋ̩ ˈtˢɛd ʌmˈkʁaŋˀ sɑ ʌ ˈsdʁaðˀ sɑ ˈfʁɑmˀ sʌ ˈɡʌd han nu ˈkʰunə]

Normal speech

[en ˈdæːˀ ble ˈsoːˀln̩ ʌ ˈvenˀn̩ uˈeːˀniːi ˈʌmˀ ˈvɛm dɑ vɑ ˈsdaɐ̯ɡəsd // ˈneːð̩ pʰɔ ˈjoːˀɐn ˈsɔːˀ di en ˈmanˀ dɑ vɑ pʰɔ ˈvɑi̯ˀ ˈɡɛmˀm̩ en ˈsɡɒʊ̯ˀ // ˈvenˀn̩ ˈsæːæ tˢe ˈsoːˀln̩ // kʰa du ˈseːˀ ˈdɛnˀ ˈmanˀ dɑ ˈɡɒːˀ ˈdeɐ̯ˀ ˈneːð̩ pʰɔ ˈsɡɒʊ̯vɑːˀɪn // la ʌs pʰʁœʊ ˈkʁɑfdɐ pʰɔ ˈhɑm // ˈdɛnˀ dɑ kʰa fɔ ˈfʁɑɡŋ̩ ˈa hɑm a dn̩ ˈsdaɐ̯ɡəsdə // ˈɔʊ̯ ˈkʰɛɪ̯ / ˈsvɑːð̩ ˈsoːˀln̩ / ˈdu ˈsdɑːdɐ // ˈsʌ beˈɡønˀd ˈvenˀn̩ ʌ ˈblɛːs ʌ ˈsdɒːm̩ // ˈsdoːɐ ˈtˢʁæːˀɐ vɛldð̩ ʌmˈkʰulˀ // ˈdyːˀɐnə i ˈsɡɒːˀʊn søɡd lyːˀ i daɐs ˈhuːlɐ ʌ ˈsɡjuːˀl // ˈmɑŋ̩ ˈfuːl̩ʁæːðɐ ble blɛsd ˈneðˀ a ˈvenˀn̩ / mɛn ˈmanˀn̩ / dɑ ˈslɛd ˈeɡ fʌˈsdoðˀ a de vɑ ˈhɑm dɑ vɑ ˈɒːsæːˀ tˢe ˈsdɒːmvæːˀɐð / tˢʁɑɡ ˈfʁɑɡŋ̩ ˈtˢɛd ʌmˈkʁaŋˀ sɑ ʌ ˈsdʁaðˀ sɑ ˈfʁɑmˀ sʌ ˈɡʌd han nu ˈkʰun̩]

Orthography

En dag blev solen og vinden uenige om hvem der var stærkest. Nede på jorden så de en mand der var på vej gennem en skov. Vinden sagde til Solen: »Kan du se den mand der går dernede på skovvejen? Lad os prøve kræfter på ham. Den der kan få frakken af ham, er den stærkeste.« – »Okay,« svarede Solen, »Du starter.« Så begyndte Vinden at blæse og storme. Store træer væltede omkuld. Dyrene i skoven søgte ly i deres huler og skjul. Mange fuglereder blev blæst ned af vinden, men manden, der slet ikke forstod at det var ham der var årsag til stormvejret, trak frakken tæt omkring sig og stred sig frem så godt han nu kunne.

Theoretical

Hans Basbøll, The phonology of Danish. Oxford / New York 2005.

Nina Grønnum, Fonetik og fonologi: almen og dansk (3. udg.). København 2005.

Nina Grønnum, Rødgrød med fløde: en lille bog om dansk fonetik. København 2007.

Applied

Lisbeth Thorborg, Dansk udtale: øvebog, med cd-rom. København 2003.

Lisbeth Thorborg, Dansk udtale i 49 tekster, med cd-rom (2. udg.). København 2003.

Lisbeth Thorborg, Dansk udtale for begyndere, med cd-rom (2. udg.). København 2005.