Dansk
Native Speakers: 6.0 million
Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein (Germany), Faroe Islands, Denmark
Official: Denmark, Faroe Islands
Indo-European, Northern Germanic
Has a largely analytic structure, meaning it relies on word order and auxiliary verbs rather than inflection to convey grammatical relationships. It has two grammatical genders (common and neuter), a postposed definite article (e.g., hus “house” vs. huset “the house”), and relatively fixed subject–verb–object (SVO) word order. Phonologically, Danish is notable for its reduced vowel articulation, frequent vowel mergers, and the use of stød—a glottal or creaky- voiced prosodic feature that distinguishes word meaning. The language also has extensive vowel length and consonant softening, contributing to the marked difference between spoken and written forms. Lexically and syntactically, Danish shares significant similarities with Norwegian and Swedish.
The Danish language consists of three main dialect groups: Insular Danish (spoken on Zealand and surrounding islands), Jutlandic (spoken in mainland Jutland), and Bornholmian (spoken on the island of Bornholm). While Standard Danish, based largely on the Copenhagen variety, is dominant in media and education, regional dialects persist—especially among older speakers and in rural areas. Jutlandic dialects, in particular, show significant phonological and lexical variation from the standard, including different vowel systems and conservative grammatical features. Bornholmian is especially distinct, retaining archaic phonemes and pitch accent patterns more closely aligned with Swedish. Overall, dialectal variation in Denmark has declined due to urbanization and standardization, but regional speech still carries cultural and social identity.
Latin script
In the United States, the Danish language is primarily spoken within small heritage communities, particularly in states with historic Danish immigrant populations such as Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and Utah. According to U.S. Census data, fewer than 30,000 people report speaking Danish at home, and most are older adults or recent immigrants. While active use of the language has declined over generations, cultural institutions—such as the Museum of Danish America in Iowa and various Danish-American churches and social clubs— help preserve the language and traditions within these communities. Danish is also studied in select university language programs with an interest in Scandinavian studies.
At Latitude Prime, we offer Danish translation, Danish interpretation, and Danish localization services in numerous specialized subject areas and multiple dialects. Whether you need to translate legal documents into Danish, need a Danish interpreter for a business meeting in Copenhagen, or want to localize your website into Danish to market your products or services in Denmark and Greenland, Latitude Prime has the customized language solution to meet all your Danish language needs.
