I've noticed that well-educated Europeans (and most Europeans with whom I've interacted seem to be) when speaking English, speak grammatically-correct English. That is exceptionally rare among Americans.
+wholeNwon I disagree. It just depends on what the context is, where you're speaking to them, and how you've vetted or selected the individuals you're talking to. Comparing well-educated Europeans to Americans in general is a completely unfair comparison since individuals from highly educated backgrounds will, in general, almost always by the merit of their upbringing and background, perform better than those who are not. Add to that, the desire to come across as sounding competent and the added insecurities of speaking a foreign language, and yes - they'll be prone to aim for more grammatically-correct English. Though, by that token, they'll often still make many cultural mistakes tied to whatever their native tongue is. Vs and Ws, Ss and Cs, etc., the omission of The or a-typical sentence structures, etc.
Danes tend to value sincerity, honesty and genuine meaningful relations over almost anything else in life. We might seem somewhat direct and to the point when we speak and to some people from other cultures, that might come off as rudeness. But when a Dane gives you a compliment, chances are it's 100% sincere. We don't insulate our words in order to make them easily digestible. Also, small talk and shallow relationships aren't really valued by Danes. This is why many foreigners have a hard time penetrating Danish social structures. You really have give a piece of yourself, something genuine and meaningful, in order to have that interaction blossom. If your goal is to make Danish friends, being shallow or a fast talker, will probably get you no where, fast. I'm a Dane and I've been in countries where I've been accepted into someone's close circle of friends, within minutes of meeting them. It weirded me out, since non of them knew anything about me and me of them. I've not given anything meaningful of myself to them yet. I'm on a mad ramble here.....But there's a reason why people from the outside get the feeling, that Danes seem reserved and hard to connect with. The fact is, your 1 week vacation in Denmark is not enough time to build a meaningful relation, which is required in order to punch through the social structure here in Denmark. Once you do break through, the relationships you have are so deep and rewarding. You can talk about anything and friends will do whatever they can to make sure everyone is happy.
@Lars Wolter, I like the Danes, Dutch, and Germans a lot for their authenticity and genuineness. These are the best attributes of your culture and do not change them to accommodate people from English-speaking countries.
I have enjoyed your videos and observations for the latest years. And for a brief moment, I thought you were leaving DK for good. But now I understand, that you'll return, which is good. So good luck to you with your trip and your reunion, and welcome back.
Thanks Kim! Really appreciate the kind words! Yes, you're correct and this is just a short two and a half week visit to the states to see friends and family. Then I'm back to Copenhagen for at least a couple more years :)
Agree with your observations about language. After having been away from Denmark for decades, relearning it was actually a process of digging and reestablishing the conduit to that part of the brain where it had been stored. Once the well had been tapped again, so to speak, the danish returned quickly. It seems that our brain compartmentalizes. When thinking about experiences there, the way I think and speak or write can change. Very interesting stuff.
Im european, not english speaker, lived in australia for 6months. When i got back , just realised i Lost my tongue and barely could speak and actually pronounce words, lost words,slangs, sentences, couldnt get used to part of a culture. So i went to UK where felt like "normal" 6months. And recently went back again to hometown and i cant get culture at all, i feel like immigrant in my hometown.
can u tell me one more thing if i studied denmark after my studies is there chance to move usa , i love USA but they are not accepting me and denmark is ready for visa, so please tell me can i move USA after studies
That's something you'll have to research independently and depends on a lot of factors including where you're coming from. A degree from Denmark would definitely help, but beyond that and how much? I can't say.
That would be a very bad decision, as there's a high probability to eventually gets your assets seized by the government and gets you deported and permanently banned from Europe.
Boy people are self important and just go on and on about nothing....I wanted to hear about the reverse culture shock but Jesus this guy could bore a sleeping elephant
man, im a dane and i would say compared to the many countries i have been to, we deffiantly bike like maniacs. The only place worse is belgien where they're actually trying to kill you when biking lol
I hear it a lot and I kind of get where you're coming from. However, we've grown up with biking pretty much anywhere so it's not like we're driving like maniacs, we just have a really "optimised" or efficient biking culture; everyone knows how, where and when to bike/not to bike, so when a foreigner comes by, it might seem ridiculous or dangerous, but pretty much everyone knows how to do it properly in Denmark.
They actually ride on sensible around town bikes.. not all the Lance Armstrong wanna bes in the USA. ;) I wish I lived there. I get everywhere on a bicycle and wish we had the infra the Danes enjoy.
The US is so large it's hard to say. The mixture of ethnicities and looks are very attractive. That said, the obesity problem in the US hides a lot of that beauty. The Danish women are famed for their beauty - and it's well deserved, so Copenhagen/Denmark win.
I've noticed that well-educated Europeans (and most Europeans with whom I've interacted seem to be) when speaking English, speak grammatically-correct English.
That is exceptionally rare among Americans.
+wholeNwon I disagree. It just depends on what the context is, where you're speaking to them, and how you've vetted or selected the individuals you're talking to. Comparing well-educated Europeans to Americans in general is a completely unfair comparison since individuals from highly educated backgrounds will, in general, almost always by the merit of their upbringing and background, perform better than those who are not. Add to that, the desire to come across as sounding competent and the added insecurities of speaking a foreign language, and yes - they'll be prone to aim for more grammatically-correct English. Though, by that token, they'll often still make many cultural mistakes tied to whatever their native tongue is. Vs and Ws, Ss and Cs, etc., the omission of The or a-typical sentence structures, etc.
Danes tend to value sincerity, honesty and genuine meaningful relations over almost anything else in life. We might seem somewhat direct and to the point when we speak and to some people from other cultures, that might come off as rudeness.
But when a Dane gives you a compliment, chances are it's 100% sincere. We don't insulate our words in order to make them easily digestible. Also, small talk and shallow relationships aren't really valued by Danes.
This is why many foreigners have a hard time penetrating Danish social structures. You really have give a piece of yourself, something genuine and meaningful, in order to have that interaction blossom.
If your goal is to make Danish friends, being shallow or a fast talker, will probably get you no where, fast.
I'm a Dane and I've been in countries where I've been accepted into someone's close circle of friends, within minutes of meeting them. It weirded me out, since non of them knew anything about me and me of them. I've not given anything meaningful of myself to them yet.
I'm on a mad ramble here.....But there's a reason why people from the outside get the feeling, that Danes seem reserved and hard to connect with. The fact is, your 1 week vacation in Denmark is not enough time to build a meaningful relation, which is required in order to punch through the social structure here in Denmark.
Once you do break through, the relationships you have are so deep and rewarding. You can talk about anything and friends will do whatever they can to make sure everyone is happy.
@Lars Wolter,
I like the Danes, Dutch, and Germans a lot for their authenticity and genuineness. These are the best attributes of your culture and do not change them to accommodate people from English-speaking countries.
I have enjoyed your videos and observations for the latest years. And for a brief moment, I thought you were leaving DK for good. But now I understand, that you'll return, which is good. So good luck to you with your trip and your reunion, and welcome back.
Thanks Kim! Really appreciate the kind words! Yes, you're correct and this is just a short two and a half week visit to the states to see friends and family. Then I'm back to Copenhagen for at least a couple more years :)
Agree with your observations about language. After having been away from Denmark for decades, relearning it was actually a process of digging and reestablishing the conduit to that part of the brain where it had been stored. Once the well had been tapped again, so to speak, the danish returned quickly. It seems that our brain compartmentalizes. When thinking about experiences there, the way I think and speak or write can change. Very interesting stuff.
You're welcome.
Wonderful video. I am an American researching travel to Denmark...
Thanks Jei! Don't miss my Denmark 101 series then and my blog posts on VirtualWayfarer =)
wish you a fantastic trip home to the US mate!!
David Hansen Thanks David! I appreciate it!
You are very welcome! safe flight!
I hope you have a really nice trip :)
mkdanmark Thank you!
i can feel you have attained a little bit of a danish accent :d
haha, some of my pacing has definitely changed =)
Alex Berger haha :)
agreed he sounds danish now
The Danish language doesn’t have a word for “please”, so that’s probably why you get used to not using it 😂
Im european, not english speaker, lived in australia for 6months. When i got back , just realised i Lost my tongue and barely could speak and actually pronounce words, lost words,slangs, sentences, couldnt get used to part of a culture. So i went to UK where felt like "normal" 6months. And recently went back again to hometown and i cant get culture at all, i feel like immigrant in my hometown.
KristisTm a
I went through the same thing after living in the U.S. for a year, it took me over a month to speak some sentences without the help of using English
can u tell me one more thing if i studied denmark after my studies is
there chance to move usa , i love USA
but they are not accepting me and denmark is ready for visa, so please
tell me can i move USA after studies
That's something you'll have to research independently and depends on a lot of factors including where you're coming from. A degree from Denmark would definitely help, but beyond that and how much? I can't say.
ohk than do u know, how much difficult to go to UK if i studied in denmark as uk is also eurpion country and only 1000 km away from denmark hahmm
+Mani Bhinder absolutely the same answer with one modification - the UK may leave the EU in 11 days.
damn lets see result but they will strict rules definitely, if they do so i will go on tourist visa and will not come back :D
That would be a very bad decision, as there's a high probability to eventually gets your assets seized by the government and gets you deported and permanently banned from Europe.
Elsker hvordan du taler engelsk medd dansk accent :)
hahaha
Boy people are self important and just go on and on about nothing....I wanted to hear about the reverse culture shock but Jesus this guy could bore a sleeping elephant
danes don't bike like maniacs.
+Alex Berger tru
man, im a dane and i would say compared to the many countries i have been to, we deffiantly bike like maniacs. The only place worse is belgien where they're actually trying to kill you when biking lol
I hear it a lot and I kind of get where you're coming from. However, we've grown up with biking pretty much anywhere so it's not like we're driving like maniacs, we just have a really "optimised" or efficient biking culture; everyone knows how, where and when to bike/not to bike, so when a foreigner comes by, it might seem ridiculous or dangerous, but pretty much everyone knows how to do it properly in Denmark.
Matwok i would agree
They actually ride on sensible around town bikes.. not all the Lance Armstrong wanna bes in the USA. ;) I wish I lived there. I get everywhere on a bicycle and wish we had the infra the Danes enjoy.
You’re just too much ......😖
What country has the more attractive women in your opinion Denmark or the U.S?
The US is so large it's hard to say. The mixture of ethnicities and looks are very attractive. That said, the obesity problem in the US hides a lot of that beauty. The Danish women are famed for their beauty - and it's well deserved, so Copenhagen/Denmark win.
@@AlexBerger was it ever hard to approach danish women? Chicks in California are becoming the worst man. Living abroad in Denmark has been a dream.