How to determine which of two Danish pronunciations is correct, or if both are?

Question

There is a common word in Danish for which I have encountered two pronunciations in my learning. Both of them sound fairly reasonable.

How do I figure out which of the pronunciations is correct and learn it, or figure out if both are and the variation is dialectical?

I would try to find an authoritative reference. Are there Danish dictionaries that provide IPA transcription? Unfortunately, Dansk section of wiktionary doesn't provide those yet. — Vitaly, Jan 12 '18 at 16:34
Related question Linguistics stack: Are there any sources that provide accurate IPA transcriptions for Danish? — Vitaly, Jan 19 '18 at 22:40
@PeterMortensen I cannot, because it has been a while I do not remember it anymore. Also, questions about details of specific languages (like "how to pronounce a particular word) are not on topic on this SE website. — Tommi, Jan 20 '19 at 20:09

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 19 '18 at 22:44

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This online Danish dictionary http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog provides transcription and pronunciation. It's not IPA, it's their own variation of IPA. Transcription is described in detail here.

answered Jan 19 '18 at 22:44

Vitaly

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score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 09 '19 at 14:01

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I am native speaker of Danish, and I can tell you, that we pronounce differently depending on region. If you want anything concrete, go for what we call "rigsdansk" (Standard Danish), and ask someone from Sjaelland / Zeeland, since that dialect is closest to risdansk. To find the right pronunciation, would be difficult without knowing the word too.

edited Jan 09 '19 at 14:01

Tsundoku

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answered Jan 09 '19 at 11:17

Jannick

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 18 '18 at 09:32

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I´m living in Denmark, I don´t know if you also are. The best thing you can do is go to a Danish library and get a dictionary, they contain phonetic pronunciations as well.

answered Jan 18 '18 at 09:32

Taymor

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score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 19 '18 at 13:05

I asked two Danish colleagues, who came to agreement about which pronunciation is correct, and found some instances of combined words where the other might also be used. The other pronunciation was not used independently. Since the colleagues are of different age and from different regions, I trust their judgement.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 08 '18 at 12:55

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The best way is to ask a native speaker. This is usually better than the dictionary method as in English for example the word "tomato" has two very distinct pronunciations.

answered Feb 08 '18 at 12:55

Andre

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A common reference for that is Let's Call the Whole Thing Off from the film Shall We Dance (1937). A version on YouTube. – Peter Mortensen Jan 20 '19 at 20:22
Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers - Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (1937) – Peter Mortensen Jan 20 '19 at 20:32

How to determine which of two Danish pronunciations is correct, or if both are?

5 Answers5