The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Danish pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

Transcriptions in articles are primarily based on the "distinct form" set out in Brink et al. (1991). Stress, stød, and vowel length are frequently lost in actual running speech.

See Danish phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of the language.

Key[edit]

Vowels
IPA Examples English approximation
ɑ tak [ˈtsʰɑk] art
ɑː rane [ˈʁɑːnə] father
ʌ ånd [ˈʌnˀ] somewhat like off
ɒ normal [nɒˈmɛˀl] off
ɒː kort [ˈkʰɒːt] dog
æ kat [ˈkʰæt] bat
æː græde [ˈkʁæːðə] bad
e̝ bed [ˈpe̝ð] ('garden plot') bit
e̝ː mene [ˈme̝ːnə] bid
e ven [ˈven], frisk [ˈfʁesk] bait
eː mæle [ˈmeːlə] bade
ɛ bær [ˈpɛɐ̯] bet
ɛː gade [ˈkɛːðə] bed
i tisse [ˈtsʰisə] beat
iː mile [ˈmiːlə] bead
o foto [ˈfoto] story, but short
oː kone [ˈkʰoːnə] story
ɔ ost [ˈɔst] ('cheese') RP thought
ɔː måle [ˈmɔːlə] RP law
ø nød [ˈnøðˀ] somewhat like hurt
øː løber [ˈløːpɐ] ('runner') somewhat like herd
œ bønne [ˈpœnə] somewhat like hurt
œː høne [ˈhœːnə] somewhat like herd
ɶ tør [ˈtsʰɶɐ̯ˀ] ('dry') somewhat like but
ɶː røre [ˈʁɶːɐ] somewhat like bud
u ud [ˈuðˀ] moot
uː hule [ˈhuːlə] mood
y tyk [ˈtsʰyk] somewhat like refute
yː synlig [ˈsyːnli] somewhat like feud
Unstressed-only
ɐ løber [ˈløːpɐ] ('runner') coda
ð̩ malet [ˈmɛːlð̩][1][2] the book (pronounced quickly)
ə hoppe [ˈhʌpə] focus
l̩ gammel [ˈkɑml̩][1] bottle
m̩ København [kʰøpm̩ˈhɑwˀn][1] rhythm
n̩ vinden [ˈve̝nˀn̩] ('the wind')[1] sudden
ŋ̍ ryggen [ˈʁœkŋ̍][1] Washington
Consonants
IPA Examples English approximations
ɐ̯ er [ˈɛɐ̯] near
ɕ sjat [ˈɕæt] ship
ð øde [ˈøːðə][2] somewhat like bathe or bail
f fod [ˈfoðˀ] fan
h hat [ˈhæt] heart
j jord [ˈjoɐ̯ˀ], mig [ˈmɑj] yawn
k god [ˈkoðˀ] scar
kʰ kone [ˈkʰoːnə] car
l lykke [ˈløkə] lake
m mod [ˈmoðˀ] man
n node [ˈnoːðə] nap
ŋ lang [ˈlɑŋˀ] ring
p bog [ˈpɔwˀ] spot
pʰ pol [ˈpʰoˀl] pot
ʁ rød [ˈʁœðˀ] French parler
s sod [ˈsoðˀ] between sip and ship (retracted)
t dåb [ˈtɔˀp] start
tɕ tjener [ˈtɕeːnɐ] chin
tsʰ tak [ˈtsʰɑk] tart
v våd [ˈvɔðˀ] very
w hav [ˈhɑw] ('ocean') cow
Suprasegmentals
IPA Example Description
ˈ  ˌ husmor [ˈhusˌmoɐ̯] Stress (places before the stressed syllable)[3]
ˀ hun hund [ˈhun ˈhunˀ]ⓘ Stød[4]

Comparison of transcription schemes[edit]

Transcriptions of Danish in linguistic and lexicographic literature deviate from the standard IPA in many aspects to dispense with diacritics and to maintain resemblance to the Dania transcription, which was influential in the development of Danish linguistics and maintains resemblance to Danish orthography. The conventions of this guide, on the other hand, seek adherence to standard IPA usage as much as possible so that readers who are already familiar with the standard IPA do not have to look up or remember the value of each symbol in the Danish tradition.

Wiki-
pedia 		Example Basbøll
(2005) 		Den
Danske
Ordbog 		Grønnum
(2005) 		Molbæk
Hansen
(1990) 		udtale-
ordbog
.dk 		Brink
et al.
(1991) 		Politikens
Nudansk
Ordbog 		Narrow
tran-
scription[5]
Vowels
ɑ takke, sejle ɑ ɑ ɑ α a α, α̇[6] α[6] [ɑ̈]
kræft a æ ɑ̈ ä
ɑː trane, arne ɑː ɑː ɑː αː aː α·[6] α·[6] [ɑ̈ː]
ʌ måtte ʌ ʌ ʌ ʌ ɒ ɔ ɔ [ɒ̽]
ɒ vor ɒ ɒ ɒ ɔ ɒ å[7] år[8] [ɒ̝]
ɒː tårne ɒː ɒː ɒː ɔː ɒː å·[7] [ɒ̝ː]
æ malle a a a a æ ɑ a [æ]
række æ aɪ ɑ̈ ä [a]
æː græde aː aː ɑː[9] aː æː ɑ̈ð ä· [æː]
e̝ list e e e e e e e [e̝]
e̝ː mele eː eː eː eː eː e· e· [e̝ː]
e læst ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ ɛ æ æ [e]
brist æ æ [e̞]
eː mæle, bære ɛː ɛː ɛː, æː[9] ɛː ɛː, æː æ· æ· [eː]
grene, kræse æː æː æ·, æᶖ[10] [e̞ː~e̞j]
ɛ bær æ æ æ æ æ ɑ̇ ä [ɛ]
ɛː male æː æː æː aː æː ɑ̇· a· [ɛː]
i mis i i i i i i i [i]
iː mile iː iː iː iː iː i· i· [iː]
o foto o o o o o o o [o̝]
oː mole oː oː oː oː oː o· o· [o̝ː]
ɔ ost ɔ ɔ ɔ å ɔ ɑ̊ å [ɔ̽]
ɔː måle ɔː ɔː ɔː åː ɔː ɑ̊· å· [ɔ̽ː]
ø kys ø ø ø ø ø ø ø [ø]
øː køle øː øː øː øː øː ø· ø· [øː]
œ høns, grynt œ œ œ, œ̞[9] ö œ ö ö [œ̝]
œː høne, røbe œː œː œː, œ̞ː[9] öː œː ö· ö· [œ̝ː]
ɶ gør ɶ ɶ œ̞ ɔ̈ ɶ ɔ̈ ɔ̈ [œ]
grøn ɶ [ɶ̝]
ɶː gøre ɶː ɶː œ̞ː ɔ̈ː ɶː ɔ̈· ɔ̈· [œː]
u guld, brusk u u u, o[9] u u u u [u]
uː mule, ruse uː uː uː, oː[9] uː uː u· u· [uː]
y lyt y y y y y y y [y]
yː kyle yː yː yː yː yː y· y· [yː]
Unstressed-only
ɐ fatter ɐ ʌ ɐ ʌ ɐ ɔ ɔ [ɒ̽]
ð̩ måned ð̩ əð ð̩ əð ɤ ð̩ əð [ð̩˕˗ˠ]
ə hoppe ə ə ə ə ə ə ə [ə]
l̩ gammel l̩ əl l̩ əl l̩ l̩ əl [l̩]
m̩ hoppen m̩ ən m̩ ən m̩ m̩ ən [m̩]
n̩ hesten n̩ n̩ n̩ n̩ [n̩]
ŋ̍ pakken ŋ̩ ŋ̩ ŋ̩ ŋ̩ [ŋ̍]
Consonants
ɐ̯ smør ɐ̯ ɐ̯ ɐ̯ ʀ ɐ ɹ r [ɒ̯̽]
ɕ sjat ɕ ɕ ɕ ʃ ɕ ᶊ sj [ɕ]
ð mad ð ð ð ð ɤ ð ð [ð̠˕ˠ]
f fisk f f f f f f f [f]
h hus h h h h h h h [h]
j jul j j j j j j j [j]
mig ɪ̯ ɪ ᶖ[10]
k gås ɡ̊ ɡ ɡ̊ g k ɡ g [k]
kʰ kål kʰ k kʰ k kʰ k k [kʰ]
l lås l l l l l l l [l]
m mus m m m m m m m [m]
n ni n n n n n n n [n]
ŋ perron ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ [ŋ]
p bål b̥ b b̥ b p b b [p]
pʰ pille pʰ p pʰ p pʰ p p [pʰ]
ʁ rose ʁ ʁ ʁ r ʁ r r [ʁ̞]
s sæl s s s s s s s [s]
t dåse d̥ d d̥ d t d d [t]
tɕ tjene tˢj tj t͡ɕ tj tɕ tj tj [tɕ]
tsʰ taske tˢ t tˢ t ts t t [tsʰ]
v vams v v v v v v v [ʋ]
w hav ʊ̯ w w w ʊ w w [w]
Stød and stress
ˈtsʰiˀ ti ˈtˢiːˀ ˈtiˀ ˈtˢiːˀ ˈtiːʼ ˈtsḭː ˈtiʼ ˈtiʼ [ˈtsʰḭˑ]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e /əð, əl, ən/ become syllabic consonants [ð̩, l̩, m̩, n̩, ŋ̍] in a process known as schwa-assimilation ([m̩, ŋ̍] are variants of /ən/, assimilated to the place of the preceding consonant). The process also often affects /ə/ after a long vowel or /ð, j, l, n, v/, but these types of assimilation are not as ubiquitous as, and are more contextually constrained than, the aforementioned combinations (Basbøll 2005:293ff), so they are not reflected in transcription.
  2. ^ a b For most speakers, the sound represented by [ð] is more accurately a velarized laminal alveolar approximant [ð̠˕ˠ]. Rarely, it is realized as a fricative.
  3. ^ In Standard Copenhagen Danish, a stressed syllable has a lower pitch than the following unstressed syllable, which then has a high-falling pitch.
  4. ^ Stød, which is realized most often as creaky voice (found in English as the vocal fry register; ⟨◌̰⟩ in standard IPA), can only occur after a long vowel or a sequence of a short vowel and [ð, j, l, m, n, ŋ, w, ɐ̯] in a stressed syllable. Phonologically long vowels with stød are shorter in realization, so they are transcribed as short in this guide (cf. pæn /ˈpɛːˀn/ [ˈpʰeˀn] 'nice', pen /ˈpɛnˀ/ [ˈpʰenˀ] 'pen').
  5. ^ Basbøll (2005).
  6. ^ a b c d Though indistinguishable in some fonts, ⟨α⟩ for [ɑ] is the italic Greek alpha, not the Latin alpha, ⟨ɑ⟩, which represents [æ] in Dania.
  7. ^ a b ⟨å⟩ for [ɒ] is oblique in print, but here shown in normal type because its italic form is indistinguishable from ⟨ɑ̊⟩, which represents [ɔ], in most serif fonts.
  8. ^ On Ordbogen.com, ⟨år⟩ represents [ɒː] when stressed and [ɒ] when unstressed.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Grønnum describes the speech of younger speakers than do other sources. This key follows the latter, which describe varieties where [æː, œ, œː, u, uː] can follow [ʁ] and [eː] can precede [ɐ].
  10. ^ a b In print, the rightward hook in ⟨ᶖ⟩ extends directly from the stem of ⟨i⟩ (somewhat like ⟨ɭ̇⟩ but shorter).

References[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Comparisons
Introductory guides
Category