Danish dialects in security

Thousands of Danes participated in the study of Danish dialects, witch has been made by Danish linguist Michael Ejstrup on the videnskab.dk site. The survey shows that Danish dialects in safety, though they are constantly changing. "It's obvious - said Michael Ejstrup in his interview to DR.dk, - Dialects are not the same as in the days of our grandmothers, because they change all the time."

30.000 Danes got the information about the project through the Danish School of Media and Journalism. They listened online audio recordings of seven samples of dialects from different parts of the country and tried to guess the origin of the dialect. The results showed, that it is best heard dialects of Danes living in the west of the Great Belt.

"Dialects of those who live west of the Great Belt more pronounced than in those who live east of the Great Belt. This is not surprising, "- says Michael Ejstrup, who believes that the Danes are more accustomed to the language of the eastern side of the Great Belt, including TV and radio.

The study also showed that more Danes are able to recognize dialects that are closer to their own places of residence. For example, residents of Copenhagen poorly recognize the differences between the dialects of rural parts of the country, but urban dialects they understand better and more easily identifiable from a city has arrived or that person.

Although the dialects are not very well represented on television and radio broadcasting, Michael Ejstrup believes that dialects are alive and remain in excellent health. But he also believes that the responsibility for the linguistic diversity are the media, which should provide a place dialects. According to Michael Ejstrup, the question of preservation of dialects - a question of preserving their own identity, which is why it is important to maintain the diversity of the Danish language around the country. "Dialect - part of our diversity and our personality. Just as the color of our hair and skin tone. We can not lose them, so why should we lose the dialects? It would be sad to know that your own language is dead or not good enough ", - says Michael Ejstrup.

 

By materials DR.dk