Why Danish sounds funny to Scandinavians

The history behind why Danish sounds like a "throat condition". I'm told Danes speak like they have a cough, hiccups, or a potato in their throat. I did some linguistic excavating find out why.

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~ Briefly ~

Danish sounds funny to other Scandinavians. And just about everyone else, too.

When I recently explored the asymmetric intelligibility between Scandinavian countries, I noticed that everyone seemed ready to point the finger at Danish. It sounds weird, funny, throaty, and unlike the familiar Swedish accent or the many Norwegian dialects.

Journey back 1300 years ago to Old Norse, then learn how change after change shifted Denmark towards its current standout pronunciation. Along the way, we'll meet:
- the splitting of East Norse and West Norse
- the vowel reduction of the early Middle Ages
- the lenition of the later Middle Ages
- the ever-proliferating vowel qualities that give Danish its high vowel count
- the extremely unique and notable stød
- the "guttural R", a late but fashionable borrowing

One final change will solidify Danish's phonological rift with its neighbors. Unlike Sweden and Norway, Denmark's dialects largely fade in the face of the speech of Copenhagen. This history leaves us with a quirky modern Danish, a unique language indeed.

~ Credits ~

Art, animation, narration and a bit of the music by Josh from NativLang

Sources for claims made, along with credits for images, fonts, sfx and the rest of the music: