Help:IPA/Danish

This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Danish on Wikipedia.

It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Danish in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first.

For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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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

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]	cool (short)
uː	hule [ˈhuːlə]	cool (long)
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
Non-native
ɑ̃	assemblé [æsɑ̃ˈple̝]	US croissant
ɑ̃ː	carte blanche [ˌkʰɑːt ˈplɑ̃ːɕ]	US croissant, but longer
ɒ̃	impromptu [æ̃pʰʁɒ̃ˈtsʰy]	RP croissant
æ̃	impromptu [æ̃pʰʁɒ̃ˈtsʰy]	coq au vin
ɶ̃	eau de parfum [otəpʰɑˈfɶ̃]	somewhat like hung

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
Non-native
ç	liechtensteiner [ˈliçtn̩ˌstɑjnɐ]	hue
ɹ	ragtime [ˈɹækˌtsʰɑjm]	right
ʃ	nachspiel [ˈnɑχˌʃpiːl]	shine
θ	thriller [ˈθɹilɐ]	thick
χ	nachspiel [ˈnɑχˌʃpiːl]	Scottish loch

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

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]
ɑ	kræft	ɑ	a	ɑ	æ	a	ɑ̈	ä	[ɑ̈]
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]	å^r^[8]	[ɒ̝]
ɒː	tårne	ɒː	ɒː	ɒː	ɔː	ɒː	å·^[7]	å^r^[8]	[ɒ̝ː]
æ	malle	a	a	a	a	æ	ɑ	a	[æ]
æ	række	a	a	a	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]
e	brist	ɛ	ɛ	æ	ɛ	æ	æ	æ	[e̞]
eː	mæle, bære	ɛː	ɛː	ɛː, æː^[9]	ɛː	ɛː, æː	æ·	æ·	[eː]
eː	grene, kræse	ɛː	ɛː	æː	ɛː	æː	æ·, æᶖ^[10]	æ·	[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]
ɶ	grøn	ɶ	ɶ	ɶ	ɔ̈	ɶ	ɔ̈	ɔ̈	[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	l	l̩	əl	[l̩]
m̩	hoppen	m̩	ən	m̩	ən	m	m̩	ən	[m̩]
n̩	hesten	n̩		n̩		n	n̩		[n̩]
ŋ̍	pakken	ŋ̩		ŋ̩		ŋ	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]
j	mig	ɪ̯	j	j	j	ɪ	ᶖ^[10]	j	[j]
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

^ ^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.
^ ^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.
^ In Standard Copenhagen Danish, a stressed syllable has a lower pitch than the following unstressed syllable, which then has a high-falling pitch.
^ 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').
^ Basbøll (2005).
^ ^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.
^ ^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.
^ On Ordbogen.com, ⟨å^r⟩ represents [ɒː] when stressed and [ɒ] when unstressed.
^ ^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].
^ ^a ^b In print, the rightward hook in ⟨ᶖ⟩ extends directly from the stem of ⟨i⟩ (somewhat like ⟨ɭ̇⟩ but shorter).

References

Basbøll, Hans (2005). The Phonology of Danish. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-203-97876-5.
Brink, Lars; Lund, Jørn; Heger, Steffen; Jørgensen, J. Normann (1991). Den Store Danske Udtaleordbog. Copenhagen: Munksgaard. ISBN 87-16-06649-9.
Grønnum, Nina (2005). Fonetik og fonologi: almen og dansk (3rd ed.). Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag. ISBN 87-500-3865-6.
Molbæk Hansen, Peter (1990). Udtaleordbog. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. ISBN 978-87-02-05895-6.

External links

Overview of the Danish sound system

[syllabic-1] /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.

[softd-2] 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').

[FOOTNOTEBasbøll2005-5] Basbøll (2005).

[alpha-6] Though indistinguishable in some fonts, ⟨α⟩ for [ɑ] is the italic Greek alpha, not the Latin alpha, ⟨ɑ⟩, which represents [æ] in Dania.

[oblique-7] ⟨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, ⟨å^r⟩ represents [ɒː] when stressed and [ɒ] when unstressed.

[groennum-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].

[i-hook-10] In print, the rightward hook in ⟨ᶖ⟩ extends directly from the stem of ⟨i⟩ (somewhat like ⟨ɭ̇⟩ but shorter).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

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Comparisons	IPA conventions for English English dialects Wikipedia pronunciation respelling Other English pronunciation respellings
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Key

Comparison of transcription schemes

Notes

References

See also

External links