dansk

Dansk is the Danish word for the Danish language and for things related to Denmark. In English-language contexts, the term Danish is used for the language and for things associated with Denmark or Danish nationality.

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Denmark, with minority usage in parts of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. It is closely related to Swedish and Norwegian, and shares a common Old Norse heritage. The language is written with the Latin alphabet and uses three additional letters specific to Danish: æ, ø, and å. A distinctive feature of Danish phonology is the stød, a phonemic glottalization that affects pronunciation and, in some cases, meaning.

Standard Danish, known as rigsdansk, serves as the basis for official education, media, and administration. Regional dialects and varieties exist across Denmark, including Jutland and the islands, many of which differ noticeably in pronunciation and intonation. While yet intelligible to speakers of other Danish varieties, some dialects are challenging for outsiders.

Historically, Danish evolved from Old East Norse, developing into Middle Danish and then Early Modern Danish. The modern written standard was increasingly standardized in the 18th to 20th centuries, with spelling reforms occurring in the 20th century to reflect pronunciation more closely.

In Denmark, Danish is the national language and is used in government, schools, and daily life. In Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Danish is widely taught and used as a second language and in some official capacities, though Greenlandic and Faroese have strong local status. The term dansk also appears in contexts ranging from literature to culture to nationality.