A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar

Front matter

A DANISH

and

Dano-Norwegian Grammar

Introduction

INTRODUCTION.

SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES. HISTORY OF THE DANO-NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE.

1. The Danish and Dano-Norwegian language belongs to the Scandinavian group of the Teutonic languages. This group comprises, in modern times, besides the language already mentioned, the Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroish languages.

2. The earliest specimens of Scandinavian language are found in the Runic inscriptions, written in the earlier Runic characters and dating as far back as the 4th century A. D. In these inscriptions the similarity with the other earlier specimens of Teutonic languages (especially Gothic) is more prominent than the peculiar Scandinavian characteristics.

3. During the Viking Age (750–1000 A. D.) the language of the Scandinavian nations underwent a very decided change. The Scandinavian peculiarities distinguishing the language from the other Teutonic idioms appear fully developed, and by and by dialectic differences between the languages of the several Scandinavian nations commence to assert themselves.

4. In the Middle Ages the Danish and Swedish languages form one group that may be designated as the Eastern group of the Scandinavian languages, having in common the monophthongification of original diphthongs, while the Danish language had a development of its own in the direction of substituting voiced stops (mediae) or even open consonants (spirants) for voiceless stops (tenues, hard consonants) after a long vowel at the end of a word or syllable. The Norwegian language and its offspring the Icelandic tongue, on the other hand, form the Western group of the Scandinavian languages, having in common the retention of the old diphthongs as diphthongs, but with some changes peculiar to each of the two languages. These two languages have, in common with the Swedish, retained the old voiceless stops.

5. In the Middle Ages we have the most valuable literature in the Norwegian-Icelandic language, consisting chiefly of the Eddic songs, the Scaldic art poetry, the Sagas and the Laws, while the chief products of the earliest Danish literature are the provincial laws and popular songs (folk lore), the latter not being reduced to writing until later.

6. When Norway in the latter part of the 14th century was united with Denmark, Norwegian literature fell into decay and Danish grew more and more to be the official language used in Court Documents, Royal Ordinances etc. In the latter part of the 17th century Norwegian authors again began to take an active part in the literature; but their language was Danish, this language having come to be adopted by the educated classes of the Norwegian people and chiefly by the inhabitants of the towns and cities, while the Norwegian language still remained the spoken idiom of most of the rural population. Still the language spoken and written by the educated classes in Norway was never pure Danish. Norwegian authors have always used some native words, taken from the rural dialects, in their writings, and while the official and professional people during the union with Denmark affected as far as possible a correct Danish pronunciation, the tendency in Norway now, even though it be unconscious, is to nationalize the language more and more. This tendency is chiefly noticeable in the pronunciation (retaining the voiceless stops, tenues), but it also appears in the grammar, especially the syntax, and in the vocabulary.

7. Thus it is that we have at the present time two kinds of Danish language, the pure Danish used in Denmark and by Danish authors, and the Dano-Norwegian used in Norway by most of the educated classes, especially in the cities, and by most of the Norwegian authors. Still it should be noted that the language spoken in Norway even by educated people is far more national in its character than the one used in writing.

The Alphabet

THE ALPHABET.

8. The alphabet used in Danish and Dano-Norwegian literature has the same letters as the English alphabet and besides these the signs Æ (æ) and Ö (Ø, ø, ö). As for the sounds indicated by these letters see §§ 12, 13, 25, 26, 82, 91.

The names of the vowels are represented by their sounds.

The names of the consonants b, c, d, etc. are be, ce, de etc. (pronounce e like a in name.) h and k are called haa and kaa (aa pron. with a sound between o in hole and a in call), j is called jod (yod), g ge (pronounced like g in give), w is called “dobbelt ve” (double v), z zet pr. set.

The Gothic characters are still in very common use, especially in newspapers and popular books. These letters have the following forms :

| | | | | | | | |

a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j

| | | | | | | |

k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s

| | | | | | | |

t | u | v | w | x | y | z | æ | ö

Some authors also employ the sign å, borrowed from the Swedish language, to express the same sound as is usually in Danish and Dano-Norwegian literature denoted by aa (see above).

NOTE.—Capital letters are still according to official Danish rules of spelling used at the beginning of substantives and adjectives employed as substantives, while the official Norwegian orthography only acknowledges capital letters in proper nouns. A great many Danish authors also have done away with capital letters in common nouns.

The sounds of the Danish and the Dano-Norwegian branches of the language are so widely different, that it bas been found practical to treat of them in separate chapters.

Danish Sounds

DANISH SOUNDS.

VOWELS.

9. Table of Danish vowels classified according to their articulation.

(A period· up in the line after a vowel indicates length of the vowel).

Back. | Mixed. | Front.

Not rounded. | Rounded. | Not rounded. | Rounded. | Not rounded. | Rounded.

High. | Narrow | u· | i· | y·

Wide | u | i | y

Mid. | Narrow | o· | e· e | ø ø·

Wide | o | ə | æ | ö

Low. | Narrow | aa· | æ· | ö·

Wide | a | aa

[10. For the benefit of those not familiar with the phonetic terms as established by Mssrs. Bell, Sweet and others it is here remarked, that the terms “Back”, “Mixed” and “Front” refer to the horizontal articulation of the tongue, indicating what part of the tongue has to be raised from its normal position in order to form such an articulation as to produce the vowel in question. Intermediate positions between those mentioned are designated by the names “advanced” or “outer” and “retracted” or “inner”.

The words “High”, “Mid” and “Low” refer to the vertical position of the tongue. An intermediate position between two of these positions may be described as a lowering of the position immediately above or a raising of the one below.

The terms “Narrow” and “Wide” refer to the shape of the tongue. “In forming “narrow” sounds there is a feeling of tenseness in that part of the tongue where the sound is formed, the surface of the tongue being made more convex than in its natural “wide” shape in which it is relaxed and flattened”. (Sweet).

“Rounding is a contraction of the mouth cavity by lateral compression of the cheek passage and narrowing of the lip aperture” (Sweet).]

In Danish pronunciation of rounded vowels the rounding is accompanied by a projection of the lips so as to increase the length of the mouth cavity.

Note 1.—The articulation of Danish a is really advanced back, that of e raised mid. The vowels aa (å) and o are both pronounced with the same rounding as o and u, respectively, in common European pronunciation.

Note 2.—It should at once be noticed that in Danish pronunciation the lips play a more prominent part than in English, that the upper lip is never drawn so close to the teeth as in English pronunciation, and that the tongue normally has a more advanced and flattened position than with English speaking people.

SOUND VALUE OF DANISH VOWELS AND THEIR GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION IN COMMON ORTHOGRAPHY.

11. A has a sound very near that of English a in father, although not quite as deep (somewhat palatalized). Ex. long: Gade street, Abe monkey; short: Hat hat, Tak thanks.

Note. The long a has in the vulgar Copenhagen pronunciation a sound very near English a in fat prolonged. The foreigner must avoid imitating this pronunciation.

12. æ (long) has the same sound as English ai in air; Ex.: Hær army, være to be, svæve to hover.

This sound is in orthography represented by e in: bedre better, der there, her here, deres their, ere are, regjere to rule, Regjering government (and upond the whole before –r), Legeme body, sjette (pr. sjæte) sixth, tjene to serve, fjer(d)e fourth, Stedet the place, udstede to issue, tilstede to permit and other derivatives of Sted; Chef chief.

13. æ (short) has the same sound as English e in men; Ex.: hæslig ugly, lægge to lay.

This sound is in orthography as a rule represented by the sign e which is pronounced in this way in most cases when it is short and at the same time stressed; Ex.: denne this, Ven friend, elske to love, Ende end, svensk Swedish. It is written æ when derived from a word with long sound of æ, written æ, or from word with a, aa or ei in the root; Ex.: kærlig affectionate (from kær dear), fælde to fell (from Fald fall), nægte to deny (from nej no); Hænder hands (from Haand hand); furthermore in Præst priest and some other words.

14. e represents the sound of French é in été or of English a in name, but without the diphthongic element of the latter (more like the common American pronunciation of a). This is the common sound of e when it is long (except before r, see § 12); Ex.: se to see, Reb rope, Snes score.

When a word in one form has a long e, then it, as a rule, retains the same quality of the sound, even if the vowel in other forms of the word is shortened: hedt hot (neuter of hed), ledt searched (partcp. of lede). The short variety of the same sound is also found in the unstressed prefixes be– and ge–: bestemme to decide; Gemal consort; furthermore in some monosyllables ending in –d or –v: Bed bed (in garden), Fjed step, Drev pinion (but Sted see § 12).

15. This sound (e) is represented by the orthographical sign of i in a great many cases where the vowel is short; especially is i pronounced this way before mm, mp, nt, ng, nk, besides some other cases; Ex.: Fisk fish (pron. fesk), fiske to fish, ridse to scratch, Pligt duty, vil will, Spil play, Pille pill, digte to make poetry, lidt a little (pron. let, but lidt suffered [partcp. of lide] pron lit), midt middle (pron. met, but mit mine pron. mit), Skin appearance, Tin tin, in the prefix mis, misbruge to misuse: Misdæder malefactor; unstressed in the derivative endings –ling, –ning: Yndling favorite, Slægtning relative. Some words may be spelt with either i or e: tusinde and tusende thousand, Ærinde and Ærende errand (these two words may also be pronounced with i).

16. ə has a sound approaching that of French e in que, English i in bird. This sound only occurs in unaccented syllables, and its orthographic sign is e. Ex.: Gave gift, Gade street.

Some words may be pronounced and spelt with or without ə (e); Ex.: tusind and tusinde thousand, hundred and hundrede hundred, Ærind or Ærinde errand, Billed(e) picture, Embed(e) office, Arbeid(e) work, Legem(e) body, Madam(e), Himmerig(e) kingdom of heaven, Tind(e) peak; in the words Herre Master, Frue Mistress, Madame, Konge king, Fyrste prince, Greve count the final e is omitted before a name or another title; Herre is then spelt Hr.: Hr. Petersen Mr. P.

17. Immediately after another stressed vowel ə is often slurred in the pronunciation, so as almost to disappear: troəde believed. In some cases it is written but not pronounced at all; it can never be pronounced immediately after a single vowel with glottal catch (see § 76) nor after a short stressed vowel. In some cases there may be a choice between a long stressed vowel with pronounced ə and a short vowel without ə. The former is then used in more select language, and especially is the retaining of ə common in the passive form; Ex.: slaaes to be beaten, but slaas to fight, slaaet and slaa’t beaten, gaaet and gac’t gone. After i and u e is commonly retained (but befri liberate, forny renew, without e because of glottal catch).

An e is sometimes written without being pronounced, either to indicate length of the preceding vowel or to distinguish between different words of the same sound or words that although differing in sound would according to common rules have to be written in the same way. This e is called mute; Ex.: saa(e) saw, to distinguish it from saa so; fo(e)r (long o) went to distinguish from for, prp. for (short open å).

18. i has, when long (i·), about the same sound as English ee in see; Ex.: Mine mien, Pibe pipe, smile to smile.

When short it has the same sound as English i in fill; this sound occurs a) when the same word in another form or when the root word, from which the word in question is formed, has long i: mit my (neut. of min), stri(d)t fought, prtcp. of stride, hvi(d)te to whitewash, derived from hvid white; b) before ld or lt: Sild hering, Milt milt; c) in some other words; Ex.: Kridt chalk, hid here (hither), Pisk whip, grisk greedy; d) in unstressed syllables; Ex.: Rival rival, imod against.

The orthographic sign of this vowel is i, except in de they, De you, where it is e.

19. aa (å) has a sound similar to English a in call, but closer. The long sound is as a rule written aa: blaa blue, Naade grace; but it is in some words denoted by o before v (except in diphthongs, see § 28) and g; Ex.: Bog book; Brog breeching, broget variegated, klog prudent, koge to cook, Krog hook, kroget crooked, love to promise, Svoger brother-in-law, Drog a good-for-nothing, Fjog booby, Sprog language, Tog expedition; unstressed in Orlog (naval) warfare, Orlov leave of absence (in the six last named words the vowel may be pronounced long and short); furthermore in hvor where, Torsdag Thursday, borte away, Vorte wart, vore ours, otte eight, (pron. å-te, but the ordinal ottende the eighth with short vowel), and unstressed Alvor earnest.

20. The short å-sound is as a rule denoted by the letter o; Ex.: Lod ½ ounce; Boble bubble, Borg castle, hoppe to jump, Krop body, lokke to allure, vor our.

The short sound of å is denoted by aa in some words formed by derivation or inflection of words with a long aa, and besides in some other words; Ex.: blaat blue (neut. of blaa), vaadt wet (neut. of vaad), Skaansel mercy (from skaane to treat with leniency), Aadsel corpse, Aand spirit, Aande breath, Baand ribbon, Flaad flux, Haand hand, Laad fleece, laadden fleecy, en Maatte a mat, Raad pus (but Raad council, long aa), saa so (when unstressed), Saald sieve (also written Sold), Vaand wand, Vaande jeopardy; and with secondary accent Undersaat a subject, usaattes on bad terms.

21. O is a sound peculiar to the Scandinavian languages, midway between English o in toe and oo in too, but nearer the latter ; and it is spoken with the same rounding of the lips as the English oo. The sound of o when long is in orthography represented by o, which letter when representing a long vowel generally denotes this sound; Ex.: stor large, Blod blood, god good, Sko shoe, Bro bridge (as for o with sound of long å see § 19).

22. The short sound of o is represented in orthography by o in the following cases: 1) in words formed by inflection, derivation or composition from a root word or form with long o; Ex.: nordisk Northern (from nor(d), Gods goods (from god good), (but godt neuter of god, pron. gåt); 2) in unstressed first syllables before a single consonant: Hotel, Koloni, brodere to embroider (also in Hospital, Osteri); 3) in the following words: Kost broom, ond bad, Onsdag Wednesday, Ost cheese, sort black, Torden thunder.

23. Otherwise the short sound of o is represented in common orthography by u, which sign when representing a short vowel usually indicates this sound (except in the cases stated in § 24); Ex.: Dug dew (but Dug table cloth with u'); smuk nice, Buk he-goat, lukke close, slukke extinguish, Hul hole, dum foolish, stum mute, Hummer lobster; unstressed in fordum formerly. Some words may be spelt with either u or o, the pronunciation in both cases being o; Ex.: Kunst and Konst art, Kummen and Kommen caraway, Kuffert and Koffert traveller's trunk.

24. u represents a sound similar to the English oo, but closer; Ex.: Hus house, bruge to use, ud out. A short sound of u, similar to English u in full, occurs in some cases: 1) in words derived from words or forms with long u or y; Ex.: brugt partc. of bruge to use, skudt partc. of skyde to shoot; 2) in unstressed syllables; Ex. : ugjörlig impossible, Musik, Uniform; 3) when u is followed by ld, lt or sk; Ex.: fuld full, Guld gold, sulte to starve, fuske to bungle; 4) in the words: Krudt gunpowder, Lut lute, lurvet shabby, and some others (about u in other cases representing the sound of o see § 23).

25. ø has a sound like French eu in peu; the English language has no corresponding sound (to produce the sound one should say a as in English fate and at the same time hold the lips in almost the whistling position); Ex.: Födsel birth, Bønder peasants, Søster sister, Stød blow, høre to hear, lød sounded (impf. of lyde), Sølv silver, løs loose, Prøve trial, Bøger books. The sound of ø is represented by the letter ø (ö) always when it is long, and sometimes when short. But the short sound of ø is as a rule in writing represented by the sign of y; Ex.: Tryk pressure, Stykke piece, dryppe to drip, dyrke to cultivate, Fyrste a prince, kysse to kiss, Lygte lantern, Lykke fortune, Nytte utility, skylle to rinse, synke to sink.

26. ö has a more open sound, like French eu in peuple, German ö. (Pronounce English a in fat with the lips in a whistling position); Ex.: förste first, Berömmelse fame, större larger, Björn bear, Bönner prayers, Sön son, forsömme to neglect.

Note. In Danish spelling there is not as a rule made a consistent distinction between the signs ö and ø, most writers using both signs promiscuously or either one exclusively. ö is as a rule used before m, n ending a word, nn, rr, rn. (As for the sound and use of ö as first part of a diphthong see § 28).

27. y has the sound of French u, German ü; the English language has no corresponding sound (to produce it the tongue takes the position for i, the lips that for u). The letter y represents this sound 1) when it is long; Ex.: flyde to flow, adlyde to obey, sy to sew, Öjenbryn eyebrow, Tyv thief, Sky cloud; 2) when short, a) in case the root word or form has long y; Ex.: dybt neuter af dyb deep, nyt neuter af ny new; b) in unstressed syllables; Ex.: Hypothék mortgage, Hyperbol, Fysik; c) when y is followed by the combinations ld or lt; Ex.: fylde to fill, Stylte stilt; d) in some other words; Ex.: Frygt fright, styg ugly, tyk thick. (As for the letter y representing the sound of ø see § 25.)

DANISH DIPHTHONGS.

28. Danish spelling has the following Diphthongs:

av, ov, æv, öv and aj, ej, oj, öj.

The consonant part of these diphthongs has in spite of the peculiar Danish spelling with v and j the sounds of w and i. In the diphthongs of the w-series the vowel part retains its peculiar sound (a, o, æ, ö); Ex.: Havn harbor, hævne to revenge, nævne to name, hovne to swell, Hövl plane, Stövle boot, Vrövl nonsense; but in the i-series a and e are pronounced as a, o and ö as a sound approaching å; aj and ej are pronounced like English y in my, oj and öj like English oy in boy; vaje to wave and veje to weigh pronounced in the same manner; böje to bend and Boje a buoy, both pronounced alike. Another sign for the diphthong ej is eg; Ex.: jeg pr. jaj; Vegne in allevegne, everywhere (pron. vainə, e. g. rhyme: Vegne, Hygiajne). 16 is now spelt sejsten, formerly sexten. Nögle (pr. nåilə) key; Vindbeutel (pron. venbåitl) braggart; but in Zeus, Europa etc. eu is pronounced öv.

DANISH CONSONANTS.

29. The difference between tenues (p, t, k) and mediae (b, d, g) is not so much dependent upon the circumstance of the former being voiceless, the latter voiced, as is the case in English. But the Danish tenses are followed by a voiceless breath, thereby becoming aspirates. Thus the energy of expiration becomes the chief distinguishing feature between Danish tenues and mediae.

In some cases the tenues are written where the sound is really nearer to that of the mediae; thus Nordens Skuder (the ships of the North) and Nordens Guder (the gods of the North) are both pronounced in almost the same manner (sguder), i. e. the aspiration of tenues does not take place after s and thus the chief characteristic of the hard sound disappears. The same rule applies to shut consonants written double in the middle of words, pp, tt, kk representing about the same sound as bb, dd, gg; Ex.: tykke thick, plur., and tygge to chew, Bække rivulets, and begge both, Lapper patches, and Labber paws, have the same sound, something between tenues and mediae.

30. p has the hard aspirated sound of p-h (not ph=f) in the beginning of syllables: Pære pear, Penge money, Parade.

The sound of p is written b before s and terminative t (te), the long root vowel at the same time being shortened; Ex.: Ribs currants, Stribs flogging, dybt deep (neut. of dyb), dræbte killed, impf. of dræbe, tabt lost, partcp. of tabe to lose.

31. 1) After s, 2) when written double (pp) and 3) at the end of words the sign p represents the sound midway between p and b, or a hard b; Ex.: spare to save (sb), pippe to peep up (pron. p-hibbǝ), op up, pron. obb (bb in these cases indicating the hard sound of b).

32. In some foreign words ph indicates the sound of f (see § 36). Pharisæer, Philosophi (more commonly now spelt with f). In Ps in Greek words p is mute: Psalme psalm (also written Salme); in others like Psykologi psychology, Psalter, Pseudonym, Ptolemæus it is sounded by some people, omitted by others.

33. b is pronounced as the voiced labial stop (Engl. b) 1) in the beginning of a word or a syllable; Ex.: lade to bathe, Brok hernia, Blæk ink, Taabe fool, 2) at the end of a word or a syllable after along vowel; Ex.: Gab gap, Stab stoff, Daab baptism.

34. The sound midway between b and p is represented by the sign of b, 1) at the end of a word or syllable after a short vowel; Ex.: Lab paw, Grib vulture; 2) when written double between two vowels: Labber paws, Ribbe rib.

35. m like English m: Mad food, ham him; double m (mm) pronounced short: kom(m)e to come.

36. f is a labiodental voiceless open consonant and has a sound similar to English f: faa few, Skuffe drawer, Ruf deckhouse.

In some words the sound of f is represented in writing by v: thus in the beginning of the foreign words: Vernis varnish, Viol, violet, Violin, and also sometimes before t as in grovt rough (neut. of grov), havt had (prtcp. of have) pron. graft, haft, which now also is the official way of spelling.

Note. Stiffader, stepfather, pronounced stefar, so also other compounds with stif- step- pronounced ste.

37. v is a labiodental open voiced consonant similar in pronunciation to English v; it occurs in the beginning of words and after a consonant, after a long vowel and in foreign words; Ex.: Van(d) water, Sværd sword, evig eternal, lavt low (neuter), Avis newspaper.

In the pronunciation of the Copenhagen dialect v often takes the place of b after a vowel; løbe pron. løve, Köbenhavn pron. Køvenhavn; in some words both forms are written promiscuously: Knebel and Knevel, knevle and kneble gag and to gag.

The sound of v is written f in af præp. of, pron. av, aw (see § 28), a.

38. For v being the sign of the w-sound in diphthongs, see § 28. Some words may be pronounced both with diphthong (the vowel preceding v then being short) and with a long vowel and v; sm|Ex.: Hav sea pron. Ha·v or Haw, Skove forests pron. Skå·ve or Skåwe, over over, pron. å·ver or åwer. The vowels a and o are mostly short before v (implying the diphthongic pronunciation), but there are some exceptions: bra·v brave, Gra·v grave, Kra·v claim, la·v low, ga·v gave (impf. of give), gro·v dug (impf. af grave).

39. Colloquially v is often dropped after l: hal(v) half, tol(v) 12, søl(v) silver; after along vowel: bra(v) brave, ga(v) gave, gi(v) give, bli(v) become, ble(v) became. Between two vowels, the second of which is ə, v is often dropped together with the following ə; Ex.: ha(ve) to have, gi(ve) to give, gi(ve)r gives, bli(ve)r becomes, Hoved head, pron. Hoðə in its original meaning, but Hoveð in compound words used figuratively: Hovedsag matter af chief importance, Hovedstad capital, ha(ve) to have, imperf. pron. haðe written havde.

40. t an aspirated English t (t-h, but not an open (spirantic) sound like English th); Ex.: Tag roof, ti ten. After s the aspiration does not take place, so st sounds almost like sd: Sted place, pron. Sdeð. Also tt sounds almost like a d, but without voice: mætte satisfied (plur.), prou. mæ’də (see § 29).

41. The sound of t is in Danish spelling in some words rendered by th in conformity with the old pronunciation; Ex.: thi (conjunction) for; Thing diet (to distinguish it in writing from Ting thing). Also in words of Greek origin: Theater, Throne, Theori.

42. t is at the end of the unstressed syllable in words of two syllables or more pronounced as a soft ð (see § 46); especially in participles and words with the definite article; Ex.: böjet bent (bojeð), Huset (ð) the house. But in foreign words with the stress upon the second syllable t is pronounced as t: Serviet napkin.

43. t is written but not pronounced in adverbs ending in igt; Ex.: tydeli(gt) plainly; in the article and pronoun de(t).

44. In foreign words ti before a vowel as a rule is pronounced as tsi; Ex.: partiel, Kwtient, Differentiering differentiation; but th ending t i o n is pronounced as sjon: Nation pron. Nasjon, Motion exercise, pron. Mosjon.

45. d has a sound like English d, but less voiced, 1) in the beginning of words : Dal valley, Dole dock, din thine; 2) in the middle and at the end of words after a consonant (if not mute (see § 47) ; Ex. : Olding old man, Foraldre parents, Byrd birth, lard learned; 3) between two vowels, when the word is of foreign origin or a proper noun: Soda, Adam, Edda.

46. The sign d also represents an open consonant with a sound similar to that of English soft th in father; in pronouncing this "soft" d (phonetic sign 6) the tip of the tongue is allowed to remain in the lower part of the mouth, while the front of the tongue is raised towards the gums and the breath is gently squeezed between the tongue and the gums. This sound occurs:

1) in the middle of words between two vowels (also when written double: Padde toad, Kladde rough-draught; but Bredde breadth and Vidde width, have closed d); Ex.: bede to beg, grade to cry, weep, Naade grace, Maade manner; 2) in the middle of words after a vowel before j, l, m, n, r and the genitive s; Ex.: dadle to reproach, Sedler bills, rödme to blush, krydre to spice; 3) at the end of a word after a vowel; Ex.: Gud God, Stud bullock, Vid wit. Also when ending the first part of a compound word, even if the second part begins with a hard consonant; Ex.: Blodtab loss of blood, udsat exposed.

47. d is written but not pronounced (mute) 1) in most cases after l and n; Ex. : Gul(d) gold, Il(d) fire, smal(d)e to crack (a whip), Skul(d)er shoulder, hol(d)e to hold, Haan(d) hand, Venin(d)e lady friend. Note. d is pronounced after l and n a) in derivative adjectives ending in –ig and –elig; Ex.: mandig manful, sandelig truthfully; b) when followed by r; Ex.: forandre to change, hindre to prohibit, Forældre parents; c) in the ending –ende; Ex.: læsende reading, Tidende news; d) in some specific words: Olding old man, Ælde age, Vælde power, Bande gang, Blonde lace, Grande neighbor, Kunde customer; and in foreign words: Indien East India, Cylinder, Gelænder bannisters. (Ynde grace, charm, pron. Önde, but ynde to favor, pron. önne).

2) After r when the preceding vowel is long; Ex.: Bord table (pron. Bor), Or(d) word, Jor(d) earth (sometimes on the pulpit and in similar style pronounced Jord with short o and audible d); jor(d)et earthy, without d, jordet buried, with d. But when the preceding vowel is short d is pronounced after r: Færd voyage, and færdes to travel, (but paafær(d)e abroad, afoot), Byrd birth, Byrde burden.