About sproget.dk

Background

Sproget.dk is the result of a collaboration between the Danish Ministry of Culture’s two institutions for language and literature: The Danish Language Council (Dansk Sprognævn) and The Society for Danish Language and Literature (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab).

You can contact the editorial team with ideas, suggestions or comments regarding the content on sproget.dk at sproget@sproget.dk.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EDITORIAL TEAM DOES NOT ANSWER LANGUAGE QUESTIONS.

Aims and objectives

The aim of sproget.dk is to be the place on the web where guidance, information and answers to questions about the Danish language and language issues in Denmark can be found.

The purpose of the website is:

  • to provide a comprehensive single point of access to official and authoritative reference works, such as Danish dictionaries
  • to provide professional linguistic assistance in the form of advice and guidance on language problems, as well as explaining complex linguistic topics in an understandable manner
  • to create increased linguistic awareness with regard to nuances, accuracy and the effect of language
  • to ensure that knowledge about the Danish language is visible and widespread.

Target audience

The main idea behind sproget.dk is to be a website that benefits all speakers and learners of Danish. In practice, however, the content is targeted towards:

  • users with a general linguistic interest or curiosity; in other words, people who are not looking for information to solve a particular work-related linguistic problem
  • students and teachers in primary and secondary education, as well as students and teachers in higher education
  • professional language users, including language users who work professionally with Danish language or linguistics, such as proofreaders, communications officers, journalists, secretaries and the like.

Content and Structure

Authoritative Danish Dictionaries

From the search bar you can look up words and phrases from The Society for Danish Language and Literature’s dictionary of Danish [Den Danske Ordbog] and The Danish Language Council’s spelling dictionary [Retskrivningsordbogen].

If the word you have searched for appears in one of the following dictionaries, you will also get links to these:

Typical linguistic problems – solving your most common linguistic problems

When you have a specific linguistic problem that needs solving, go to the main menu option called Typical problems [Typiske problemer]. On this page we have collected a wide range of the most typical linguistic problems that often cause trouble, for example punctuation, conjugation and compound nouns.

Language knowledge – linguistic topics in depth

Under the menu point Language Knowledge [Sprogviden] you can delve into a variety of linguistic topics. You will find themes discussing different linguistic topics in depth, for example slang, pronunciation and language technology. You can also find comprehensive word lists and browse through numerous questions and answers to linguistic questions collected from dictionaries, journals and newspaper articles.

Edutainment – gaining knowledge in an entertaining way

The third main menu option is Play and learn [Leg og lær]. Here you will find knowledge about language presented to you in a playful way. You can practise your linguistic skills with our exercises, take our ‘Grammar course for dummies’, visit our ‘word museum’ and much more.

News – current language issue and debates

Under the option News [Nyheder] you can gain an insight into current news, issues and events regarding the Danish language.

Submit a word – contribute to the work with language

If you have seen a new word in a newspaper, noticed a new meaning of a word or overheard a new expression on the bus, you can send your observations to sproget.dk. This helps us monitor the development of the Danish language.

Links

Sproget.dk also contains a collection of links to language websites. You will find links to dictionaries, encyclopaedias, language institutions and much more.

Searching – find what you are looking for

In addition to the main menu options, you can always use the search bar to find what you are looking for.