{"id":825,"date":"2022-12-22T10:25:34","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T10:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dansk.ninja\/?page_id=825"},"modified":"2023-01-11T07:57:24","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T07:57:24","slug":"location-and-direction-in-danish","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dansk.ninja\/index.php\/location-and-direction-in-danish\/","title":{"rendered":"Location and direction in Danish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Danish has two main locative adverbs her<\/em> ‘here’ and der<\/em> ‘there’, examples are shown in (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>\"\"
\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hvor er mine briller? De ligger der<\/span>! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘where are my glasses? They’re there!’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skal du rejse i ferien? Nej, jeg bliver her<\/span> i Danmark<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘are you travelling for this vacation? No, I’m staying here in Denmark.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These combine with adverbs of direction such as ud<\/em> ‘out’, ind<\/em> ‘in’, op<\/em> ‘up’, ned<\/em> ‘down’ and many more (see a list of these<\/a> at the bottom of this post). Examples of such combinations are shown in (2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. Hvorn\u00e5r kommer Peter ud i k\u00f8kkenet og hj\u00e6lper?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘when is Peter coming (out) into the kitchen to help?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Han kommer herud<\/span> lige om lidt<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘he’s coming out here in just a moment’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. K\u00f8rer I op i sommerhuset i weekenden?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘are you driving up to the summer house for the weekend?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ja, vi k\u00f8rer derop<\/span> allerede fredag morgen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘yes, we’re driving up there on Friday morning already’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples (2a-b) combine locative adverbs her\/der<\/em>, which relate to the perspective of the speaker, and directional adverbs ud<\/em> and op<\/em>, which relate to the geography or landscape, large and small. So for instance in (2a) the movement into the kitchen is perceived of as ‘out’ because it orients away from the living room, the main room of the house, and likewise in (2b) the movement to the summerhouse is perceived of as moving ‘up’, either because the summer house is to the North or because it is up in the hills or mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms or pronunciation, there is an important difference between her<\/em>\/der<\/em> in isolation as in (1) and when in a combination as in (2). This contrast is shown in (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. Er hun her? ‘is she here?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Er hun her?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kommer hun herop? ‘is she coming up here?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kommer hun herop?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

b. Er hun der? ‘is she there?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Er hun der?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kommer hun derop? ‘is she coming up there?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kommer hun derop?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One might now think based on (3) that it is the combination of the two types of adverbs that changes the pronunciation of her<\/em> and der<\/em>, but that is not the case. Rather, it is the lack of stress, that changes the pronunciation, just as with so many other small words in Danish which can be stressed optionally, like pronouns and prepositions. To illustrate, consider the contrast in (4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. Kommer du herhen og ser film med mig?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘are you coming over here to watch a movie with me?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n