Danish Grammar For 00 Rask Rich
Danish Grammar For 00 Rask Rich
LIBRARY
UNIVES!TY
O^
CALIFORNIA
y^
V'f
DR. E. RASK'S
DANISH GRAMMAR
FOR ENGLISHMEN.
EXTRACTS IN PROSE AND VERSE.
SECOffD IMPROrED EDITION.
BDITED BY
T. G. REPP.
LONDON
:
WILLIAMS AND N ORG ATE.
COPENHAGEN : J. H. SCHULTZ.
1847.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2008 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/danishgrammarforOOraskrich
px>
3/09
TO
HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
KING CHRISTIAN THE EIGHTH.
SIRE,
It is to YOUR ROYAL Munificence that the
second edition of the work, now laid at YOUR
MAJETY'S feel, owes its appearance. For, the
first edition being out of print, and a great demand
existing for a second, still the publisher could not
adequately remunerate the labors of an editor ;
so
072
that tlie task of editing" Avoiild not , in all proba-
bility, have been undertaken, had not YOUR
MAJESTY been graciously pleased to supply the
means required for its accomplishment. The Editor
therefore most humbly hopes, that YOUR MAJESTY
will graciously receive the following" most humble
statement, in respect to his share in the edition now
offered to the public.
The full title of the first edition runs as fol-
lows : ^'A Grammar of the Danish Language for the
Use of Englishmen, together with extracts in prose
and verse. By Erasmus Rask, Professor and Libra-
rian in the University of Copenhagen, and member
of several learned societies. Copenhagen. 1830."
In
reediting this work, it appeared to me, that two
objects must steadily be kept in view viz. that it
should be rendered really useful to Englishmen,
by
exhibiting to them the structure of the Danish
language in a plain and intelligible form : and that
at the same time, no material part of Professor
Rask's system should be sacrificed ; but every respect
paid to the memory of the great linguist, in the
reproduction of his work.
Fourteen Years have now elapsed since his
death, and still but a very small part of the im-
provements proposed and advocated by him
improvements which he professedly adopted from
Peter Syv and Hojsgaard
has met with general
reception. Nevertheless his arguments made a
great impression, and that impression is not as yet
by any means entirely obliterated. Under these
circumstances it appeared, that in point of useful-
ness it would scarcely be advisable simply to
reprint the learned author's work without any mo-
dification whatever; and this seemed the more evi-
dent since even in the original edition, Professor
Rask himself had sacrificed some part of his own
system and e.
g,
reinstated the
,
which in his
other works he had discarded, adopting instead
Hojsgaards a. I could therefore devise no better
plan
fori
the accomplishment of the twofold object
stated above, than to preserve indeed Professor
Rask's system in all essentials unaltered; but at
the same time point out by means of notes inserted
partly in, and partly under the text, where he
differed
from the general usage. In some
instances
he had in fact done this himself, so that I felt the
more justified in adopting this plan, in a far greater
number of places, where he had omitted to notice
his deviation. The a I have expunged from the
alphabet, for in retaining it there, he appeared
scarcely consistent vs^ith himself, since he did not
make use of it in any other part of the book ex-
cept in the last extract. The
Q
I reinstated, for ,
although even his adversaries, e.
g.
Mr. Molbech,
agree with him in considering it as superfluous and
useless, it still is- in general use.
The English I have corrected in many places,
though perhaps not in every place where this might
have been done. The consideration that Mr. B.
Thorpe M. A. of Cambridge had read the proofs
of the first edition, made me cautious in rejecting
idioms and phrases , which although sometimes
appearing to me not quite correct, had been allowed
to remain by a Graduate of an English University
and a distinguished scholar. I accordingly confined
my corrections to passages where either some
obscurity in the expression^ or a manifest error
seemed to render them necessary.
And thus I lay before YOUR MAJESTY
thai
work of Professor Rask which it has been my
humble endeavour, without impairing in any part,
to render more practically useful.
Some learned men among- the Danes have la-
tely expressed a great deal of apprehension lest
their language should gradually become extinct^
If this fear be well founded, one way
perhaps
the chief way
of retarding such a consum-
mation, is in my humble opinion, to propagate
the knowledge of it, by means of Grammars and
Dictionaries, among the great nations who take
the lead in the progress of civilization. As Profes-
sor Rorring has done much, in the way of dissemi-
nating the knowledge of Danish among the French
as well as of the French language amongst his
countrymen , so I have humbly endeavoured, in
various ways, not only to promote the knowledge
of English in Denmark, but also the knowledge of
Danish in England ; and if these very humble efforts
meet, in some degree, with YOUR ROYAL
MAJESTY'S most August as well as most compe-
tent approbation, they will receive indeed, a high
and
satisfactory reward.
How scanty and unsatisfactory and uncertain is
our knowledge of most of the languages spoken in
the ancient world, from the Indus westward to
the Atlantic^ because so few of them were known
to the Greeks and the Romans! And why?
If they had through Greek and Latin Grammars
and
Dictionaries preserved any memorial of themselves,
they would not have utterly perished ; or left their
identity doubtful.
That it may please the Almighty to
preserve
YOURMAJESTY, together with YOUR
MAJESTY'S
AUGUST CONSORT, in the continual
enjoyment
of
Health, Prosperity and Peace, is the fervent
prayer of,
SIRE,
YOUR MAJESTY'S
most devoted,
most obedient
and most humble servant
ThORLEIFR GuDMU-NDSOK REli\
Copenhagen the 3(1 December 1846.
THE AUTHORS PREFACE,
11
early 30 years have now elapsed
^
since Capf.
Fr. Schneider published his Danish Grammar
for
the use
of
Englishmen^ during which time no other
attempt has been made in English^ to describe the
structure
of
the Danish in a more satisfactory
toay, or to assist the English learner in acquiring
a more accurate knoivledge
of
this language;
although it has been very considerably enriched
and improved^ and its Literature greatly enlarged
and cultivated during this period. But even
for
the time when it was composed^ Capt. Schneidefs
Grammar was a very imperfect one;
for
besides
the general inaccuracy
of
the rules
^
the careless-
ness
of
the spelling and translation
of
the Danish
words^ and the utter tastelessness in the arrange^'
ment and appearance
of
the text^ it is totally
devoid
of
system. Stilly
if
the language itself
follows a system^ as in
fact
every language may
X PREFACE.
be supposed to do^ or it could not he spoken by
a whole nation ^ that system should appear in the
Grammar^ or the Grammar must be acknowledged
to be deficient
in the most material point, its chief
object being to exhibit a vieio
of
the system
of
speech
adopted by the nation. This system^ hotv-
ever^ is seldom so evident in any language, that
there may not be formed many
different
ideas
of
it, and consequently many
different plans may be
laid down
for
a Grammar
of
one and the same
language.
That which I have here adopted is^
for
the greatest part the same as that
of
the Iceland
die.) as also
of
the Frisic and the Anglosaxon
Grammars which I have published.
The internal
structure
of
all these.) and indeed also
of
the other
languages
of
the Gothic stock,
appears to be
nearly the same, though less evident in the Danish
than in the ancient idioms; and it may
afford
an
assistance to the learned inquirer, to
find them all
exhibited from
the same point
of
view. But leven
to those who merely study the language
.^
in
order
to be able to read a book in it, or to use it in
conversation, it will be convenient to
find a true
and tolerably complete system
of
inflection and
formation
of
words in the Grammar;
for
although
the study may appear easier,
if
the Grammar
offer
merely some loose or detached remarks, together
PREFACE.
X^
with a variety
of
examples; yet this is meixly
concealing the
difficulty^
making the knowledge
thus acquired deficient^ and^ consequently^ the road
m>uch longer^ as it obliges the learner by dint
of
long experience and use to deduce tlie rules him-
self^ for
which he nainly seeks in his Grammar,,
As to the nature
of
this system, I am happy
to
fmd
it agree so closely with that
of
Mr. John
Grant in his Grammar
of
the English language.
In order, however, not to write a large and crab-
bed volume on an easy and elegant tongue, I have
carefully omitted reasoning about the system and
the terms
of
Grammar, In the syntax , I
fear,
I
have been rather too short, but this defect may
easily be supplied in a new edition, should this
first essay in any way be so happy as to meet
with the encouragement
of
the public. Mr. Hansen
of
Christiania has published a separate treatise
on this head
of
Danish Grammar. Perhaps also
an explanation
of
the old poetical forms may be
missed; in the notes hoivever the reader will
find
the most remarkable difficulties
of
this description
explained. In order to be short in the notes, I
have sometimes marked the grammatical property
of
the words by a fraction,
of
which the numera-
tor is intended to indicate the declension, or con-
jugation, and the denominator the class, or sub-
XII PREFACE.
dmsion^ to which the word belongs
; e*
g,
Tjeneste
(1)'
signifies
that the noun Tjeneste, service^
fol--
lows the
first
declension^ common class ^ or is^ in
every
respect^ injlected like Dame, lady
j,
p. 18;
likewise ^befaler (|^)'
signifies
that the verb jeg
befaler, / command^ belongs to the
first
conjugal--
ion^
first
class^ and is
inflected
like jeg elsker, I
love^
p.
40^
and so on.
With regard to the Literature, this place is
much too limited to speak
of
it to any purpose;
we have now translations
of
many celebrated
works
of
English and American authors, as: Shake--
spear, Fielding, Sir Walter Scott, Cooper, Wash-
ington Irving
Sfc.
which may
afford
an easy and
agreeable introduction to the Danish Literature;
though translations in general are scarcely to be
recommended to learners. Those who wish
for
a
thorough knowledge
of
the Danish and Norwegian^)
*) Throughout the kingdofh
of
Norway
^
the Danish language^
though pronounced with a peculiar accent ^ is used to this day, in
Speaking and meriting, in the pulpit and in public affairs of
every
description* Several natives, hoiccver, since the union with Sweden^
seem to pride themselves particularly on calling it Norwej^ian , nor
is it to be denied that, even before the celebrated Holberg , tht
Noi'wegians had an honorable share in cultivating and improving it;
hut that its whole present form originated in Denmark is an historic
cat
fact beyond dispute* From hence it was propagated to Norway,
especially about the time of Luther^s Reformation , tchen Literature
PREFACE. XIII
authors till 1S14
^
may
find
sufficient in
forma--
lion in Nyerup's
(Sf
Kraft's
dansk-norske
Literalur-
lexikon. But a book which presents a vieiv
of
the best authorsy in the elegant branches
of
Lite--
raturCy together with copious specimens
of
their
writings
y
and with tvhich every learner
of
Danish
should be provided^ is K. L. Rahbek's danske
La^sebog eller Exempelsamling in 2 voll.
8^^.
It may be proper still to add the names
of
the most celebrated authors
of
Danish Grammars.
The Rev. P. Syv wrote several works on this sub--
ject with great skilly and considerably improved
the orthography
y
though his opponents strove very
hard to defend the ffu instead
of
v (e.
g.
haffue
for
have) and the diphthongs^ ia, ie, ay, ey ^c.
Hojsgdrd discovered the true system
of
the ten
Towelsy and proposed the method
of
denoting
them
with single characters now again adopted by those
who care to distinguish them. He also wrote a
Grammar and a Syntax in separate volumes.
and learning were in a aery lotc slate
^
and almost totally extinct
in that country, and the old Norse greatly corrupted and dissolved
into rustic dialects or provincialisms. Hence no attempt was ever
made to translate the holy Scriptures into Norse, nor any polemical
pamphlet either for
or against the catholic party published, nor any
sermons or tcorhs
of
instruction & education compiled, nor any law
promulgated in Norwegian after that time*
XIV PREFACE.
Still t7wre celebrated are
Prof.
J. Baden's Fore-
laesninger over det danske Sprog,
of
tvhich
four
editions have appeared. This was the
first regu^
lar and complete Grammar
of
the Danish Langu--
age^ and is still perhaps one
of
the best existing.
Capt. Abrahamson wrote a very elaborate Danish
Grammar
for
Germans^ also
of
great merit; and
Dichman a treatise on Orthography and a Gram^
mar
perhaps in rather too philosophical a style.
Prof.
S, N. J. Bloch published a Grammar
for
schools
together icith a treatise on Orthography
^
in which he differs from his predecessors^ admits
ting the diphthongs and many mute rowels and
consonants^
but the second vol.
of
his Grammar
^
intended for
the syntax never appeared.
Prof.
L.
TSissen
wrote another Grammar
for
schools^, as also
Prof.
F. H. Guldberg. Besides these there were
many smaller works published
for
schools^ amongst
which
Thoiiboe's and Benzien's are the most re-
markable: the former has been reprinted several
times;
of
the latter a second edition has recently
appeared;
this being the last^ and containing
also a syntax
^
is perhaps the best
of
the smaller
ivorks.
Finally^ I have to apologize much
for
my
English stile^ I ought not^ perhaps^ to have hazard-
ed writing a book in this language, nor was it
PREFACE. XV
my intention to do so^ when I began the tvork.
The bookseller^ who tvas the owner
of
Capt*
Schneider's Grammar
^
merely tvished me to pre-
pare a new edition
of
that work^ which I thought
might be undertaken without great presumption;
but I was soon convinced
of
the utter faultiness^)
of
the Grammar^ and consequently
of
the necessity
of
almost writing a new one; I went on however
cheerfully mending the old tvork
^
until the book-
seller
^
tvhen the printing
of
the new edition was
to begin, gave up the idea, thinking my alterations
much too many and too hazarded or unnecessary.
In order therefore not to lose the time and labor
spent in preparing the most difficult
part
of
the
manuscript, I found myself obliged to look out
for
another bookseller, to undertake the publication,
as a book
of
my own, leaving at the same time
Capt. Schneider's trork entirely out
of
sight, as
far
as could be done ivithout rewriting the manu-
script.
If,
after all these changes, the text
of
*) As the reader may dimand n proof of
this hard censure, I shaU
merely quote the first line ,
ichere the author states that there are
^S letters in the Danish alphabet
,
though the large table immedia-
tely following contains only 27. The protiimciatioH
of
the first let-
ter , A, is thus described: ^*Like the broad A in all, wnll." The
truth is the very reverse
,
for
the broad English A is a sound never
given to this letter in Danish.
XVI PREFACE.
the book still reads tolerably welly the reader will,
in great measure, be indebted
for
it to the able
and learned translator
of
my Anglosaxon Gram--
mar, Mr. B. Thorpe, who kindly
undertook the
tedious business
of
correcting one
of
the
proof
sheets
throughout the wlume.
PART I.
1
ORT
Danish
HOGRAPHY.
1. The
alphabet consists of twenty seven
letters, viz.
FIGIRE ]VAinG
POWER
Danice Anglice
A, a, or 9t, a, A, Ah, a in father^ part,
far.
B, b, - SB,
6,
Be, Bey,*) b.
C, c,
6, c. Ce, Cey, s and k, as in English.
D, d,
-
2), b. De, Dey, d hard; and th flat; as in thus.
E, e,
-
(S, e, E, Ey, French e ferme & e ouverL
F, f, -
g, f,
Eff, Eff, f.
G,
g,
-
,
g.
Ge, Ghey,
g
in go, give.
H, h, -
^,
i), Haa, Haw, h aspirated.
h h
-
3/ V
I, Ee, ee in bee, i in bill.
J,
j,
-
% h
Jod, Yoth,
y
consonant.
K, k, -
M,
h
Kaa, Kaw, k.
L,
1,
-
8,
I, El, El, 1.
M, m,
SW,m, Em, Em, nu
N, n,
-
%
n, En, En, n.
) In the names of the letters the Danes pronounce e like the
French e (with the acute accent), or like Enj^Hsh ey in the word
they. The former of these two columns gives the names of the letters
with the Danish spelling: the latter gives the same names spelled
in the English way, so as to lead the English learner to the right
Danish pronunciation of these names. kd.
1
2
ORTHOGRAPHY.
FIGURE NAME POWER
Da7iice Anglice
0, 0,
or D, 0, 0, 0,
in more,
for.
P,
P,
% h
Pe, Pey,
p.
Q,
q,
D,
q,
Ku, Koo,
q.
R, r,
%
r, Er, Er, r.
S, s,
, 6,
Es, Es, s hard.
T, t,
-
Z,
t,
Te, Tey, t.
U, u,
U, \u U, Oo, 00 in fool, u in full.
Vj V,
SS, t),
Ve, Vey, v in vein, \v in JiowL
X, X,
3f, T,
Ex, Ex, X hard.
Y,
y,
g),
1?/
Y, U,
h)
in pwr, ww^
Z, z,
3/ 5/
Zet, Set,
z.
yE, a?,
?(,0^,
A, Ai, a
in sale, ai in ^aeci.
0, ^,\ 0/
1^/\
J0^9 Eu, (French) /erme in pen.
0,
0,7 fc, 0,) 0,
Eu, (French) owt^eH in
rewre,
ceu in cceurj cenf.
2. Remarks on the alphabet.
Dr. Rask omitted the
Q
,
and declared it to be "not merely
superfluous and useless, but even prejudicial to a faithful represen-
tation of the language, by obscuring the origin and affinity of words,
e.g. AVnJe, woman," he said, "is derived from JiCowe, y^iie) hekvem,
convenient, from komme^ to come,- (Fr venir) ; Kvarter, a quarter
of an hour, is also called Koi-ter; Kvast , tuft, is originally the
same word as Kost^ broom
, and hvwle^ suifocate, the same as the
Engl, hill," And he added: "The
Q
is therefore justly rejected
by the celebrated Grammarian P. Syv, as also by the learned Prof.
S. N. J. Bloch in his Danshe Sproglwre., Odense 1817. It is how-
ever still used by some, but always followed by r, never by u in
any Danish book, as: Qvinde, heqvem
,
Qvarter , &c." [Christian
Molbech in his Danish dictionary has also declared
Q
to be "pro-
perly speaking a superfluous letter, but retains it nevertheless
;
and as it is still used by almost every Danish author except Rask
it is here introduced again into the alphabet, kd.]
Z, z, (Zet, pron. sett) has crept from the German
orthography into a few words, which should be written
by s, according to the true pronunciation, as: Zohely
ORTHOGRAPHY. 3
sable; zire, lo adorn, better Sohel, sire. [Dr. Rask omit-
ted z in the alphabet but I have reinstated it, since it is
indispensable not only in the words enumerated in Mr.
Molbechs dictionary, but also in a great many nouns
proper, ed.]
Q,
Z, and W are used in names of foreign origin,
as are also the German vowels a, ii (for ce,
y)\
but these
characters ought not to be inserted in the alphabet, never
occurring in any Danish word.
Dr. Rask inserted A which always has beer used by the
Swedes, as the twenty fourth letter, in his alphabet and justified
the adoption of this character by the following remarks: "A has
been, till the beginning of this century, commonly represented by
aa, according to the old Lowgerman orthography, but a is found
in ancient Danish and Norwegian manuscripts: it's reintroduction,
proposed by the celebrated Danish Grammarian Ilojsgard 1743,
later by Schlegel, Baden, Nyerup, Schrejber, Thonboe Sic, has, in
the last decennium , been realized in about thirty separate
books or pamphlets by Prof, A. Gamborg, Mr. II. J. Hansen, ^Ir.
N. M. Petersen , also by the author of these pages , and several
anonymous writers. At all events the sound is simple, and conti-
nually interchanging with other simple vowels, (r/, w, o) , in the
inflection and derivation of words , e.
g.
tculler
, to count , in the
past tense talde or tdlde, counted; gd^t
to go, Ganci, gait, gcengsc,
current, common ; from Far, sheep, is derived Fccroerne, the Far-
oe Islandjs. So also in kindred dialects
^
as Vingdrd, vineyard
;
Tare, tear. Germ. Zahre ; Mdned , month. Germ. Monath ; dben,
open &c. Whereas aa is sometimes long , sometimes even to
be read in two syllables as : Haarlem ,
Aaron, Kanaan
,
Kmid Da-
naast, the name of a Danish Prince. As the learner however will
find aa for d in most printed books hitherto published , we think
it convenient to preserve that orthography in the succeeding pages".
JEij like
A, represents a simple vowel sound, and
must never be separated or resolved into ae, which make
distinct syllables, e.
g.
bejae (be-ya-e), affirm.
and are commonly confounded, so that is
used for both sounds in books printed in the Gothic type,
in those in the Roman character. The distinction pro-
4
ORTHOGRAPHY.
posed by Hojsgard,. shall be adopted here, as it will
greatly assist the student's memory in recollecting the
genuine pronunciation. [In the above alphabet
and
have been counted for one letter, ed.]
3,
Of
Prommciation.
The double sound of some of the letters may create
some difficulty.
The open e is exactly like the cb, but usually short,
as Hervey gentleman, like rcerre, worse. The e ferme, or
close e, is very frequent in Danish, but not of frequent
occurence in English; still it is found in such words as:
iheirj vein, veil, which have a different sound from : there,
vaith
In analogy with this^ the open o sounds exactly like
the aa , but is generally short , as Kaag , boiling , like
Bog, book. The close o is often used, where the Eng-
lish has the open one, as: Broder, brother^ &c. [The
Danish close o is more close than the English and has
a sound more nearly approaching to Walker's
2**
o, in
move. ED.]
E, 0,
I, U, Y have in general their close sound at
the end of syllables, whether long or short, e.
g.
ire,
three; le^ve, live; Ko, cow; irovwrdig, credible;
fri,
free; Skri-ve-ri, (continual) writing ; synes^ seems; yder-
mere, moreover. There are however some few^ excep-
tions, as: Ste-det, the place; Bo-gen, the book; vi,vie;
giidelig, religious (book), have the open sound, most of
these because the consonant originally belonged to the
preceding syllable.
For cases in w hich the syllable terminates in a con-
sonant, scarcely any certain rule can be given, although
the open sound is perhaps the more frequent, e.
g.
trende,
three (to each); Konge, king; vinde^ to gain ; Gidd, gold;
gyldeiiy golden; especially before ng, nd, Ig, Id. But in
Ord, a word; Norden, the North, the 6 is long. Med,
OKTHOGKAPHV. O
with, for,
for, have the open short sound; in ted, by,
the e is close, although it he short; and in sloi\ great,
the 6 is close.
Sometimes e, i, u are doubled Avhen long or close
before a consonant in the same syllable; unfortunately
this rule applies only to the cases, where the consonant
following is I, m, w, r, or
5,
e.g. Piil, arrow, but hvid
(never Iwiid) white
;
and not even regularly to all the cases
mentioned, e. g.
Viin^ wine, but min, mine , the pronun-
ciation in both cases being exactly alike Cviz veen, meen).
As soon as a vowel is added in the inflection of the
words , the doubling ceases , as : Filen^ the arrow, File,
arrows ; Vinen, the wine. Vine wines. As there is little
danger, that the reader should divide these ee, ii, uu^
into distinct syllables, we shall preserve this orthography,
though very imperfect, as the most common ; and in cases
necessary, where it is not used, assist the learner, by
placing accents over the vowels, (') for the close or
long sound and
(') for the open or slender, as in French.
There are no diphthongs in Danish, but a/, ej, oj,
^{/? <>j}
e\en tliough written by some ai, ei, oi, ni, oi,
are pronounced with the open sound of the vowels and
a distinct
y
consonant following, never like ai, el French
oi, ui or the like, e.
g.
ej, not, sounds like Engl eye or
/;
Konvoy, a convoy, like the verb to convoy^ Ac. Per-
haps however the
j
is a little softer after the vowels
than at the beginning of words. Even after
g
and k it is
soft, e.g. hegjere^ desire; kjedelig, tedious; like the Engl.
guardian, cure, &c.
In like manner av, et\ iv, ov, wi\ ot are pronounced
as clear vowels followed sometimes by a distinct v con-
sonant, sometimes by a tc; the v also is softer after
the vowels than at the beginning, e.
g.
tav^ was silent;
Brev, letter; sHv, stiff; Tdv, cable; Rwr, fox; dor^ deaf-
The sound of w is particularly observable, when
another
consonant follows, e. g.
tars, silent;
Ecropa^
Europe;
6
ORTHOGRAPHY.
slivne, to stiffen; hovne^ to swell; Hwmi, revenge; sov-
nig, sleepy, drowsy.
Like
j
6cv some other consonants have also a softer
sound after the vowels than before them, thus d sounds
like dh, Anglosaxon and Icel.
6,
or Engl, flat ih in bathe,
when it concludes the word , or is placed between two
vowels, also when doubled, as lad, lazy, sluggish ; Fader,
father; vcedde, lay a wager, &c. After /,
n, r, it is
scarcely perceptible in the common pronunciation, except
as a peculiar emphasis oxi the vowel preceding, [e.
g.
Staid, siahle is pronounced stall; Mand, man pron. man;
Bord^ tahle pron. boor (where oo sounds as in floor). edJ
G in similar cases has also a softer sound, which
was formerly
written gh, e.
g.
Sag^ cause, affair, con-
cern
;
tage, take. Sometimes after e, 6 it is pronounced
like
y
(or Engl,
y
cons.), e.
g.
eg in jeg, I, sounds quite
like e/, in Vej, way; and
6g
in Bogn, a day and night,
like 6j
in hbjne, to heighten.
[H is not aspirated in Danish before
j
(in stead of
which Molbech always writes t),
or r, e.
g.
Ujel'p, help,
aid, pron. yel^; Hvalfisk, whale, pron. Valfisk; hvid,
white, pron. veeth, ed.]
The English sounds ofy, ch, sk, th sharp are enti-
rely foreign to the Danish language,
4.
Of
accentuation.
In Danish there are six accents (To/ieholdJ or modes
of pronouncing the vowels, three long and three short,
four of them are easy to understand and to apply, but
examples of the other two are not easily found in other
languages :
the long are : 1) the trailing as : oh
!
2) the advancing
orah
3) the abrupt
(pro-noun
?)
the shoit are : 1) the rolling
worthy^ love,
2) the running -
~
torrent.
3) the rebounding
ORTHOGRAPHY, 7
The rebouudiiig is the abrupt shortened, but it must
be learned by oral instruction; they are both very fre-
quent in Danish, and very difl'icult to foreigners.
The abrupt takes place in almost all long mono-
syllables as: Bctrn, child; BeeUy bone; Bi^ bee; Blodj
blood; Ur (Uhr), watch; sky, shun; Trw, tree; do, die.
The rebounding in many short monosyllables, ter-
minating in consonants, especially wd, fig. Id, Ig, rg, Ex.
kdn, can: Kdm, comb; hen, away, up to; slem^ bad;
Skind, skin; and, evil; nng^ young; Hyld, eldertree;
Bcelg, husk, bellows; Sorg, sorrow. But many others
have the running accent, as: han, he; rank, slim, tail;
Ven, friend.
The advancing (or obtuse) is usual in pronouncing
long vowels in dissyllables or polysyllables, as: barn-
agtig, childish; benig^ bony; iriore, divert; Fure, furrow;
lyde, obey ; taale, endure ; vcere, be
;
fere, carry ; Pjorne,
corner.
The running (or sharp) is usual with short and
sharp vowels in dissyllables, especially before double
consonants , as : Klasse, class ; hellig, holy ; ikke, not
;
begge, both ; Odde, point of land ; Fusker, bungler ; hyg-
gelig y comfortable; tcekkelig, neat; Berste, a brush;
Smorrebred, bread and bultcr.
The trailing and the rolling occur but rarely; the
former mostly in interjections and contracted monosyl-
lables, as: a! ah! o/oh! Fa'r, father, Mo'r, mother;
the latter especially when a short vowel is followed by
rd, as: myrde, to murder; vcerdig, worthy; sometimes
Id produces the same effect, but never v as in English.
As to the position or place of the accent (Tone-
fald-et), the Danish also differs w idely from the English.
In words of northern origin, the first radical syllable
usually bears the emphasis, as: r^sentUgy essential; Gjer-
righedy
avarice; /y^/c%^ evident ; beiydelig, considerable;
Vbelydellghedj
insignificancy; Rcniekammerei, the Danish
8 ORTHOGRAPHY.
board of revenue, or the exchequer; but we also find:
agtvcerdig^ worthy of esteem ; retfcerdigj, just ; K&henhdvn,
Copenhagen; Boniholm, Kristiansstdd, Frideriksddly
Ilof--
mansgdney (&c.
Words derived from the southern languages have
often the stress on the last, as : Karamrij caravan, Bi-
bliothekdr, librarian; Karakter, character; Filosofi, fhi^
losophy; JRe%^o/^, religion; SekretSr^ secreiw^Y : Direktor,
director; Natur, nature; Matematik^ mathematics, (fcc.
When the french e mute is preserved in Danish, it never
receives any emphasis, but sounds like short e at the
end of Danish Avords, en Terrdsse, a terrace, not Ter-
7'asse; Artikkel, article &c. But usually it is thrown away
entirely, though sometimes written according to a false
orthography, serving merely to confound the learner, by
disguising the true pronunciation.
5.
Of
the spelling.
There is a great dispute among the Danish orlho-
graphers about the manner of spelling foreign words* As
the Italians w rite tesauro^ the Spaniards accion, the French
caractere, monarqne, the English Bachelor^ author, analogy
d:c. entirely disregarding the Greek and Roman usage, so it
seems but just that the Danes should be at liberty, to
spell such w ords in their own writings according to their
own
pronunciation. In fact Prof. Bloch in his Dan. Gram,
has adopted
f
for ph, as Filosof, philosopher; and it is
pretty
commo^i to write, Moiidrk, MekdnikuSy Maskine &c.
We shall adopt also the t for ih, though less frequent,
the th being very apt to mislead the English student,
e.g. Matematiker, Mathematician. It is very common also
to write k for c, whenever it has this sound, and only
preserve c where, according to it's name, it sounds like
s, e.
g.
Akademi, Specter,
As to the division of words into syllables, the lear-
ner must observe , that
j
is always referred to the pre-
ORTHOGKAPHV. 9
ceding vowel, which is in these cases constantly pronoun-
ced short and sharp , e.
g.
Vej-e, w ays , not Ve-je. The
other consonants are usually referred to the vowel fol-
lowing, Avhen single; or divided between the preceding
and succeeding vowel, w hen more than one, no care being
taken to distinguish the radical parts from the accessories,
except in compound words, e,
g.
Da-ge^ days, from Dag,
day, but for-ud-si-ge , foretell from for-ud, beforehand,
and sige, tell, say.
Though the Danish orthography is doubtful in many
cases, yet the leading principle is evidently to express
the sound as nearly as possible; and, where the sound
may be expressed in two different ways , Ao adopt the
spelling, that agrees the most w ith etymology, e,
g.
skcerpe,
to sharpen, from sharp, sharp, not skjerpc, although it
would express the same sound; shjenke, to pour in, from
Icel. skmkja, Germ. scJienken^ not skcenke , because not
derived from Skatik, shank. Saald (SdldJ, a sieve, be-
cause the verb is scelde, to sift, not Sold, Avhich is an-
other word, meauing wageSy or soldiers pay, from whence
Solddtj a soldier.
Before a, aa, a, n, e, the consonants k and
g
are
always hard, as in the English words cow', goicHy and in
order to produce the sound in cure, guard, a
j
must be
inserted, as en Skjald, a bard ; en Kjole, a coat ; skjule,
conceal; gjaldt, was worth, cost; Gjed, goat; gjorde,
made, but
before ce,
6,
o,
y,
^,
k and
g
take always the
softer sound, and no
j
should be inserted, as: kcer, dear;
(Lat. cams), Kon, sex, gender, (Lnl. geiws) ; Kehenharn,
Copenhagen; but many people, not being aware of this
rule, will insert they even in these cases, and write
hjcer, or kjer, Kjon, Kjohenharn d:c. It is however ack-
nowledged to be erroneous, to insert they, when the primi-
tive is a Danish word, which has ka, ko, ku, ga, go, gn
without
j;
e. g.
at kjempe or kjcempe for kcempe, to fight,
combat,
would be a fault, because the primitive
is Kamp,
10 ORTHOGRAPHY.
combat ; in the same manner we write kcemme, to comb
;
from Kam^ a comb ; shed, shot, from at skyde, to shoot,
emd et Skud^ a shot; ged^ poured, from gyde^ (Germ.
goss)j not kjcemme, skjed,
9Jod,
It is a great advantage in Danish orthography, that
every noun substantive is written with a capital letter at
the beginning, as numbers of words, else perfectly alike,
are thereby easily distinguished at the first view.
*) Ex.
{en) Tale, a speech, (at) tale, to speak,
(en) Bor, a barrow,
Cj^g)
bor, I must, ought
('en) Tro, faith, tro, faithful,
(jsn) FldJ, weathercock,
floj,
fle\v,
(et) Onske, a wish, {at) onske, to wish,
Vande, waters, (at) vande, to water.
On the other hand adjectives of national names are
usually written with small initials, contrary to the Eng-
lish usage, as: dansk,Dsims\i; norsk, Norwegian; spensk^
Swedish ; hollandsk, Dutch ; engelsk, English ; angelsak-
sisk, Anglosaxon.
Those who wish to see an analysis of the sounds
of the Danish and of the principal points of it's ortho-
*) The advantage of this usage which the Danes and Norwe-
gians have borrowed from the Germans is not felt or acknowled-
ged by the rest of mankind: the English, the French, the Spaniards,
the Portuguese, the Italians, the Greeks, the Arabs, the Persians,
the Armenians , the Russians, the Polacks , the Bohemians and the
other Slavonic nations, the Magyars, the Turks, the Swedes, the
Finlanders and the Icelanders spell all words in the same way
without distinguishing any by a capital letter excepting nouns
proper. At one time it was attempted to introduce the German
fashion in England, and in many English books printed in the reign
of George I and George II the nouns often have capital initials
;
but this practice has now become quite obsolete. Thus it is evident
that the Germans with their imitators the Danes und Norwegians
have in this particular been left in a very small minority. The
distinction between verbs and nouns alledged to be aflected by
this practice is of no great moment, since the context always
shews plainly enough w hethcr a given word is a noun ora verb. kd.
1]\ FLECTION. 11
graphy, may consult the author's essay: "Forsog til en
videnskabelig dansk Relskrivningsla)re med Hensyn til
Stamsproget og Nabosproget, Kobenhavn 1826", published
as the first volume of Tidsskrift
for
nordisk Oldkyndighed,
PART 11.
INFLECTION.
6. ARTICLES.
1 roperly speaking the articles
,
(Kjendeord) form no
peculiar part of speech , being all originally pronouns,
but as many nouns are never used without some ar-
ticle
,
a previous knowledge of them may be d^sireable.
They are moreover sometimes combined with the nouns,
and then have a considerable influence on the declension.
Fortunately in Danish the articles also distinguish gen-
ders and numbers like adjectives; and it would greatly
assist the student's memory in recollecting the puzzling
distinction of gender, if he would make it a rule, never
to pronounce nor even to think of a noun without its
proper article.
The Danish admits but of two genders (Kon)^ viz.
the neuter (^Intetkonnet) and the common C^celles^
komiet)
;
the latter including the masculine Cilankon-
netj and the feminine (IlunkdnnetJ ; but even these
two were formerly distinguished, there being three gen-
ders (neut. masc. & fem.) in the old molhertongue, the
Icelandic, of which many traces are left in the structure
of the modern language.
The numbers (TalformerneJ are the usual two, the
singular (Entallet) and the plural (Flertallet).
There are three articles in Danish, one ind ef inite
(ubeslemt) ^nd two definite (beslemtej , the one for
nouns substantive, the other for adjectives.
12 INFLECTION.
The mdepnite article has merely two forms, viz. et
before a noun of the neuter , and en before one of the
common gender, it has no plural. Being derived from
the numeral eet^ een, one, it is pronounced ^vith e close,
though short*
Ex, neutr. com.
sing, et Land, a country, en Stol, a chair
plur. Lande, countries, Stole, chairs.
The definite article
of
nouns substantive is et in the
neuler, en in the common gender, and -ne Qene} in the
plur. of both genders ; it is pronounced with open e in
the sing., and always added as an affix to the nouns, as
:
sing. Land-et, the country, StoUen, the chair,
plur* Lande-ne, the countries, Stole-ne, the chairs.
It is derived from the demonstrative pron. hint (Icel. hitt)^
liin, pi. Iiine, that, yon;
The
def,
art,
of
adjectives is det in the neut. den
in the com. gend* and rfe in the plur. of both genders; it
is always placed before the adj. as a separate w ord, as :
sing, det skonne (Land), the fine (country),
plur. de skonne (Lande), tlie fine (countries),
sing, den gamle (StolJ, the old (chair),
plur. de gamle
C^loleJ,
the old (chairs),
Tliis last article is nothing but the demonstrative
pronoun; but when used as an article it loses all em-
phasis.
7. NOUNS SUBSTANTIVE.
Of
Gender.
In Danish, as in most other languages, it is impos-
sible to give perfectly satisfactory rules for the gender
of nouns; the following observations may however be
useful to the learner.
Neuters are 1) the names of countries and cit-
ies, metals and letters, as; det frugthare
Damnark,
I\FLECTIOX.
'
13
ferlile Denmark; det smukkc London^ fine London; det
ny Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem ; Varis d:c. Gidd^ gold
;
Soh, silver; Jcvrn, iron; Bly^ lead; et start E, a capital
E; at skriiie En et X for
et (7, literally: to Avritc one
an X for a U (meaning- the Roman number V) , or ten
for five, i.e. to impose upon one, make him work or pay
double.
2)
Most monosyllabic nouns of action , formed of
verbs, without any additional termination, as : et IU)h (or
Kjob), a bargain, from kobe, to buy; et Salg, a sale; et
Spring, a leap; et Tryk, a thrust; et Skud, a shot.
Those in any and gt are excepted , as en Sang^ a
song; eti Gang, a going, a time; en Agt, intention; en
Tugt, discipline, and a few others: en Strid, a contest,
strife; en Drik, a drink; en Hjwlp, a help, assistance,
which are of the common gender.
3)
Derivative nouns in -en', as: Bryderi, trouble;
Frieri, courtship; and those in -skah signifying a situa-
tion or relation, as: Broderskab-et, the fraternity; Adel-
skab, nobility, Venskab, friendship.
8. To the common gender belong 1)
most names
of persons and dignities, sciences, animals, trees and
plants. Ex.
en 3fand^ a man, en Qtinde, a woman,
en Konge,
a king, en Dronning, a queen,
en Smed, a smith, en Jordemoder, a midwife,
en Theologi, divinity, en Logik, logic,
en Rest, a horse, en Gaas, a goose,
en Torsk, a cod-fish, en 3Iyre, an ant,
en Ko, a cow, en Kalv^ a calf,
en Slaage, a snake, en FirbeeUj a lizard,
en Eeg, an oak, en Bog, a beech,
en Toniy a thorn, en Rose, a rose,
en Tulipdn,
a tulip, en Tnsendskon, amaranth.
There are however some exceptions to this rule, aj es-
pecially compound words, of which the last part is a
14 INFLECTIOiV.
neuter; e.
g.
el Mandfolk, a man; et Fnientimmer
^
a
woman ; et Daadiji\ a doc ; et Rensdyr, a reindeer ; et
Pceretrw, a peartree.
b) Some names of living beings which comprize
bolh sexes , as : et Menneske
;
man (homo) ; et Folk,
people; et Barn, a child; et Asen, et jEsel, an ass; et
Bcest, a beast; et Dyr, an animal; et Fee, a brute; et
Kvceg, (a) cattle; et Faar, a sheep; et Lam, a lamb; et
Kidj, a kid ; et Ned, a neat ; et Hors, et
0g,
a jade ; et
Fel, a colt; et Sviin, a swine; et Egern, a squiri'eL
2)
Derivative nouns in: de, ddm, hed^ ing, ning,
else, set, t^ st, en, as: Hojde, height; Bredde, breadth;
en Guddom, a godhead; Trceldoniy slavery; Hv{d1ied,\\\\\"
teness; Hurtighed, swiftness; Forandring, change; Lees-
ning, reading; Slwgtning^ a relation; Begyndelse, begin-
ning; Forkortelse, abbreviation; Indforsel , importation;
Vcext, growth; Hngst , cutting (of trees) ; Skrigen, a
crying; Loben, a running. Also those in ^skab ^ deno-
ting qualities, as: en Egenskab, a quality; en Ondskab,
malice.
3)
Foreign words in -tor/ ist, an, on, isme, let,
Ex. Kondukter, Rigorist, Lutheran, Kujon (coward), KaU
kon (turkey), Revision, Terrorisme, Prioritet, except et
Universitet.
9. Compounds take the gender of the last part,
as: et Birketra^, a birchtree; et Morbcertrw, a mulberry-
tree; Mesterstykke , a masterpiece; en Selvtallerken , a
silverplate; en Hovedpunkt, a mam point. Except et Bog-
Slav, a letter, et Maaltid, a meal; et Vidnesbyrd,
a testi-
mony
;
From en Slav, en Tid, en Byrd,
It is to be observed that the following words change
their significations with their genders :
of
the neuter gender:
of
the common gender:
el Ark, a sheet (of paper), en Ark, an ark,
ct Bid, a bite, en Bid, a morsel.
llVFLECTiON.
15
et Brud, a breach, en Bnid, a bride,
C^J?M/f,
abo\V(incHnaUonof thebody),
ett Buk^ a He-gfoal,
et Digl, a poem, en Digt^ a fiction, tale,
et Flor, a gauze, en Flor, prosperity,
et Folge, retinue, train, en Folge, consequence*),
et Gran, a grain, en Grcm, a pin?,
et Leje, a couch, bed, en Leje, hire,
c/Lcp<7,afold;dogsear(e.g.inabook), en Lwg, calf of the leg.
et Lod, half an ounce,
et Mode, an assembly,
<
et A'orf, a neat.
and
en Lod, a lot, share,
en Mude, a fashion,
en Tiod, need, distress,
en fiod, (sharp), a nut,
en Raad, a counsellor (title),
en Shrift, a handwriting.
et Raad, an advice, council,
et Shrift, a book, work,
et Sncert, a stroke of a whip, en Smert, the lash, cord,
c^>S/>fm</,ateamofhorses;aspan, en Spand, a bucket,
et Som, an (iron) nail, en Som, a seam,
et Ting^ a n assize, en Ting, a thing,
et Tryh, a thrust, en Tryh, print,
et Vcerge, a weapon, en Vwrge, a trustee.
Several words are of doubtful gender, as :
en Punkt,
or et Punktj a point; en Trold^ or et Trold^ a giant,
goblin.**)
The word et Bogstav^ a letter, Avas formerly of the
common gender, and is still used thus in some biblical
and adverbial phrases , as : Bogstaven
ihjelslaaer
,
men
Aanden gjor levende. At tage noget efter
Bogstaven, to
take
something literally. Et Sted
,
a place , was likewise
*) The verb folge is not only to follotc, but also to attend, ac-
company one*
*^)
Mr* Molbech makes Trold of the common gender (en
Trold) and this has been adopted on his authority by Ferrall and
Repp in their Danish-English Dictionary. In Icelandic, how^ever.
Troll is neuter, and such, no doubt the gender ought to be also
in Danish , when the word denotes a giant
,
or ogre
;
but when
it is used as a term of abuse, of a clamorous scold, it probably is
right,
on the authority of several Danish poets to
make it: en
Trold,
BD.
16 INFLECTIOIV.
of the common gender
, and this
is preserved in many
adverbs, as: isteden, in the place
(oO, andensieds, else-
Avhere, noge/isteds, anywhere,
somewhere, ingensteds,
nowhere. En Taage^ a mist, is called et Taag, by the
common people in the isle of Funen, hence in the culti-
vated language the phrase: at gaa i Taagef, literally: lo
walk away in the mist.i. e. to be thoughtless, heedless,
absent, not to have ones wits about one.
10.
Of
the declension
of
nouns.
The Danish nouns (Navneord) admit but of few
mflections, viz. the two numbers (mentioned
p. 11),
and
two cases (Forholdsformer) in each , viz. the nominative
(NcBvnefo:n7ien) and the genitive (Ejeformen) just as in
English; but the formation of these inflections is a good
deal more varied.
In this respect the nouns are divided into two orders
or declensions, the one more simple in it's inflection, the
other more complex. The simple order contains all
nouns ending in short e; the complex comprizes all the
rest* The former follows one invariable rule informing
the numbers and cases, adding always r in the plural,
and 5 in the genitive of each number, without distinction
of gender; the latter is subdivided into three classes,
originally distinguishing the three genders , the first for-
ming the plur. like the sing.; the second by adding -e;
the third by adding -er. The following table may serve
as a synopsis of the whole system:
Simple order. Comphtx order.
"
Sing. N. c class 1.
'
cl. 2. = cl. 3. .
G. -s -s -s ~s
Plur. N. -r
i
-c
-er
G. -rs
-5
-es -ers
But when the definite article is added^ the 5 which forms
the genitive is removed from its place immediately behind
INFLECTION 17
the noun and afTixed to the article; some rules of eu-
phony must also be observed, Avhen a final e of the
noun would be immediately followed by the e of the article.
I shall therefore exhibit the paradigms in their compound
or definite as well as in their simple or indefinite form,
in) order to give the reader a complete idea of all the
inflections, of which they are susceptible.
11. The simple order.
Though this order forms only one' declension
,
yet
on account of the def. article it may be divided into
two classes, the one for the neuter, the other for the
common gender.
The nouns: et Hjcerte*), a heart; enKonge^ a king;
en Dame, a lady, shall be our paradigms;
neuter class
Sing. N. et Hjcerte,
G. et Hjcertes,
Plur. N. Hjwrler,
G. Hjwrters,
Indefinitely.
common class
en Konge^ en Dame,
en KongeSf en Dames,
Konger, Darner,
Kongers^ Darners,
Definitely.
Konge-n,
Konge-ns,
Kongcr-ne,
Konger-nes,
Sing. N. Hjfprte-l,
G. Hjwrte~ts,*
Phu*. N. Hjwrter-ne^
G. Jljwrler-nes,
In like manner are declined:
et Rige, a kingdom, en Love, a lion,
et vEble, an apple, en Abe, an apo,
et Mwrke, a mark, en Hanc, a cock,
et Lofte, a promise, en Have, a garden,
et Mode, a meeting, en Fjende, an enemy,
et Styhke, a piece, en Herre, a master.
Dame-n,
Dame-ns,
Damer-ne^
Damer-nes.
en Lovinde, a lioness,
en Tudse, a toad,
en Hone, a hen,
en Pwre, a pear,
en Krone, a crown,
en Stavelse, a syllable.
*)
Molbech following the German analogy writes Hierfc (from
Ilerz).
KD.
18
INFLECTION.
The final e receives llie open sound (c), whenever
a
consonant
is added.
The
article loses its original c (before the t and ?0
everywhere
in this declension.
Bonde^ a farmer, peasant, changes the vowel in the
plural, Bonder, Bonderne,
Words denoting dignity or rank , and ending in -e,
lose this e, when prefixed to a name, as Kong Frederik
den sjette, King Frederic the sixth; Pyrst Edvardy Prince
Edward; Grev Bernstor/f, Count Bernstorff; Ilerr Moller,
Mr. Moller; Fru Skibsted, Mrs. Skibsted. There are
however several exceptions to this rule, as the word
Kammerherre, Cl)amberlain, and female titles in -inde, as
Grevinde, countess, d:c. which are never abbreviated.
The old form of the article in the neuter gen. sing,
was -ens (not e/j?),
*)
hence instead of Hjcertets we say
Hjcertens in some old phrases, as: min Ujcertens Yen, the
friend of my heart. Thus also oi Menmske, man, instead
of the usual gen. defin. Menneskets , we say Menneskens,
in the biblical expressions Menneskens Son, the son of man
;
Menneskens Born, mankind. In the def. plur. we often
say Menneskene instead of Menneskerne.
Derivative w ords in domme likewise often reject the
plural r before the defin. art. ; e.
g.
Hertiigdotmnene,
instead of Hertugdommerne,
*)
It can not, surely, be estabHshed as a general rule, that the
old form was -ens, instead of -els\ it occurs only in a few words.
The old form, i. e. the Icelandic form, was -ms, and by contrac-
tion *-w5, when the nominative of the noun terminated in a. Hjcur-
teiis and Menneskens may be considered as faint vestiges of the
ancient form ; but it certainly does not appear that the genitive
in -ens ever was generally adopted; and this is the less likely to
have been the case since the use of the definite article was much
less frequent in old Danish e.
g.
in writings from the 14th and
15th centuries than in modern Danish. bd.
i:\FLECTIOX. 19
Tilfcelde, accident, case, and Soskende, brother and
sister^ do not admit any -r in the plural.
Et Oje, an eye, forms Ojne^ (formerly Ojeft) in the
plun, gen. Ojnes, defin. Ojnene^ Ojnenes,
Et -Ore, an ear, forms ^ren^ or ^rer, gen. ^rens
or 0rers^ defin. ^rerne (0rene)y ^rernes (Irenes).
En Oxcy an ox, forms in the plur. Oxer (^xne^
^xen).
Of the common gender there are two exceptions,
viz^ en Penge, a coin, medal, money, and en Uge, an
equal ; which receive no r in the plur., so that the indef.
plur. of both is like the sing., and the def. form of
Penge, Penge^ne-s ; but Lige has no definitive plural, per-
haps because it might be confounded with : Ug-ene^
from Llg, a corpse*
12. The complex order.
This order must be divided into three classes accor-
ding to the three manners of forming the plural, though
not agreeing exactly with the genders in the modern
language. As examples let us take et Dyr^ an animal,
deer; en Dag, a day; en Sag, a thing.
Indefinitely,
1st class 2d class 3d class
Sing. N. et Dyr, en Dag, en Say,
G. et
Dyrs, en Days, en Says,
Plur. N. Dyv, Dage, Sayer^
G. Dyrs, DayeSy
Definitely.
Sagers,
Sinjr., N. Dyr-et, Dag-en, Say-en,
G. Dyr-ets, Dag-ens, Sag-cfis,
Plur. N. Dyr-ene, Dage-ne, Sager-ne,
G. Dyr-enes, Dage-nes, Saycr-nes.
In like manner are declined:
2*
20
INFLECTION.
t Arhf a sheet, en Fish, a fish, en Dyd, a virtue,
ct Slag, a blow, en Fucjl, a bird, en Frugt, a fruit,
ct Baa7id, a ribbon, eyi Vej, a way, en Dronning, a queen,
et Aar, a year, en Slav, a stall', en Aand,
a spirit,
el Rbr, a rudder, en Ilesf, a horse, en Aa, a brook,
el Skridl, a pace, eti Uund, a do<y, en Sandhed, truth.
13. General remarks.
In each of these classes there are some words, hav-
in$^ a short vowel, followed by a single consonant, which
double the final consonant, as soon as a termination
beginning with a vowel is added. Ex* of the 1st class
et Kar, a vessel, def. Karr^et,
pL Karr~ene ; et Lam^
a lamb^ Lamm-^et, &c. ; et Som, an iron nail, Somm-et;
et Led, a joint, Ledd-et; etLod, half an ounce, Lodd-et;
et jEg^ an egg, jEgg-^et, Of the 2d class en Bcek, a
rivulet, plur. Bcehke, def. Bcekh-en, pi. Bcekke-ne; en
Blok, a block, pi. Blokke, &c.; en Hat, a hat, pi. Hatte;
en Top y a top, pU
Toppe; en Straf, punishment, pi.
Straffe;
en Rigdoni, riches,
ph Rigdomme; en Trcel^ a
slave , -pi. Trwlle ; en Vceg
,
a wall
,
pi. Vcegge. Of the
3d class en Nod, a nut, pi. Nodder; en Almanak, a cal-
ender, pi. Almanakker; en Fabrik, a manufacture,
pi.
Fabrikker; en Yen, a friend,
pL
Vernier,
When a word of the com. gend. belongs to the first
class, it takes of course the com* art. -e?i, d:c* instead
of the neut. -et in the sing, def* d: indef* as: en Fejl,
a fault, en FejlSy Fejl-en, Fejlens
^
pi. Fejl-ene, Thus
also en Sild, a herring; en Krcebs, a crayfish, en Leg,
an onion; en Lus, a louse; en MuSy a mouse; en Sko,
a shoe; enAal, an eel; but en Alen, an ell does scarce-
ly admit the affixed definite article at all. Likewise,
when a word of the neut. gend. belongs to the 2. or 3.
class, which is still more frequently the case, it merely
takes the neuter article without any further deviation.
Ex. of the 2d cl. et Land, a country, et Lands, def.
INFLECTION. 21
Land-etj Land-els^ plur. Lande-ne; thus also et Bond,
table, Bordet; et Hus CBuus^,
a house, Hus-et; etBjcerg^
a mountain, Bjcerget ; et Hav, a sea , ocean, Ilavct, Ot
the 3d el. et Beviis^ a proof, def* Bevis-et
,
pi. Bevis^
er-ne; et Begreb, a conception, idea, Begrebet; et Papir,
a paper, Papiret; et Bibiiotek, a library, Biblioleket ; et
Universitet, a University, Vniversitetet ; et Venskab ^ a
friendship, Venskabet; et Hoved, a head, Hotedet ; et
Hul, a hole, def. Hullet, pi. Huller-ne.
For the other remarks that may be required, we
must consider each of these classes separately.
i4. The first
class.
To this class belong, besides those already mentioned
a number of primitive monosyllables of the neuter gen-
der, as:
et Been, a bone, et Lav (Lang), a <?iiil(l,
et Bind, a cover; volume of a
et Lys, a candle,
book. et Laag, a lid,
et Brad, a loaf, el hdv, a leaf,
et Folky a people, et Ord, a word,
et Fro, a seed, et Ptmd, a pound,
'
et Faar, a sheep, et Sejl, a sail,
et Fee, a brute, et Skaar, a sherd,
et Gran, a grain, et Sprog, a language,
et Qrfii, a graiu of grits, et Straa, a straw,
et Hjul, a wheel, et Svwrd, a sword,
et Horn, a horn, et Staaby*) a cup,
et Jcern, an iron, et Saar, a wound,
et Knee, a knee, et Tag, a roof,
et Korn, a grain, e^ Taarn, a tower,
c^ Krus, a mug, c/ -4^^, a
y^ke,
et Krw, a creature, et Og, a jade,
e^ Kwr, a pool,
A considerable number of monosyllabic
derivatives
of the verbs, cf. p. 15, as: et Brud, a breach;
et Bud,
a commandment, a message; et Lk\ a life; et lUk, a
*)
Molbech writes Stab. ,
kb-
22 INFLECTIOiV.
hickup,
sob; et Kys, a kiss; et Haab, a hope; et Kncek,
a crack; et Tag, a gripe; et Trin, a step; et Slag, a
blow; et Ridt, a riding; from bryde,
break; byde, com-
mand; leve, live; d:c.
Some of the primitives change the vowel in the
plural, as ; en Gaas, a goose, pi. Gees, pronounced sharp,
whence the def, form sing. Gaas-en, pi. Gcessene; en
Hand, a man^, ^LMcetid; an irregular change takes place
in et Barn, a child, plur. Born.
15. The second class.
There are some primitive neuters of this class , as
et Brev, a letter, pL Breve; et Blad, a leaf, Blade; et
Skib, a vessel, Skibe; et Bad, a bath. Bade; et Vand,
water, Vande; et Skab, a cupboard, Skabe ; but by far
the greater number are original masculines, as : en Baad,
a boat, (Icel. bdtr), plur. Baade; en Krop, a body (Icel.
kroppr), Kroppe; en Skik, a custom, Skikke; en Dreng,
a boy, (IceL dreng
r),
Drenge; en Dal, a valley, (Icel.
dalr), Dale; en Bom, a bar, Bomme; en Steen, a stone,
(Icel.
steinn), Stene; en Stilk, n sisilk, Siilke ; and some
few original feminines, as en Lov, a law, pi. Love; en
Sol, a sun, Sole,
Some dissyllables in el, er, suffer a contraction in
the plur. as et Kammer, a chamber, closet, pi. Kamre,
def. Kammer-et, pi. Kamre-ne; et
Offer,
a sacrifice, pi,
Offere
or Ofre; en Ager, a field, pi. Agre; en Finger, a
finger, pi. Fingre ; en Hammer, a hammer, pi. Hamre ; en
Engel, an angel, pi. Engle; en Himmel, heaven, sky, pi.
Uimle. The def. art. rarely requires this contraction in
the sing, as ; Himlen, in the acceptation providence, other-
wise Himmelen, Hammeren &c.
Masc. derivatives in -er do not admit the contraction
in the plur., but constantly reject the plural termination
-e, when the art. is affixed, as en Grceker. a greek, pL
IMLECTIOJV. 23
Grcekere, def.
siiigr. Grcekcren^ pi. Grwkerne, thus also
Skrcsder^ ta} lor ; Vcever, ,m eavcr, &c.
Some few change the vowel in the pi.
en Fader, pi. Fwdre
;
en Moder, pi. Modre
;
en Broder, pi. Brodre; en Datler (Dotler), pi. Doltrc,
16. The third class
contains some few primitive neuters, as et Tree ^ a tree,
pi. Trceer; et T()j\ a stuff, pi. Tojer; et Sted, a place,
pi. Steder:^ and all derivatives in -/, eri, as et Parti^ a
faction, party, pi. Partier
]
et Bryggeri, a brewhouse, pi.
Bryggerier ; et Bogtrykkeriy a printing-office, pi. Bogtryk-
herier. Also some original masculines, as Giid^ god, pi.
Guder; en Ret^ a court of justice; a dish, pi. Better; en
Le,^) a scythe, pi. Leer; en Sti, a path,
f\,
Stier ; en
By, a to\vn, a village, pi. Byer; en Bekjendt, an acquain-
tance, pi. Bekjendter.
But especially a great number of original feminines,
as: en Saga
y
en old Icelandic history,
fpl.
Sagaer; en
Bro, a bridge, pi. Broer; en Fre, a frog, pi. Freer-, en
0,"^'^)
an island, pi. Oer
;
en Sky
,
a cloud, pi. Skyer ; en
Gjed, a goat, pi. Gjeder; en Bon, a petition, pi. Bonner;
en Plads, a place, pi. Pladser
;
en Art, a kind, pi. Arter
;
en jErt, a pea, pi. JErter; en Mast, a mast, pi. Master.
Likewise all derivative nouns in hed, as: en Godhed, a
favor, pi. Godheder.
In like manner most foreign words of the three
genders, terminating in consonants, as : et Patent, a letter
patent, pi. Patenter; (enj Student, pi. Stiidenter
;
(en)
*) Professor l^ask spells Le pi. Leer which makes the word
regular; still the anomalons spelling Lee (in the singular number)
is most frequently used; but although it >vould be consistent
with this practice to add a third e for the affixed def. article, and
also for the plural , still this is never done. ed,.
**)
is also frequently spelt Oe. kd.
24 INFLECTIOIV.
Prest*) a priest, pi* Prester; (en) Kaptejn,
pi Kapiejner,
a captain (more frequently spelt Capitain
pi. Capital-
tier); Patron,
pU
Patron-er; Religion^ pi. Religion-er
;
Bastiou-er
;
(en) Admiral
,
pi. Admirdl^er; Linial-er,
ruler-s ; Veterdn^er ; Husdr^-er, imssar-s
;
Guverner-er
(Gouverneur-er) , Governor-s ; Sekretcer-er
,
Secretary
;
Kollektor-er, Collector; Invalid-er^ Invalid; Uniform-er,
Uniform-s.
Those in or from the Latin remove the tone; as
en Assessor, judge in a court of justice,
pi.
Assessorer;
Revisory reviser, -^l. Revisorer
-,
those Avith a sharp vowel
in the last syllable, double the consonant following, as:
(en) Brigy a brig, ^hBrig-ger; (et) Skaberak-ker , saddle
cloth, caparison-s
;
(en) Supplik, a petition, pL Sttpplik-
ker; (en) Repuhlik, republic, pi. Republik-ker; (en) Fregatj
a frigate, pi. Fregat-ter; (en) Kadet, a young man of a
military academy, pL Kadet-ter (also Cadet, Cadet-ter)
;
(en) Rekrut, a recruit, pi. Rekrut-ter; (et) Lexikon^ a
dictionary, pL Lexikon-ner.
Dissyllables in el, en, are contracted in the plural.
Ex. en Kjedel, a kettle, pi. Kjedler; en Negel, a key, pi.
Negler ; en Hassel, a hazle, pi. Hasler; en Ariikkel, an
article, pi. Artikler ; en Titel, a title, pL Titler; et JEsel,
an ass, pi. Msler; et Asen, an ass, pi. Asner; et Vcesen,
a being, pi. Vcesner, or Vcesener; en Aften, an evening,
pi. Aftner, or Afiener. Even sometimes in the def. sing, as
Kjedlen, Neglen^ Asnet, Aftnen, Those in en ve\yxd\n some-
times uncontracted, as : Asener, Vwsener,
A number of words of this class change their vowel
in the plural, as
:
en And
J
a duck, pi. ^nder, en Ko, a cow, pi. Koer,
en Tancl, a iooih^Tcender
;
en So, a sow, Sder
;
en Stand, an estate, Stwnder ; en Nat, a night, Nwlter;
en Stang, a perch, Slwnger ; en Fod, a foot, Fodder;
*)
Molbcch and others spell Frast and follow in this instance
no analogy whatever. bd.
INFLECTION.
25
en Tang, tonjijs, Twnger] en Rod, a root,
Rodder;
en Slad, a city, Sta-der
;
en Taa, a toe, Tceer
;
en Bod, a fine, Boder
;
en Ran, a yard, Rceer
;
en Bog, a book, Roger; en Ilaand, a hand, IItender
;
en Klo, a claw, Kloer
;
en Vaand, a wand, Vwndcr.
!? General remarks.
Some nouns, though possessing a plural in proper
form, are used in the sing, collectively or nearly as
plurals, e.g. Mand: speaking of soldiers, we say ''fern-
ten Tusind Mand,'' not Mcend, fifteen thousand men; even
Fody feet, as a measure; Fisk, fish; Lax, salmon; Steen^
stones; Mursteen, bricks, considered as materials.
Some nouns have no plural; such are the names of
metals, earths, herbs, vegetables, virtues, vices, qualities,
and several sorts of provision, as:
Kohher-et, copper
;
Ho-et, hay
;
Bly-ef, lead; Meel, Melet, flower;
Tin-net, pewter; Honning-en, honey;
Leer, Leret, clay; Vox-et, wax;
Sund-ef, sand
;
Klogshab-en, prudence :
Stov-el, dust
;
List-en, cunning
;
Hvede-ti, wheat; JEre-n, honor;
Rug-en, rye
;
Sham-men, shame
;
Havre -n, oats; Forfald-cf, hindrance, inpcdi-
nent, accident.
But in other significations some of them receive a plural,
as: Kohbere, copper-plates; (Sec.
Some have no singular number, as : Briller or Glar-
ojne, spectacles; Buxer, breeches ; Pantalonger, Pantaloons*
When the noun that is governed in the genitive, is
expressed by more than one word, the
-5 is only added
to the last of them , as : Kongen
af
Damnarks Lande^
the king of Denmark's countries (possessions).
Nouns signifying inanimate substances generally form
their gen. like the English by
af,
of, as : Taget
af
Hu-
set, the roof of the house ; Masten
af
Skibet, the
mast of
the ship.
26 INFLECTION.
Though there be no terminations for more cases
than the nomin. and genit. in the declension of Danish
nouns, yet not only the accusative, but even the dative
is usually expressed without any preposition; these two
cases being distinguished from the nominative by the
position in which they are placed to the verb. The no-
minative usually precedes, the dative or respective case*)
follows next to the verb, and the accusative, expressing
the object, takes the last place, as: Fotfatteren har til-
egnet Dronningen sit Vet% the author has dedicated his
work to the queen. Here Forfatteren is the nomin. Dron-
ningen the dat. and Verk the accusative, (according to the
Latin terminology), though not distinguished by any par-
ticular termination or particle.
There are also in Danish some remains of old ter-
minations of cases
^
especially of the dative
,
governed
by some preposition, and used in certain adverbial phra-
ses. Ex. i Lave, in order ;
af
Lave, out of order, out of
(ones) wits; from Lav, settled state, right order; i Tide,
in due time, from Tid, time; at have i Hwnde, to have
in (ones) hands, i. e. in actual possession, from Haand,
(the Icel. dat is hetidi); &c* In such cases the prep, til,
to, usually governs the genitive, as : til Bords, at table
;
til Lands, by land; til Iluse hos, lodged wilh, {Imsa is
the Icel. gen, plur.)
ADJECTIVES.
18.
Of
their declension.
The declension of the Danish adjectives (Tillwgsord)
is very simple. Like the nouns they have both a definite
and an indefinite form : the former always terminates in
e, and neither distinguishes genders nor numbers; the
*) Respective case is Uask's technical term lor the Dative : in
Danish he calls it Hcnsynsfvrm. kd.
li\FLECTIO]V.
^
27
latter appears to be the original one, it distinguishes
the two numbers and, in the singular, the two genders,
neuter and common, in the plural it forms both genders
alike, and always terminates in e ; consequently it is here
like the def. form, and thus all the terminations
of a
regular adjective amount but to three* As a paradigm
let us take Jwid, white, together Avith the nouns Papir,
paper, and Farve, color:
Indefinite form
Sing. Nom. hvidl Papir, hvid Farve,
Gen. hvidt Papirs, hvid Farves,
Plur. Nom. Imde Papirer, Farver,
Gen. hvide Papirers, Farvers.
Definite form
Sing. Nom. det hvide Papir, den hvide Farve,
Gen, det hvide Papirs, den hvide Farves,
Pliir. Nojii. de hvide Papirer, Farver,
Gen. de hvide Papirers, Farver
s.
The indefinite article has no influence on the inflec-
tion of the adjective, as
:
et godt Barn, a good child,
el godl Barns, of a good child,
en f/od Mand, an honest man;
en god Mands, of an honest man
;
pi. gbde BiJrti, good childern
^Vc.
In like manner are declined:
sygt, syg-e, sick
;
gdlf, gdl-e, foolish
;
wrligf, wrlig-e, honest
;
heell, heel, hole, whole
;
sandt, sonde, true
;
seent, seen, senc, slow
;
drojf, droj-e, lasting;
'''!/.9^
l^y9''9^> sure, safe;
fiddt, fuld-e, full
]
smukt, smuk-ke, fine
;
ungl, ung-e, young; grijnt, groji-ne, green.
Adjectives ending in el, en, er form their plur. and
definite form in -/e, -nej -re, with elision of the preced-
ing e. as :
28 INFLECTlOiV.
oideltj (vdel, cedle, noble; gajiimelf, gammcl, gamle
, ol(J;
nogent, niigen. nogne, naked
;
sikkert, sikker, sikre, safe
;
Participles in -ew, reject the -7i before the neuter f, as:
fundety funden, fundne^ found ; revet, reven, revne, torn *,
Some adjectives do not distinguish the plur. from
the com. gend. sing, as
:
hlaat, hlaa, blaa, blue
;
fril, fri, fri (frie), free
;
graat, graa, graa, grey; nyt, ny, ny (nye), new;")
Some others terminating in a radical t or sk do not
distinguish the genders, as:
kort, kort-e, short; engehk, engelsk-e, English;
dohbelt, dobbelt-e, double; bekjendt, bekjendt-e^
known;
datisk, dansk-e, Danish; glad, glad-e, glad;
Dissyllabic participles in et of the 1st conjungation,
change this termination to ede in the plural and def.
form, as : elsket, elsket, elskede, beloved.
Several adj. terminating in vowels do not admit of
any inflection, as:
rm^e,rm5fe,?m^e_,
insignificant,mean ; wdru, ccdru, cedru, sober;
tro, fro, tro, faithful; bly, bhj, bly, bashful;
Adjectives when used absolutely, that is without or
instead of nouns, receive the usual termination -s in the
gen. especially in the definite form , as : e? hvidts
,
en
hvidSy of a white (one, man &c.)
,
pi. Jwides ^ of white
(ones); def. det hmdes, den Jwides^ de hvides (of the
white). Also det ringes, den ringeSy de ringes.
Wholly irregular is : lidet, liden (or in both genders
lUle)^ little, plur. smaa
^
def. det^ den lille^ pi. de smaa.
Meget, megen, much, has neither a plun nor a definite
form.
*)
It is however still a very common practice to give these
a mute e in the plural. Mr. Molbek e. g.
has in his dictionary
graa pi. graae
;
frie and nye which Prof. Rask has put only in a
parenthesis is, I think, always written in the plural of these ad-
jectives. i:d.
INFLECTION. 29
19.
Of
the degrees
of
comparison.
The qualities denoted by the adjectives may be of
different degrees , and these degrees are sometimes- ex-
pressed by terminations.
The positive degree (den forste Grad) is the ad-
jective itself, of Avhich we have treated already. The
comparative (den hojere Grad) is expressed in Danish
by adding ere; the superlative (den hojeste Grad)
by adding -est^ as: hvtdere, hvtdest ; kortere^ kortest.
The comparative does not admit of any further in-
flection, being indeclinable, like the positives in e (as
ringe),
e.
g,
et Icerd-ere Frueniimmer^ a more learned
woman, en Icerdere Mand, Dame &c. a more learned
man, lady &c., Icerdere Personer , more learned persons;
in like manner def. det Icerdere, den Icerdere, de Icerdere.
When absolute, it may however (like ringe) receive the
s in the genit. case , as : en Icerderes, pi. Icerderes, def.
denlcerderes, de Icerderes.
The superlative distinguishes the def* form from the
indef. by adding c, but is otherwise indeclinable. The
indef. form is rarely used except as an absolute predi-
cate after the verb, as: Sneen er hvidest, the snow is
(the) whitest; hvem var hojest, who was (the) tallest; it
never occurs in the plural. The def. form is like the
def. positive, as: det Iwideste Papir, den Jwideste Farm,
de hvideste Vcegge; det Icerdeste Frnentimmer , den leer-
deste Mand, de Icerdeste Personer; gen, absol. det, den,
de hvidestes.
In like manner are regularly formed:
syg-t, syg-ere, syg-esl
;
gdl~(, galere, galest
;
sand-t, sandere, sandesl
;
seen-t, senere, senesl
;
droj't, drojere, drojest
;
tryg-t, ti'yggere, tryggesl
;
fuld-t, fuldere, fuldest
;
smuk-t, smukkere, sinukhcsl
;
hort, horterCy horlest
;
ft'i't, friere, fricst
;
glad, gladere, gladest
;
^*y-f) nycre, iiyesf.
30 INFLECTIOX.
Those contracted in the positive degree are also
contracted in the other degrees, as far as they admit these
forms.' Ex.
oidel't, ccdlere, a'dlest ; sihkei'-fy sikrere, sihrest
;
beshjeden-t,*) beshjednere, beshjednest, modest; &c.
Derivative adjectives in ig and lig
,
admit only -st
(not est) in the superlative, as:
wrlig-t , wrligere
f
wrligsf, honest; vcerdig-t , tctrdigere , vwr-
digsty worthy; &c.
The following are irregular in their degrees:
lang-t, Iccngere, hcngsf, long; mange plur., flerey flecst, many;
ung-ty yngre^ y^^gstj young; god-f, bedre, bedsf, good;
stbr-t, slorrBy slorst
;
great; ond-t
{ ., ^ ,
,
(
vwrre, vwrst, evil, bad ;.
hdet, -en, mmdre, mmdst, sniail ; slcm-v
smaa (plur.), smwrre, {smwrrest); gammel-t, aldre, celdsf, old
:
faa
(plur.), fccrre, fcerrest, few
;
(jnwr-t), noirmere, ncermest, near
;
meget, en, mere, meesf, much
5
National adjectives and several others are used
only in the positive degree, as: ^paw^A Spanish ; islandsk,
Icelandic; thus also:
heely whole; enkeU, simple;
ostre, eastern
;
sydre (sondre), southern
;
vestre, western; nordre, norrCy northern.
Some adjectives are defective in the positive degree,
and some even in the compan being originally
advei^bs
or prepositions, as:
(nedy down), nedie, nederst
;
(for,
fore)
forrest
;
{over, over), ovre, overst
;
{.bag, behind)
bagersl
;
{ud, out), ^dre, ydersl
;
(for-,
before)
forst;
(j,nd, in), indre^ inderst
;
(siden, afterwards)
sidsl
;
etiCy alone
det enesle
;
(mellem,hLt\\cen) -^mellemst
;
Participles very rarely admit the inflection of degree,
but in order to express the same ideas, they take before
them meer (mere) more, in the comparative, and 7neest^
most, in the superlative as
:
*) Molbech and others write beskeden,
^
ed
INFLECTIOX. 31
godgjdi'endcy charitable, meer, mecst^ godgjoiende
;
elsket, beloved, meer, meest elsket
;
drukhenf drunk, meer, meest druhhen
;
shjeUjel, squinting, meer, meest shjelOjef.
A diminution of degree, having no appropriate ter-
mination, is always expressed by prefixing the adverbs
mindre, less, and mindst^ least, as
:
mindre, mindsl hvid-f, less, least white !
mindre, mindst syg-t, less, least sick
;
mindre, mindsl elsket, less, least beloved
;
mindre, mindst druhken, less, least drunk, &c.
PRONOUNS.
20. The personal pronouns, (persordige
SledordJ, in Danish as in English, have also an objec-
tive case (accusative and dative) , but are sometimes de-
fective in the genitive, as:
Ist person. 2d person. 3J person.
recipr. masc. fcm.
S. Nom. jeg, I, du, thou, - han, he, hiin, she;
Object, mig, me, dig, thee, sig, tow, him, hende, her.
Gen.
s : s hans, his, kendes, her,
P. Nom. vi, we,
/,
you, ^ - -
Object. OS, us, eder(jer), you, sig, c ^
Gen. vores, ours, cfers(Jer),yours,
s
?
?
The plur. of ftaw, lm% is supplied for both genders
by rfe, dem^ dereSy being the plur. of the demonslr.
SelVy self, is used as in English to make the two
1st pers. reciprocal, as: inig selv^ os seli\ d:c. it is also
frequently added to the nominatives of all three personal
pronouns and to the recip. in order to make them more
expressive, as: jeg selv^ I myself; vi selv, we ourselves;
sig selv, himself, themselves. Han selv means also the
master of the house, hun sch^^ the lady of the house,
pi. de selv, master and mistress. But selv is never added
to the o-enit.
32 INFLECTIOiV.
21. The Genii, sing, of the two first persons and
of the recipr. form of the third is supplied by the pos-
sessive pronouns (EjestedordJ , which are declined
like indef. adjectives, thus
:
neut com. plur.
of the 1st pcrs. mit, min, mine, ray, mine
;
fjerde,
femle^
sjette,
syvende,
aaltende [ottende],
niende,
tiende,
ellefte,
tolvte,
trettende,
fjortende,
femtende.
*) The usual spelling certainly is "oe" and Molhech has.no
other. Prof. Basks spelling however is supported both by pron-
unciation and etymology, the Icelandic word being "dttay
ed
36
INFLECTION.
16. sejsten
[commonly sexten]^ den, det sejstende [commonly sex-^
sixteen,
17. sylten, seventeen,
18. atten, eighteen,
19. nitlen,
nineteen,
20. tyve, twenty,
21. een og tyve, twenty one <5'c.
30. tredive, thirty,
40. fyrrefyve,
forty,
50.
halvtres,halvtresinds-i
tyve [commonly hah-\
fifty^
tredsindslyve], I
60. tres,
tresindstyve,
[commonly
tredsindstyve and tredsinds-
^
tyvende,] sixty,
70. hcdvfjers, i
tcnde],
syttende,
attende,
nillende,
tyvende,
eeii-og-lyvende,
twenty first,
tredifte [commonly trediv^
te], thirtieth,
fyrrclyvende, fortieth,
hahtresindstyvende [com-
monly halvtredsindstyvew
de] , fiftieth,
tresindsiyvende, sixtieth,
(seventy,
5
ninety,
halvfjersindstyvende,
seventieth,
firsindstyvende, eightieth,
hahfemsindslyvende, nine-
tieth,
hundrede, hundredth,
hundrede^og-fdrsle, ^c.
tohwidrede, two hundred,
tusende, thousandth.
halvfjersindstyve
^"-
"''"
.
leighty,
firsindstyve
90. halvfems
halvfemsindstyve
100.
hundrede^ hundred,
101.
hundrede og eet, een,
200. to hundrede, two hundred,
1000. tusende, thousand.
The abbreviated forms, halvtres, ires, hahfjers, firs,
halvfems,
are used Avhen the numeral stands absolute, or
without a noun, consequently applied in counting-; the
longer forms , halvtresindstyve &c, , in connection with
nouns.
The words hundrede, tusende, being originally nouns
substantive, are sometimes written with a capital letter,
and the indef. art. as : et Hundrede^ et Tusende, or abbre-
viated, et Hundred, et Tusend.
En MilUon, a million , Billion, Trillion, &c. are also
nouns substantive, and constantly used as such.
There are also some other numeral nouns, as:
l]?iPLECTIOi\. 37
et Par, a couple, a pair, a brace
;
et DegeVy a dicker
;
et Dosin, a dozen
;
en Stiee'is, a score; en Shok^ three score.
en
01, four score.
Some numeral adjectives are stiled multiplica-
lives by the Latin Grammarians, viz.
enhelt, sinjrle, simple
;
dobbelt, double
;
tredobbelt, triple
;
prdobbelt, quadruple, &c.
But there are no numeral adverbs in Danish like
once^ twice y thrice^ instead of them Ave constantly use
the noun Gang^ time, with a cardinal or ordinal prefixed,
as:
een Gang, once, forste Gang, the first time;
(o Gange, twice, anden Gang, the second time
;
Ire Gange, thrice. tredie Gang, the third time, Sfc.
We even say : een ad Gangen, one at a time ; to ad
Gangen^ two at a time, &c.
The fractions are thus expressed:
halvl, hah, halve, half, is a regular adj. indef. & def.
but
i
is read en halv.
H
~"
halvtandet, halvanden,
or eet og et halvf, een og en halv
;
2i
haktredie, or to og en halv;
3^
halvfjerde, or tre og en halv, &.C,
1
3
en Trediedeel,
n
.
een og en Trediedeel,
1
to Trediedele,
1
4
en Fjerdedeel,
2
4
to Fjerdedele,
3
4
trc Fjerdedele, ^c.
VERBS.
26. Introducforf/ observations.
The inflection of the Danish verbs (Gjerningsord)
is very simple, and lilie that of the English ; we
distin-
guish however an active and a passive voice (//and-
38 INFLECTION.
leformen & Lideformen), but the latter is always formed
by merely adding the termination s or es.
The verb itself has, properly speaking, three modes
viz. the indicative {den fremscettende MaadeJ; the
optative (den onskende) and the imperative C^en
hydende); besides the derived forms: the infinitive
(Navneformen)
,
and the participles (Tillcegsfor-
merne)^
being two as in English, and of the same deno-
minations.
The indicative has two tenses (Tidsformer),
viz. the
present (Nuiiden) and the past (Datiden)^
the other modes and forms have only one tense each.
The present
and past of the indicative and the passive
partic. are the most important parts of the verbs*
With respect to the formation of these inflections,
the
verbs are divided into two great orders {Hovedar-
terj,
the one more simple and regular, the other more
complex
and irregular; each of them however is subdi-
vided into different classes according to the formation of
the past tense of the indie, active. The simple order forms
only one conjugation, it always terminates the past in de
or te, and has consequently more than one syllable; it
has three sub-classes: the 1st trisyllabic in the past, &
terminating in -ede; the 2d dissyllabic, and terminating
in te (or de); the 3d also dissyllabic, and terminating in
de (or tej but changing, besides , the vowel in the ra-
dical
syllable. In the complex order the past tense
is always monosyllabic having no termination, or affix,
but ending in the last radical letter, and usually changing
the vowel. It may be divided into two conjugations, the
one usually preserving the original vowel of the present
in the participle passive; the other changing the vowel
not only in the past tense, but also in the participle.
Each of these conjugations has also three sub-classes
according
to the vowels adopted in the past. The folio
w'-
ing synopsis may give the reader a view of the whole
system
;
INFLECTION. 39
The simple order or Jst conjugation:
pree.
past. part. pass.
cL 1. jeg hlager, hlagede,
^
hlaget, complain
;
cl. 2, jeg brwnder, brcvndte, brcvndt^ burn
;
cl. 3. jeg
folger, fulgde*) fulgt, accompany
;
The complex order^ 2d co)ijugalion,
cl. 1. jeg beder, bad,
bedet {bedl), pray
;
cl. 2. jeg
faar, fik, faaef, get
;
[commonly faar\
cl. 3. jeg lader, lod,
ladel, let
; .
The 3d conjugation,
cl. 1. jeg slipper, slap{^\. sluppe'), 5?wjt)/?e^,-e?i, escape
;
cl. 2. jeg river,
rev (
reve), revel,-en, tear
;
cl. 3. jeg byder,
bod
{
Several neutro-
*)
The common spelling is^ det sneer; det ider , which also
is supported by etymology since the Icelandic has stijoar,
pj&ir
ipeyir). kd.
**)
These are, indeed, not verbs deponent, but
grcimniatically
speaking, verbs passive or middle, just as dicilur and
scribiCur in
58 INFLECTIOIV.
active verbs have no passive voice, except as imperso-
nals. Ex* der soves
for
meget^ they sleep too much; der
lobes idelig, they run (up and down) continually.
It must still be remarked, before we leave the verbs,
that the active participle in ^ende is also sometimes used
in a passive signification; LA. hlcesende Instrumenter,
instruments to be blown, i. e. wind-instruments; mitibo--
ende Hus, my house lived in, e.
g.
the house I live in;
especially as a future part. pass. e.
g.
den afholdende
Avksion, (Auction), the auction to be held; denudgivende
Bog
J
the book about to be published; though several
Grammarians of later times, not knowing the old Icelan-
dic, nor the Swedish, have rejected these forms as spu-
rious.
42. PARTICLES.
Under this denomination are generally comprehended
:
adverbs (Biord), prep o s i t i o n s (ForholdsordJ, c o n-
j
unctions (BindeordJ and interjections (Mracrft^-
ord). Of all these parts of speech merely some of the
adverbs admit a sort of inflection, viz, a comparative and
a superlative degree, which are however usually similar
to those of the corresponding adjectives; e,
g.
smukt,
smukkere, smukkest^ fine^ pretty; hbjt^ hojere^ hojest^ high;
the latter is contracted in the superlative, when prefixed
to other adv. or adj. e.
g.
hojst dannet
C^and) , highly
cultivated (mind). For the positive degree of adverbs
vid.
p.
67,
Latin, and they do not chanj^e that character by beinof used imper-
sonally. When the slave nnys to Pseudolus ['Quid agihir?" and
he replies : ^'slalur" there is no doubt that these must be consi-
dered as verbs passive : on that their comicalness partly depends.
Del ^'morkner'*
and del ^^morhies" are two Danish impersonal verbs
which convey indeed only one meaning viz. "it grows dark" or
"it is getting dark"; still the former is an active and the latter a
passive verb. rd.
FORMATION. 59
Several are irregular as:
tide (^lemt). vccrre, tcBrst, ill, badly;
vel (godt). bedrey bedst, well;
tit (tidl). liere. tiesl, frequently
;
Itetige, henger. Iccngst^ lonjr, (Jim)
7neget, mcV,*) mesfi
much
;
QJerncy heller^ helsly fain;
(fori for, forst. prior.
PART III.
FORMATION.
43. Introductory remarks.
All words are either simple (enkeltej^ as: et Hoved,
a head, or compound (sammensatfej, as enHovedpine^
a headach; the simple words are moreover either pri-
mitive CStamord) as: rodt^ red, or derivative
CM^
ledsord)^ as: en Rodme, a blush, hun rodmer, she
blushes.
The simple primitives are but few in every language,
and their augmentation by the introduction of foreign
words, which is the common resource of all mixed idioms, is
a mere burthen to the memory, not affecting the understand-
ing, and therefore prejudicial to the instruction of the com-
mon people ; Avhereas it is the great excellency of original
or less mixed tongues, that they have the means of enlarg-
ing the fundamental slock of expressions by derivation
and composition, in such a manner, that the new word
must create the idea in the mind, as soon aS' the sound
reaches the ear. It will also be a considerable assi-
stance to the student's memory in recollecting the immense
*)
Commonly mccr. v.n.
60 FORMATION.
number of words, of which a cultivated language consists,
if he pay some attention to the manner, in which this
whole mass is formed from the few original primitives.
In this view we shall here briefly consider the Danish
derivation and composition. Those who Avish more ample
information may consult: Dansk Orddannelseslcere
af
N.
Petersen. Odense 1826.
DERIVATION.
44. Siibdimsion.
When a general Idea, e.
g.
of negation , deteriora-
tion &c. is to be expressed, some prefixes are added to
the words ; but whenever a w^ord is to be transferred
from one part of speech to another, it is effected by ter-
minations or change of vowel, sometimes even by trans-
ferring the words without any change , this last is how-
ever of much less frequent occurence in Danish than in
English, the grammatical qualities being in general more
strongly marked on the w ords in the former, than in the
latter of these languages.
45. Prefixes.
Of a negative or privative signification are:
f/- Engl, un- [or in-] Ex. Udyd, vicious habit;
uvisty uncertain; i/overvindeUg , invincible; nudsigelig-t,
unspeakable; ugjort, not done [undone]; ugjerne, unwil-
lingly; umager, or ulejliger^ trouble (one);
Van- Vdnskabning, monster^ from Skabning, a crea-
ture
;
vandrtig, depraved ; mnsirei\ disfigure
;
Mis- Misundelse ^ envy; misundelig-t ^ envious; at
misunde^ to envy; mislroster
^ dishearten. Sometimes
composed again with the negative u^ as: umiskjendelig,
evident; [not to he mistaken].
FORMATION. 61
For- fordenimer, condemn; forgker
,
poison; /br-
shcerer, spoil in cutting* (e.
g.
a gown or coat); forsmaaer^
slight ; en Forseelse, an oversight ; Foragt, contempt,
for-
legen-ty embarrassed,
puzzled, at a loss. Sometimes it
merely serves to form verbs of an active signification, as
forgylde, gild
;
fordansker, do into Danish
; or nouns of such
verbs, as:
Forgylding
,
gilding; Fordajiskning , translation
into Danish; Forandring, change; Forstyrrelse, devasta-
tion. This prefix appears to be different from the pre-
position /br, which is also frequently used in composition;
in general they may be distinguished by observing, that
the prepos. has the emphasis of the word, the prefix not,
as: Forklceder, aprons; forkUeder , disguise; there are
however some exceptions to this rule, as: et Fortrin^
a preference, preeminence ; but fortriuHg^t, preeminent.
Und- Undskyldning, excuse; undskjldelig, excusable;
at undskyldey to excuse. Also composed with the nega-
tive W-, as : uundskyldelig^ inexcusable
;
Veder- Vederlag , compensation; vederfares, happen
to; vederstyggelig, abominable.
46. Of a positive signification are:
Be- Begreb, notion, conception ; betcenkelig-t, doubt-
ful; betcenksotn, considerate, 6eA:/%er, bewail, homklagery
complain: betcenker, consider, [some of these also receive
the negative u as ubeicenksom inconsiderate], ubeviist^ un-
proved.
Bi- Bistaiid, assistance ; 5/^ew5^/', secondary design
;
bilebig^ [Germ, beildufig']
by the way, obiter; bidrager,
contribute.
Sam- Samiykke^ consent; Sdmklang , harmony;
sdmtidig^ contemporary, coeval; at sdmiykke, to consent;
usamdrckgtig^ disagreeing, discordant.
jEr- Erholder, get, receive ; erkjender, acknowledge
;
Erindring, remembrance; uerstdtleligt, irretrievable.
62 FORMATION.
An-^) Ansigt, face; el Angreh, an attack; at an-
gribcj to attack; uanvendelig-t, inapplicable.
47. Pronominal & adverbial prefixes are:
ft- (demonstrative with respect to the 1st pers-)?
as: hcPy here; Mdy hither; the Lat. hoc ^ this, seems to
be formed in this manner.
d- (demonstrative Avith respect to the 3d pers.),
as: det^ den^ that; der^ there; did, thither; da, then;
hv- (relative and interrogative) hvad, hvem, hvilket,
Iwor, Avhere;
i^ Cplaced before the hv, gives, those words an in-
determinate or general signification), as: ihvad, whatsoe-
ver; iJwenij whosoever; ihvilket, whichsoever;
ilwor^
wheresoever.
AFFIXES.
48. Formation of nouns, a^ Affixes denoting
the agent:
-er: Dommer, judge; Lwser, reader; Englcendevy
Englishman; Viser^ a hand of a watch; Stegvender,
turnspit.
-wer: Kunstner, artist; Falsk/ier, forger.
-mager: Skomager^ shoemaker; f/rma^er, watchmak-
er; Mager, is never used separately in Danish, but me-
rely adopted from the Germ. machei\ in compound words.
-ling: Lcerling, disciple; Yndling, favorite; Yngling,
a youth; Gcesling, gosling.
"inde
: Herluginde , dutchess ; Gremnde , countess
;
Sangerinde, songstress ; Veninde^ (female) friend ; Ulvinde^
a shewolf.
*)
Though Bi- and An- are no Danish words, yet they occur
separately in several phrases adopted from the Teutonic tongues,
as: lasgge hi, lay by
;
staa bi, standby; det gaar an, that will do.
Germ. Es geht an ; at yribe sig an, to exert one's self.
FORMATION. 63
^ske: V(BVerske^ female weaver ; Forforerske^ seduc-
tress; Giflblanderske, Cfcm.) poisoner.
49. b) the action^ as;
Monosyllabic nouns, formed of verbs, are mentioned
p. 13, but there are many more of this sort Ex. et Skiig,
a cry; et Synk, a draught; e^ Sling ^ a stitch; et Slik,
a stab; et Suk, a sigh.
-en: en Prcediken, Prceken^ a sermon; mr Gjoren
og Laden, our doing and omission i.e. our whole conduct.
-ende: (mil) Vidende, (my) knowledge; Slgende,
saying;
Forelagende, untertaking.
-w^: Handling^ action; Forandring^ change, altera-
tion;
Landing, landing; Munding, mouth (of a river);
Tinding^ temple (of the head); even of persons, as: Ar-
ring, heir; Hovding, chieftain, from Hoved;
-ning: Skrivning, writing; Lcesning, reading; en
Gjeming, an act (action) ; en Strcekniug, a tract of land,
en Gronning, a green, a lawn; en Slceglning, a relation;
en Flygtning y a fugitive; en Dronning , a queen, from
Drot, a lord. [In Icelandic Drotning~\.
-else; iS^/rcZ^e, moderation ; Beskrivehe,descYifiion;
Udforelse, execution; Fremhringelse
,
production; For-
7i6jelse, pleasure; Sknvelse, letter; Stiflelse, establish-
ment; Hcendelse, accident;
et Vcerelse, a room.
-sel: Fodsel, birth; Kjorsel, driving; Udforsel^ ex-
portation; Trusel^ ihresii ; Hcengsel^hinge; Fcengsel, prison.
-t, d: en Drift, an instinct (from driver^; Dragt,
dress; Indtcegt, revenue; Blcesf, blowing, wind; en Seed,
a seed, (from at saa), enFcerd, a journey, tour, (fare);
en Skijld, debt, crime, (^skulle^ ; Byrd, extraction, descent,
(bcere);
et Vidnesbyrd, a testimony.
st : Kunst, art (from kimne') ; Fangst, a catch, a take,
Yndest, Gunst, favor; Ankom$t,^rriw^\; Tjenesle, seryice,
but tjenst-dgtig, officious.
-eri: Fiskeri , fishery; Praleri , ostentation;
Tyreriy
theft.
64 FORMATION.
50. c) Qualities, &c. denote:
*e: en Hede, a heat; Kulde , cold; Vrede , anger;
Glcede, joy; Fylde^ fulness; Styrke , strength; Lcenge^
row (of houses) ; Mitte (Midle)^ middle.
^de: Dybde, depth; Lcengde ^ length; Vidde, width;
Mcetigde, multitude; Tyngde^ gravity.
-hed: Hojhed ^ highness, greatness; Skdvhed, wry-
ness; Frihed, freedom ; Kcerlighed^ love; Rettigked^ right,
privilege.
^dom : Viisdom,, wisdom ; Ungdom, youth ; Alderdom,
old age; Lcegedom^ medicine:
-domme
(J3l
province or district): Herlugdomme,
dutchy; Fyrstendomme
,
principality; Herredomme , do-
minion.
^skab: et Grevskab, a count's estate, also a county;
Fjendskab, enmity; Venskab^ friendskip; Brodersksibj,hsi-
ternity, brotherhood; Svogerskab^ affinity;
and of the
com. gend. Klogskab-en
,
prudence ; Morskab-en , diver-
sion ; Kuiidskabj knowledge ; Videnskab^ science ; &c. cf.
p.
13 & 14.
-me: Fedme, fatness; Sodme ^ sweetness; Rodmey
blush; Kvalme, qualm.
51. d) concrete things,
-e, (the definite neuter of the adj.)? et Onde^ an
evil; ef Hele^ a whole; et Morkcy the dark; et Rige,
dominion, kingdom,
(reign, power), from the adj. rigj,
rich, formerly
powerful
-f, (the indef. neut. of the adj.): Rodt , red colour;
Gront, (Gronsel),
vegetables ; Blyhvidt, {Bleghvidt^, white-
lead; Spansgront, verdegris, Beidinerblaat, the Prussian
Blue. (It is a germanism to say Spansgron, Berliner-
hlaa).
-
(the indef. com gend. of the adj.) : en Ret, a court,
a noun of very ancient formation; especially of persons,
as: en Sort,
a negro; en Vild, a savage; en Gal, a
FORMATIOxV. 65 ^
madman; en Lovkyndig, a lawyer; en Lcerdy a scholar,
a learned man, and more frequently in the def. plur, de
Sorie, de Vilde, cfec.
"Cly I, (denotes an implement); en Nogely a key; en
Sadel, a saddle; en SJwvl^ a shovel.
There are many remnants of old forms of derivation,
which existing- only in some few words may be consid-
ered as irregular, as : en Maa?i-ed, a month ; et Le^-net,
life, conduct; en Hav-n^
a haven; et Sog-n^ a parish
(from soge
y seek); en Tor^ke , drought; en Vwd-ske,
a liquor; et
Lof-tej ^ promise.
52. Formation of
adjectives.
"ig-t
:
modig-t
^ courageous; somig-t , sleepy; flit-
iig-ij industrious; lydig-t, obedient.
^agtig-t: bondagtig-t, rustic, kmndagiig-ly effeminate;
skarnag/ig-t, vile, mean, malicious; nojaglig~t,^ccuY8Lte;
blaaagtig-t, bluish; langaglig-t, longish.
'lig-t: venlig^t, friendly; daglig-t ^ daily; lykkelig-f,
happy; beviislig^t, demonstrable; wm%-^, possible; timu-
lig-t, impossible; syrlig-t, sourish. Sometimes t is insert-
ed between this termination
and the root, e.
g.
mundt-
lig-t, oral; dffentlig-t
,
public; egentUg-t^ proper; (from
Mund^ mouth ;
Germ
offen,
Dan. aaben, open ; egen, own).
Still more frequently an e precedes, especially in those
formed from verbs, and denoting a passive possibility.
Ex. kostelig-t, costly; dodelig-t , mortal; tcenkelig^t, apt
to be thought, i. e. imaginable, conceivable ; ndegrihelig-t^
incomprehensible.
"Som-t : voldsom-ty violent; nojsom-t^ content; eeU"
som-ty lonely; langsom-t, slow; arbeidsom-t^ assiduous.
. -sommelig-t : fredsdmmelig^t, peaceable ; mojsomme'-
lig-t, laborious; frugtsommelig-t
^
pregnant; kjedsomme^
lig-t, tedious.
bar-i: frugibar-t^ fertile; cerbar-t, modest,
compo-
sed; seilbar-ty navigable; ufeilbar-ij
infallible.
5
66 FORMATION.
"barlig-i: skinbdrlig't, manifest; ufejlbdrligl, that
cannot fail.
"Sk: spodsh, scornful, disdainful; lebsh^ restive, starling
(horse); frcp^/c, cunning; /wm^A:, insidious. Many national or
patronymic adj. get this termination , as : tysk
,
(tydsk),
German
;
polsk, Polish ; ungersk, Hungarian
;
grcesk^ Greek,
Grecian; fransk, French; Sometimes precedes, as: har-
hdrisk^ barbarous
;
politisk, political
;
filosq/isk,
philosophi-
cal; iyrkisk, Turkish ; n^^^^^A;, Russian; hebraisk, Uehrew
*y
kaldaisk, Chaldean.
When such epitheta gentilia are used as nouns^ and consequently
written with capitals, they denote the languages, as : taler De Dansk ?
do you speak Danish? Har De sluderet Kinesisk? have you stu-
died Chinese? Han kan slet intet Portugisisk, he knows nothing of
Portuguese. These nouns are usually of the com. gend. as : bred
Dansk, broad Danish; Tysken er vanskelig, the German is difficult.
^et: hornet, horned; 6%e^, bellied
;
/wref, furrowed;
irekantet, triangular
;
firkantet^ aattekantel [of/ekantet] &:c.;
stribety striped; smdlstribet, narrowstriped ; blaaaaret, blue-
veined
;
blaaojet, blueeyed ; hulle/, full of holes ; behjcertet,
courageous; haaret, hairy.
"laden-t : morkladen^t, sort-laden-t, of a dark com-
plexion, darkfaced ; rwnd/ac^en-^j round-faced; Vi^ed-laden-t,
hot-headed^
-vorren-tf C^orn-f) : fjanievorren^t , iossewrren^t^
silly; kvaklevorren-f, fickle. ''0
"S: goings Cgcengse)y current; tavs, silent; eew^, uni-
form, alike; fcelles, common (not fcelleds, being derived
from Fcelle, not from Fwlled),
There are remnants of many more adjectival ter-
minations, as : vammel, qvalmish
;
gylden, golden : solvern,
*) Kvakhvorren: the ordinary spelling would he gvaklevorren.
1 do not recollect ever having seen this word
j
possibly it is a
misprint for vaklevorren^ fickle: but even this word is little used.
FORMATION.
67
silver-
;
fcedrene, paternal ; but Ihese occur only in a few
instances.
53. Formation of adverbs and prepositions,
-c (Icel.
-^), indicates rest in a place, as : ude, with-
out; oppe, up; hjemme, at home; borle, away; from ud,
out; op, up; hjem, home; borf, away).
-e (Icel. a, forms some old adv. from, adj.) ride,
widely; dyre^ dearly; 5////^, calmly ; w^pp/^e, scarcely (from
knap, scanty).
-er (motion to, or rest in a place): osier {nd)y
east, vester (paaj , west; alter, again (back); agter, aft,
abaft; ef/er, tmder, (fcc.
-en (Icel. an, originally motion from a place, now its
signification is not easily defined) ; oslen
for,
to the east of;
vesten
fra, from the west; nden til, on the outside; in-
den (en Time)
,
within (an hour) ; omn paa
,
on the top
oiy ficesten, almost; sjcelden, rarely.
"igen, %ew(from adj. in^, lig): kraftigen, sironglY
;
modigen
,
courageously
;
foleligen
,
sensibly* But the ad-
jectives are frequently used as adverbs, without the -ew,
as : han blev ikke understottet kraflig nok
,
he was not
supported sufficiently (or strongly) enough; han blev
fd-
lelig
strdffet, he was severely punished. Several modern
authors would add the neuter t in these cases, but this
is a Swedish form, contrary to the Danish usage; we
constantly say : de slog dygtig
fra
sig , they defended
themselves bravely; hjcertelig gjerne, with all my heart.
The justness of this riile appears evident from the next
adverbial termination.
'lig, elig (Engl. //,
ely), as : neinlig, namlig, to wit,
namely; /^de%, audibly ; snarlig,soon; rme%, certainly
;
fuldelig, fully, (never nemligl, fuldeligt).
-t (The neuter form of the adj. of other termina-
tions is often applied adverbially) as : godl, well ;
ridt og
bredf, widely ; hojt og dyrt, Avith terrible oaths ;
but there
5
68
FORMATIOIV.
are many exceptions, as : knap nok, hardly enough ; heel
vel, very well; fuldkommen fornojet
^
perfectly satisfied.
men vet,
deels
deels,
da
saa (kan De),
ihvorvel
(saa) dog,
shont
isaa) dog ikke^
9,)
both
and
;
as well
as
;
as (g^reat)
as
;
not only
but also
;
the fmore)
the (belter)
;
so much the
as
;
vrhether
or
;
either
or
;
neither
nor
;
indeed
but not
;
but nevertheless
;
not indeed
but still;
nail; Side
side) Taa
toe; jeg
I; de
they) dem
them) deres
theirs) vi ere
we arc;
have
have; give
give; tage
take; saae
sow;
Plov
plough; see
see; forst
first ; af
of;
ad
L at to.
ANEKDOTER
af A^ Fr, Hostes Miniatiirbibliotck for
Morskabslcesninty.
bin ^) havde vaeret paa Komedie. Man spurgde ham,
hvad Stykke^) de havde haft?
,,Skam faa den, dcr
veed det:,"^) sagde han, ^^det regnede osende Vande,^)
den Gang ^) jeg gik derhen
,
og saa fik jeg ikke last
Plakalen.^' ^)
^) One 9
a person. ^) piece
t
play, ^) A vulgar phrase, to
which ihey sometimes add, om det er mig, literally : shame (^confu-
sioti) to him who knows it
(if
I be it). ^) pouring (down) waters.
*) the time, when. ^) the placard.
94
ANECDOTES.
En Mand fortalle i el Selskab
,
al bans Fader en
Gang, ^) i en Alder 2) af tiAar, var faldet^) iid igjennem
et Vindue i tredie Elasje^) ned paa Slenbroen* ,,Fra
Iredie Etasje!" afbrod^) en ung Herre) ham, ,,naa,^)
han slap vist ikke) derfra) med Livet."
'^)
one time, a certain time, *) age, ^) Should properly be
falden hut in the 2d conj. we
often
disregard the com. gend.
of"
the partic
^
pass, e,
g,
hvor er den udgivet? where is it
printed? *) story 9 also written in the French way, Etage; the
Danish expression is St6\i.'verk, ^) interrupted, from kihryder
{^,
50).
^) Gentleman.
^) dear me; ^) literally: he escaped certainly
not, : he surely did not escape. ^) from it.
StjcBrneskytten, ^
)
En oslerrigsk^) Rekriit stod om Natten Skildvagt^)
ved et astronomisk Observatorium, og saae ^) tankelos op
til Taarnet^) og den skyfri^) Himmel.'^) Da kom der
nogen^) oppe paa^) Taarnet, efter^^) Rekruttens Me-
ning,^0 med en lang Flint,
i^)
og sigtede^^) dermed
opad^^) IMorket. ,,Men nugad jeg dog
vidst,"i^)
sagde
Rekriitten forundret ^6)
til sig selv, hvad den Karl* ^) vil
skyde mi om Natten/' og derbos*^) fulgde han med jet
den Retning,^^) som Observatorens Kikkert^^) beteg-
ncde.
21)
Fludselig
^^)
skjede
^3)
der et Stjierneskud,
^4)
og af Forundring tabte Rekrutten Gevfcret,^^) i det han
') The star-shooter. )
Austrian* ^) centry.
*) looked.
*) the tower. ^) cloudless , clean ^) sky. ) somebody.
)
on the top of.
*^)
according to*
'')
idea, according to his
idea 3: as he fancied, thought*
*^)
musket.
^^)
aimed*
''*)
up-
wards.
*^)
But now I should like to know*
*^)
wondering*
^^)
that fellow,
i^)
at the same time.
^^)
the direction.
^^)
the telescope*
^O
pointed out.
*
2)
suddenly.
^3)
there happen-
ed (to fall).
2*) a shooting star,
^sj
^jg firelock.
TALES AND STORIES.
95
raablc:26)
^^Naal^r)
nu har jeg sel det mecl!^^) Han
liar rigtig triifTet den!'*29)
*^)
ciyinffoul.
^^)
dear me.
^ej
^vell, I have seen that too!
(i. e. Who did ever see the like o' that)?
^^)
hit it, or hit his
mark*
En Kobmand modtog^) en Fem-shillings-Mynl, 2) der
ikke synles ham at vaere aegle , 3)
og spiirgde derfor en
Sagforer,^) som gik forbi^) bans Butik/) hvad ban
meente^) om den. Denne besaae^) den opmcrrksomt, ^)
forsikrede
^
^)
den var god, puttede den til
sig,ii)
og
forlangte^^) endnii*^) 1 Shilling 8 Pence, da de engelske
Love have faslsat
*
*) en Taxt af 6 Shilling 8 Pence for
et bos en Sagforer indhentet Raad.
^^)
') j?ot, received. ^) five-shilling-piece. ^) literally: which
not seemed (to) him to be genuine (or good). ^) attorney,
or
solicitor. ^) passed by. ^) shop , they write also BouUk
, or
even Botilique.
'')
meant, thought. ) viewed. ^) attentively.
^
^) assured (him, that).
^
^) literally : to himself, i. e. in his pocket.
^*)
demanded.
'^)
still, besides.
^'*)
as the E. L, have fixed
o;
the E. L. having fixed.
^^)
literally: for an, at (of) a solicitor
received, advice.
SMAAFORT^LLINGER.
)
af samme Bog.
Det fdrlige Herberge.^J
Tin simpelt^)
kla)dtMand, der rejste til Fods, *)
tog en
Aften, paa Yejen fra Conde til Lunze, el Ojeblik*) ind
i^) et lilleensomt liggende ^) Hiis lEgnen^) afPeruwelz,
^) tales, stories.
^) lodging* ^) simply, poorly. *) on foot
(p.
26).
*) moment.
^) tog ind i, entered into, slopt at.
onely situated. ) neighbourhood, environs.
96 TALES AND STORIES.
hvor kun en Hiismand ^) og hansKone boede. Medens^^)
han iidhvilede sig,
^^)
fortalte han,
^^)
hvorhen han gik,!^)
og strags^^) fattede^^) Vserten^^) den Besliitning ,
^
^)
at anfalde^^) ham paa Vejen.
Nseppe var den Rejsende^^) gaaet en Fjerdingvej^^^)
Yidere, for enmaskeret Mand, triiende
^^)
at myrde ham,
afFordrede
ham*^^^ }^gs Penge. Den Fremmede^^) by-
der^^) ham tolv Dukater med den Forsikring,^^) at
han ikke har flere hos s\g,^^) og faar derved Lov,^^)
til at drage videre;
''^^)
men strags falder det ham ind,^^)
at han, ved at fortssette
3^)
sin Rejse i en saa usikker
Egn,
let^i) kunde slode paa^^) andre iki^e-saa lettro-
ende^^) Rovere^ og han besliitter ^4) derfor, at vende
tilbage^^)
til det Hiis, han nylig
3^)
har forladt,
^7)
og
blive der Natten over. Han finder kun
3^)
Konen hjem-
me,3^)
fortoeller hende, hvad der er modt ham, og til-
lige^o) at han har tolvtiisende Dukater hos sig. Va)rtin-
den^i) anviser ham,^^) paa bans Forlarigende,
^3)
da
hun ikke har anden Plads., et Leje^^) paa et bdet Loft.
Neeppe er han gaaet op , forend Vaerten, som havde
gjort en Omvej,^^) kommer hjem, og giver Konen de
9) cottager.
'^)
while. ^0 I'ested himlulf.
^^)
told he
O:
he told
(p*
74).
^^)
went, i. e. was going,
i*)
immediately.
Some authors Avrite strax^ but contrary to the common rule for x,
the adverb being derived from the adj. strag^ and written in Germ.
stracks, in Dutch slrahs^
^^)
conceived, formed.
^^)
the land-
lord.
^^)
resolution.
^^)
attack..
^^)
traveller.
^^)
a quarter
of a Danish mile, about one Engl. mile.
-^)
threatening.
2^)
demanded of him
(p.
72).
^^)
stranger, foreigner, traveller.
2^)
offers.
^^^3
with the assurance
o:
assuring him.
^^)
about him.
2^) gets thereby permission.
^^)
literally: draw farther, i. e.
travel on.
^^)
it strikes him.
^^)
by continuing.
^0 easily.
3
2) fall in with, ^3)
credulous,
3*)
resolves,
^*)
turn back.
36) even, just.
^O
left.
^8)
o^iy.
39)
j^^ home (p.
67).
^)
also, even.
^^)
the landlady
(p.
62).
^^)
assigns to him, shows
him,
*3) request
(p. 63).
'*'*)
couch, bed.
*^) round-about way.
TALES AND STORIES. 97
nylig rovedc tolv Dukater. ,,Dumrian !
^c)
(siger hun) du
vecd ikke, at Manden liar tolvtusendc Dukater;
der
er han."^') Hvorhos hun poger^^) op til Tagkammeret,49)
livor han, efter hendes
Formoning,
^o)
lig-ger og sover.^i)
Imidlertid
52)
laa den Fremmede paa Luur^^)
^^q^
Oret, og horle tydelig^*) folgende Anslag^^):
Manden
skulde forst gaa op paa Loftet, give ham et Slag i llove-
det, og kaste-><^) ham iid af Vinduet. Hun selv skulde
staa beredt nedenfor,
^^j
og med et Hug 58) give ham sin
Rest*
59)
Da den Fremmede horer dette, soger
<50)
han
forst overalt^O en Udvej,<^^) for at undkomme;63) men
Flugt var umiilig.^^) Han leder nii rundt omkring, for i
det miiidste^5)
r^j
fu^jg ^i Instrument til F6rsvar,66j og
lykkeligvis faar han fat paa^^) et stort Stykke Trae, der
kan tjene^s) lil Koile.^^^) Bevabnet dermed vsenter han
sinFjende, og ligesom'^o) denne trseder ind,^i)
giver han
ham et Slag i Hovedet, der bedover^^) ii^^^ og kaster
derpaa Legemet^^) |\(i igjennem Loftslugen
"^4)
Konen,
der staar tilrede nedenfor i Morke, tvivler intet Ojeblik,'^^)
at det er den Fremmede^ der er nedkastet, styrter'^e)
over Legemet, og hugger, med en skarp Oxe, sin Mands^^)
Hoved af i eet Hug.
Konen blev hseftet,'^^) og fik sin fortjente Lon.'^)
4^)
blockhead!
^'')
there he is.
*) points.
*^)
the garret.
^^)
ill her opinion.
^^)
sleeps
(p.
47).
^^)
in the mean time.
^^)
laa paa Lwwrjay in wait, lurked, listened.
**)
distinctly. *^)
pro-
ject, plan.
^^)
throw
(J).
^^ beneath.
^^)
stroke, blow.
*)
his
rest, what was farther required (to kill him).
^)
seeks
(^).
^')
every where.
^^)
a passa*Te.
^^)
escape
(p. 61).
^^)
im-
possible, impracticable, from the old verb vine, i.
e. maatle
(p. 44).
^^)
at least, must not be confounded with i mindsle Maade, in the
least.
^)
defence.
<^'')
he gets hold of.
<')
serve,
^o)
club.
^'')
just as, the moment.
'^^)
enters.
^^)
sluns.
^^)
the body.
^^)
aperture.
^^)
literally: doubts no moment, i. e. has not the
slightest doubt.
'^^)
rushes or falls over.
^'^)
her husband's.
^^) put into jail.
^^) her deserts.
98
TALES AND STORIES.
Stormbruden og ParadiscBblet.
Hvo der
i)
den 17de April 1823 har staaet bag ved
den ny Vejrmolle 2) ved Lagjewnicke i del brombergske
Dislrikt , vil , hvis ^) ban er kommen derfra ^) med Livet,
kunne
^) fortoelle os folgende Samlale.
\AsGy en fattig forgeldrelos ^) Pige
'^)
og Preslens ^)
sejstenaarige
Barnepige , 9) omhyggeligen opdraget
i^)
i
bans Hus, og med et ret nydeligt^i) Ansigt, vilde i Dag
som hver Dag, siden
^^)
Foraaret
i^)
begyndte, vandre paa
den venlige Fodsti
i^)
forbi
i^)
Mollen til sin Husbondes^c)
Jordlod,
1^)
da Mollersvenden
i^)
Liidvig, den rige Mollers
muntre
19) Son, stakHovedet iid^o)
igjennem MollebulIet,2i)
og raabte spogende;--) Ah, Lise, skon Lise ! 23)
Halv
iivillig^^) og halv venlig blev bun rodinende staaende^^)
og spurgde: nu, hvad er der da igjen?^^)
Ludvig, Som^'^) jeg sagde dig i Gaar, skon Use!
bar du ikke
Lyst^s) til at gifte dig? 29)
Lise. Skon Liidvig! naar
ban^o)
kun^ vil sergre^i)
mig, saa lad mig heller gaa min Vej i R6 !
32)
^) He who. ^) behind the new windmill. 2) if. ^) has
escaped. ^) vil ktmne, may ^) orphan. ^) girl. ^) the parson's.
^) nursery maid 16 years old. [The common spelling is: sex-
tenaarig. ed.]
^^)
carefully educated
;
it should be opdragen
(p, 45),
but in the 2d conjuj^ation we usually prefer the termination -et
for en in the few participles
,
that may still admit the -en h\ the
com. gend.
^^) right, or very pretty, ^^)
to-day as every day,
since*
^^)
the spring.
'^)
footpath,
*
s)
j^y^ passing by.
^
^) her
master's.
^^)
fields piece of ground* ^^)
the young miller.
^) sprightly.
^)
put out, forth his head,
^i)
the hole in the
mill.
22)
cried jestingly.
^3)
fair Elisa
! ^4)
angry,
^sj
^^^
staaende, stood still.
^^)
what is the matter now again?
2^^)
as,
the same as.
^^3
a mind.
^9)
marry,
^o)
y^^^ ^^^ j^j^^ ^^,q
often used as terms of civility among the common people , or to
persons of that class by those of higher rank
5
sometimes they ex-
press a slight displeasure : du is used much more in Danish than
thou in English, but expresses a greater familiarity or superiority
than han, hwh ^0 annoy.
^^)
rest, peacCt
TALKS AND STOKIEI^. 99
Disse Ord sa^de lum ganskc mul,^^) i del hun vendte
sig bort.
''^^)
Lndvig, Men hulde^^) Lise, du skal jo ikke^G)
gific
dig- iried iiiig! Jeg veed vel, en Moller er for lidt^^) for
dig.
L?se, Som Komniissiona^r
''^
vil jeg slet ikke
^s)
have med ham at beslille.^'O Adjo!
Ludvig. Altsaa dog heller
^<^)
som Frier
?4i)
Lise,
Mollehulleterdesvarre^^) for lidet, men kunde jeg komme
igjennem , saa styrtede jeg strags i dine Arme. Hor en
Gangi'O
busker du vel endau5
44)
for fire, fern Aar
siden?^^)
Du vilde den Gang endnii ikke^^^ gj^eldc
for
^^)
en voxen Jomfru^*^)
da gav du mig vel endog^^)
et Kys, naar jeg om Sondagen^^) tog dig paa Skodet,^*)
og gav dig en Peberkage.
^'^)
Nii har visselig Herr
Pastoren^3) forbiidet^*) dig det; ikke sandt,55) ii^n pra.^-
ker daglig for dig?
Use. Ikke sandt, han havde nu Re1,^6) til at praeke :
"Lise ! begiv dig til dit Arbeide,
^'^)
og lad ikke MoUeren
have dig til bedste?"^^)
Lise var nu virkelig i Begreb med at gaa,^^) ^vor
gjerne hun cnd^^) gad^O
hore den overmodige , ^2)
nien
^3)
in a pout.
3*)
turninof herself away.
^^)
charming. ^^)
jo,
is a particle very difficult to translate , the purport of the
whole context is: who says that you shall, or: nobody says that
you shall,
^^)
lidf, contracted of lidet
(p. 28),
is only used as
adverb or noun.
*) agent.
^*')
not at all*
^^)
have to do with*
^^)
consequently rather,
*')
suitor.
^^)
indeed, or I am
sorry to say.
'*^)
hark a moment.
^^)
do you still recollect*
^^)ago.
^^)
then still you would not.
'*'')
pass for.
'*)
fullgrown
young lady (see the note
p. 87).
^^) you would even give me.
^)
p. 79.
*^)
on my lap, knees. ^^) gingeibread-cake. ^^)
the
parson.
^
*) prohibited; as to the order of dig det see
p. 26\
^^)
is not it true that, or does tiol he, placed after the next pro-
position.
^'^)
a right, occasion to. *0 go to your (thy) work.
^^\
make a fool of you, take you in. *^)
was really about going
awav. **^J /tror ... en(/. however.
')
would, liked.
*'^)
presump-
tuous.
7^i
100
TALES AND STORIES.
ellers^^)
brave Ynglings^^) Spog,^^) j^ denne endnii en
Gang6<5) raabte: Lise, skon Lise!
Og- se!^'^) Lise
vendte s\g rigtig nok^^^) endnu en Gang oin^^) og 16.
Hold Forklaedet op, lille Hex!'^*^) raabte Mollercn,
der bar du^O et splinternyt
"^2)
^ble fra Paradis. Forend
Inm havde fattet en Beslutning, om'^^) lum skulde holde
Forklaedet frem'^0 oiler ikke, rullede Appelsinen"^^) hen'^)
for hendes Fodder, en Friigl, som hun aldrig"'^) havde
seet for. Spis,"^^) min Eva! raabte Karlen leende, spis
det skonne Paradisaeble
!
Den lettroende Pige fulgde Raadet, og Irak Miniden
ganske skeev
'^^)
ved den bitre Smag
^oj
^^f Skallen;^0 w^en
vel bemserkende, at en sod Saft^^) flod iid^'O f Hullet,
lob hiiu hurtig^O bort mod Appelsinen, imedens Ludvig
spottende^^)
raabte efterhendo: Lise, skon Lise; hvordan
smager
Paradiseeblet ?
Pigen stod nu paa Prcstens Mark,^^) og briigte Spa-
den paa det flitligste
^)
for at indhente^^) det forsomte.^^)
For hendes Tanker svaevede^^) uden Ophor^i) den iniin-
tre^^) Ludvig. Saaledes gjor ban mcd alle Piger , sagde
hun til sig selv, alle gjor ban Lojer^^) med, og ta3nker
ikke ! og dog ^0 er han en god^ brav Dreng,^^)
flittig, ordentllg, og hvor smiikt klseder^^) ikke bans ny
blaa Kloeder^'J^) ham!
Er del da ikke ogsaa skikke-
hgt^s) af ham, at han, om ogsaa '^9)
af Overgivenhed,
i^^)
<^3)
otherwise*
^'*)p.62. 6^) jest.
^^)
still another time.
^^)
look I
^)
verily.
^)
om^ about.
'^^)
witch, enchantress.
^*)
there you
have 0: there is for you.
^''')
a spick-span-new.
'^^)
om
eller,
see p.
79
^^)
forth, up.
''^)
the oranj^e.
^^)
up to.
'^^)
never.
'^^)
eat
(^).
'^^)
literally: drew the mouth entirely awry.
^^)
taste.
^') shell, peel.
^^)
sweet juice.
^)
ran out, came out
(p. 44.)
*)
speedily.
^)
with raillery.
)
field.
^^)
very diligently.
^)
retrieve, make ^ood.
^)
neglected.
*^)
hovered, presented
himself* ^0 incessantly. ^^) playful.
^^)
fun.
^4^
however.
*)boy(|). ^^)lilaider ham smukf, becomes him well.
^'^)
clothes.
9^)
kind or kindly done.
^*)
although perhaps.
^^^)
frolick,
wantonness.
TALES AND STORIES. 101
gav mig den skunne Frugl? han mener dot dog vol
>)
ikke saa meget slcmt mod inig.
Medens luin ta^nkle delte, naermede en liuul Lar-
men 2) sig nieer og meer fra Landsbyen. En selsom, ^}
kraftig 4) Luflslromning, 5) kun indtagende ^0 en Bredde
af omtrent ^3 200 Skridt,
s)
styrtede sig i dette Ojeblik
hid fra Kruschwilz, og forte forSt Tagc Q) og Ruder, si-
den
lo)
Skure og Stalde^O bort med sig, Luften, der
sledse blev morkere, robede^^) den eensomme Pige en
sig naermende Orkan; bun ilede^^j 1^^^ ij^g et levendc
Ggerde, ^0 der rigtig nok
i^)
endnii var iiden Lov ;
i^)
men
dog ta)ti^)
nok til nogenlunde
i^)
at bryde Vindens Magi.
Nil floj allerede Straaet fra hendes Hjcms Tage tsellerc
og laettere hen^^) overhende; en storLade^o) flagrede-0
lig en Fjeder hojt oppe i Luften, derpaa^^) igjcn skin-
nende Linned, der var fort bort fra Blegen.23) Men nii