Are all languages equally easy to learn and use? Our work on the ‘Puzzle of Danish’ suggests that this is not the case. Previous work has shown that compared to other similar languages, Danish children are behind on vocabulary and past tense acquisition. The sound structure of Danish is very complex, comprising about 40 different vowel sounds, combined with a tendency for speakers to either delete consonants or turn them into vowel-like sounds resulting in long vowel sequences (it sounds like Danes slur their speech and swallow the ends of words). CSL Lab research suggests that these phonological properties make it harder for Danish toddlers to learn new words. Ongoing work at Aarhus University indicate that the effects of the opaque Danish speech continues into adulthood, affecting how adult Danes process individual words, full sentences, and even how they talk with others in a conversation. It is no wonder that Danish has a reputation for being hard to learn as a second language.
Talk by Dr. Riccardo Fusaroli from the Puzzle of Danish research team at the Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Denmark
Representative Publications
Cox, C.M.M., Dideriksen, C., Keren-Portnoy, T., Roepstorff, A., Christiansen, M.H. & Fusaroli, R. (2023). Infant-directed speech does not always involve exaggerated vowel distinctions: Evidence from Danish. Child Development, 94, 1672-1696.
Dideriksen, C., Christiansen, M.H., Dingemanse, Højmark-Bertelsen, M., D., Johansson, C. Tylén, K. & Fusaroli, R. (2023). Language specific constraints on conversation: Evidence from Danish and Norwegian. Cognitive Science, 47, e13387.
Christiansen, M.H., Contreras Kallens, P. & Trecca, F. (2022). Towards a comparative approach to language acquisition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31, 131-138.
Trecca, F., Tylén, K., Højen, A. & Christiansen, M.H. (2021). Danish as a window onto language processing and learning. Language Learning, 71, 799-833.
Trecca, F., Bleses, D., Højen, A., Madsen, T.O., & Christiansen, M.H. (2020). When too many vowels impede language processing: An eye-tracking study of Danish-learning children. Speech and Language, 63, 898-918.