Simple Danish Newsletter #29

Hi friends,

This week, I was listening to an interview with Ali Abdaal, a YouTuber, podcaster, author, and not to mention, a doctor and Cambridge graduate, among many other things. In the interview, he talked about how he had struggled with his YouTube channel. His initial success turned something he did for fun into a giant, complicated monster of deadlines, dealing with sponsors, and facing constant pressure to perform—all on top of managing and directing a team.

He was on the verge of burnout but eventually found a way out by asking himself: “What would this look like if it was fun?”

I can definitely recognize elements of Ali’s situation on a smaller scale with the Simple Danish Podcast. Coming up with ideas for new topics is fun; writing and drafting scripts is fun; recording is fun. But everything that comes after that is a literal ton of work. It’s tedious and time-consuming—editing the audio, getting the levels, compression, etc. just right, writing the transcripts, formatting the exercises, uploading to multiple platforms, and making sure everything works before finally clicking “publish” on all of them. It’s a lot of work. In fact, the dread of doing those tasks is the main reason we haven’t published any new episodes in the past year (we’ve actually recorded several, but they never made it through to publication), and suddenly life seemed to get in the way.

However, inspired by Ali, we asked ourselves: “What would this look like if it was fun?”

What if we could minimize editing by working on presentation skills? What if we used new AI tools to fix sound problems, and automated some of the boring parts? Lastly, what if we batched those daunting tasks into big blocks and found a way to make them fun and energizing? What if we went to a cozy café or a beautiful, Hogwarts-like library to work on editing and uploading?

That would certainly make everything more fun and energizing. (Perhaps that’s a hint that you can expect more podcast episodes in the near future)

Now, to the reason for this wall of text: What do you think would happen if you asked yourself: “What would this look like if it was fun?” and applied it to learning Danish?

Perhaps you could start reading Harry Potter in Danish (or watch one of the movies with Danish subtitles), or maybe you could connect with a friend and go to the library to study together. Maybe you want to learn the lyrics to some Danish songs, or you could join a club or organization to immerse yourself even more in Danish.

Whatever you choose, it helps to start by figuring out which parts you don’t actually enjoy. When studying, what tasks do you dread starting? What tasks do you find yourself procrastinating on?

Ask yourself how you can change those into something energizing and enjoyable. Maybe you need to change your environment, listen to some energizing music while studying, or put on some Harry Potter-inspired music for studying. Perhaps you can turn your repetition into a game and give yourself points for memorization. Perhaps it is something as simple as writing a checklist and ticking items off (which can be very satisfying).

We’d love to hear what tasks you dread the most about learning Danish, and if you can think of ways to make them more enjoyable! Please don’t hesitate to write back to us with your thoughts.

Our Favourite Things ❤️

Fun Fact We Just Learned

Did you know that the Danish police have an ‘Online Patrol’? Neither did we! While browsing Reddit, we saw the police comment on a post about a potentially illegal situation. I was skeptical about whether the profile was legitimate, but after checking, it turns out it was. The idea is that you can reach out to the Danish police online, just like you would approach an officer on the street. They use their online presence to collect evidence and prevent crime. The Danish police have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, and many more.

Album We’re Listening To

Sidste Omgang by Per Vers and Benny Andersen (Spotify, Apple Music).

Per Vers (whose name is a pun: “Per” is a Danish name, and “vers” means verse, but together they suggest something cheeky) is a Danish rapper renowned for his wordplay. He started as a battle rapper in Danish MC Fight Nights, where he was undefeated and won twice. Benny Andersen, equally famous for his linguistic talent, is considered by some to have pioneered musical poetry in Denmark. His songs and poems often focus on everyday life and the intricacies of language.

Their collaboration on this album is a surprisingly good match. Benny was 88 years old during recording and, sadly, passed away shortly after, making this likely one of his final works. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the album. If you give it a listen, I recommend taking time to really appreciate the lyrics.

Word of the Week: Dumsmart

Literally: Stupid-smart

“Dumsmart” is a Danish word used to describe someone or something that seems clever or intelligent on the surface but is actually foolish, uneducated, or arrogant. The term was famously coined by Queen Margrethe II in her 1984 New Year’s Speech (Nytårstale), where she gave Danes a bit of a reprimand for not being more welcoming of refugees:

Her comments still stand true in 2024, 40 years later.

Example:

Person 1: Har du børn? Ha! Så kan du godt vinke farvel til de næste 18 år af dit liv.

Person 2: Det var da en dumsmart bemærkning – jeg elsker mine børn, og at være sammen med dem.

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We hope you liked this week’s newsletter. As always don’t hesitate to reach out if you have comments, suggestions or otherwise have questions 😊

Kram fra,

Antonina & Rasmus