Most materials used in Danish research are written in Danish. Although you do not need to speak or read Danish in order to do research in Danish records, you do need some knowledge of the language to understand the records. You may also find some Latin and German in Danish records.

Because Danish grammar may affect the way words appear in the records, the words in a dictionary or word list may be slightly different.

Language Aids

The Family History Library has published a Danish-English list of genealogical words. The list is available for a nominal fee. A Danish-English dictionary can also help you in your research. You can find the word list, dictionaries, and similar language aids at many research libraries.

The following are useful dictionaries:

Magnussen, Johs., Otto Madsen, and Herman Vinterberg. McKay's Modern Danish-English-English Danish Dictionary. New York: David McKay Co., 1954. (FHL Scand. 439.81321 M275m, film 1,440,033.)

Jensen, H. Juul. Ordbog over det Danske Sprog (Word Book of the Danish Language). København: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri, 1975. (FHL Scand. 403.489 D2280, vols. 1-26.)

Additional language aids (including dictionaries of various dialects and time periods) are listed in the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under DENMARK - LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES and in the Subject section under DANISH LANGUAGE - DICTIONARIES.

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