Not sure where to post this.
This a is summary of segment 5, of the TV documentary: The Royal House from within".
The summary is divided into two parts, first part being based on an article in Billed Bladet. The second part is my impressions from watching the segment.
In the next segment of the DRF documentary, there is focus on Mary and la Marie and how they learn Danish.
La Marie is the type of person who learn better when she is on the move, that's why she will be seen pacing through the living rooms of Schackenborg, while she is learning a speech.
She struggles: "That's why I know how much it means for your personal developement to complete an education". And more struggle: "So that you can do an extra effort" - "kan yde" - She keeps repeating until the pronounciation is there.
She explains: "Æ, Ø and Å are difficult. We also know Æ and Ø in French. But Å is unique for the Danish language".
Just before she is giving her rehersed speech at Southern Danish University and go on the podium, she states: "There are a lot of guests".
Well back at home, Joachim smiles: "That went really well". Marie: "You think"?
This was her second speech at the university and she commented: "I'd like to do an effort for the Southern Jutlandic Region (*), where I live myself".
Mary is very aware of what she is saying in her speeches, the content is important. And often the speeches take form while she is running in Fredensborg Park.
She explains: "It's simply so important to have the language in you. To be a part of this land and the culture and history of the country and really understand Denmark, what is Danish and the Danes". While sitting in her office in Kancellihuset.
Then it's off to a conference in the Mary Foundation with Caroline Heering and they are rehersing on the back seat of the car. And Caroline corrects a little mistake in the grammar in the speech Mary wrote: "It's called a human being, and not an (human being)". Mary says: "Uh, I hope I have remembered all of it". One of the words Mary struggles with and has to repeat many times is: "Voldsudøvende = someone who is being violent or in the process of committing violence. (**)
Initially Mary simply translated English word directly into Danish, but she soon learned that that didn't work: "But that didn't work. And it was frustrating because I've spend all my life until I turned 30-31 to express myself in one language. And then suddenly I had to learn not just to speak a new language, but also to think in a new language".
Marie also says: "The least you can do, when you are recieved well in a new country is to learn the language. I want to be able to speak to all Danes I meet. (***) That's very important".
(*) Region = in this context meaning large county or a province. A large Amt in German. I.e. an administrative area.
(**) Voldsudøvende is word with which even natives can end up having tied their tounges into a knot! It's a somewhat academic word.
(***) I remember Marie talking about how some of her friends teased her a little because she speaks Danish with a slight Southern Jutlandic accent.
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Mary is seen running along with Ziggy and she several times calls for the dog to stay close, before obviously giving up. She says she thinks more clearly when running.
Mary's mastery of Danish is excellent. She does make the odd grammattical error, but so do we natives, albeit different mistakes. She has a distinct accent and I sometimes have to concentrate on what she is saying. I don't think she will ever lose that accent and that is pretty charming.
La Marie prounounce the words very carefully when she reads out aloud and indeed when she is talking, as any beginner dealing with new language is. Mary is past that, she just talks.
Marie is actually easier to understand than Mary, because her pronounciation is so very good. But there is distinct hesitation, typical of someone who has to mentally look the words up.
I believe Marie will eventually speak Danish with less accent than Mary.
We follow a lot of the preparations behind the scenes in connection with the IOC meeting and the staff, not least Lene Balleby, are showing signs of stress.
The Master of Ceremonies is not for anything an ex-officer in the army. He corrects some of the guardsmen in their saluting. A basic mistake actually and remember that they are conscripts. - Interference is incidentally someting a detachment NCO and officer hates!
QMII talks about the three US Presidents who have been visiting, Clinton, Bush, Obama, as all being pleasant and relaxed/down to earth.
When Obama leaves one from the staff of the courts says: "Goodbama".
As you know Frederik was grilled at his press conference, when he joined the IOC!
We see him and his staff prepare him. He knows he will face critical questions and he is ready to face the press, but also a little nervous.
He says afterwards that is was a great learning experience for him, and his staff, through him. - But it's not something he'd like to go through every year!
The journalists are also seen preparing their tactics. In this case no less than seven reporters from Ekstra Bladet - and they smell blood!
Mary says that she find the critisism of Frederik joining the IOC a bit unfair, as the issue were valid ten years ago and not today.
At the end we see Mary and Frederik talking. It was a sweet story about Christian.
He had pointed at a horse dropping and asked: "What's that"?
Mary explained: It's a "hestepære". (Which is the Danish word for a horse dropping. Directly translated that means a "horse-pear").
Christian replied: "No, it's a "prut" = fart". (Prut is a nicer word for fart and it's often used by small children).
- So of course Christian must have ben thinking: That's got nothing to do with a pear! Mommy must be babbling!
