Danish in the Making - Intercultural Pragmatics for learners and teachers of Danish as a second language

The project develops a new vision for the study of Danish as a second language. At the intersection between intercultural pragmatics and language pedagogy, we rethink the acquisition of Danish by adult migrants. We support the development of intercultural communicative competence through (i) the creation of a ‟minimal Danish”, a metalanguage consisting of very basic words, (ii) a ‟cultural dictionary” over complex cultural concepts and communicative norms written in minimal Danish and (iii) learning activities with focus on interaction and reflection. We identify the central cultural keywords for Danish and articulate tacit norms of communicative behavior through ‟cultural scripts”. We develop and test our products in collaboration with Danish teachers and learners, and we create new research insights into language pedagogy and the connection between language and
culture.