language has no corresponding sound (to produce the sound one should say a as in English fate and at the same time hold the lips in almost the whistling position); Ex.: Födsel birth, Bønder peasants, Søster sister, Stød blow, høre to hear, lød sounded (impf. of lyde), Sølv silver, løs loose, Prøve trial, Bøger books. The sound of ø is represented by the letter ø (ö) always when it is long, and sometimes when short. But the short sound of ø is as a rule in writing represented by the sign of y; Ex.: Tryk pressure, Stykke piece, dryppe to drip, dyrke to cultivate, Fyrste a prince, kysse to kiss, Lygte lantern, Lykke fortune, Nytte utility, skylle to rinse, synke to sink.
26. ö has a more open sound, like French eu in peuple, German ö. (Pronounce English a in fat with the lips in a whistling position); Ex.: förste first, Berömmelse fame, större larger, Björn bear, Bönner prayers, Sön son, forsömme to neglect.
Note. In Danish spelling there is not as a rule made a consistent distinction between the signs ö and ø, most writers using both signs promiscuously or either one exclusively.[1] ö is as a rule used before m, n ending a word, nn, rr, rn. (As for the sound and use of ö as first part of a diphthong see § 28).
27. y has the sound of French u, German ü; the English language has no corresponding sound (to produce it the tongue takes the position for i, the lips that for u). The letter y represents this sound 1) when it is long; Ex.: flyde to flow, adlyde to obey, sy to sew, Öjenbryn eyebrow, Tyv thief, Sky cloud; 2) when short, a) in case the root word or form has long y; Ex.: dybt neuter af dyb deep, nyt neuter af ny new; b) in unstressed syllables; Ex.: Hypothék mortgage, Hyperbol,
- ↑ As for consistency in pronunciation the Danish grammarian Dr. Jessen says, that it is not easy to find two persons who agree on this point.
