A famous Danish phrase that Danes often ask foreigners to say is rødgrød med fløde. It means red berries with cream. The berries can be any that are red such as raspberries, strawberries and red currants. The reason the phrase is famous is that it can be challenging to pronounce.
The first word of the phrase, rødgrød, begins with a uvular fricative. The first vowel is mid front rounded lax and is followed by a consonant that only exists in Danish. The consonant is an alveolar velarized laminal approximant. Following the approximant there is a glottal stop.
The second part of the compound, grød, begins with a voiced velar plosive. The other segments are the same as in the word rød. It also ends with a glottal stop.
The second word, med, has a bilabial nasal followed by a mid front unrounded tense vowel. It is followed by an alveolar velarized laminal approximant and a glottal stop.
The final word, fløde, has no glottal stop. It begins with a labiodental fricative and an alveolar lateral. The first vowel of the word is a long mid front rounded tense vowel. It is followed by an alveolar velarized laminal approximant and a schwa.
The Danish phrase rødgrød med fløde is challenging for many learners. It has the alveolar velarized laminal approximant, a sound that only exists in Danish, and the glottal stop. It also has the uvular fricative and two different mid front rounded vowels. The phrase is exemplary for illustrating the complexities of Danish pronunciation.
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