Copenhagen Metro: No More English Pronunciation

Passengers who frequently use the Copenhagen Metro are probably used to announcements in both Danish and English, with both languages used to accommodate the many foreign visitors to the city.

While bilingual station announcements are to continue, the pronunciation of station names in the English version is set to change.

Instead of using an anglicised pronunciation, all names will now be pronounced in the original Danish, including in English-language announcements, operating company Metroselskabet has announced in a press statement.

This means, for example, that Frederiksberg will now have its soft ‘d’ and end with a ‘w’ sound instead of a hard ‘g’ when the English version of “next station, Frederiksberg” rings out on Metro trains.

The clunky-sounding “Nurra-bro” has also been consigned to Metro history, with “Nørrebro” in its original form now the only version you’ll hear.

The company said it had made the decision to switch to all-Danish place names based on a survey of both tourists and foreign residents of Copenhagen. 

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In the survey, participants listened to both the original and anglicised pronunciation of Metro station names and were asked to state which they preferred.

A majority selected the Danish versions, reasoning that when they are in Denmark, they’d prefer to learn how to say place names in Danish, according to Metroselskabet.

Knowing the correct pronunciation of a place name also makes it easier to ask for directions, the company said in the statement.

“The station names were originally pronounced as they would be in English, to make it easier for those who don’t speak Danish to recognise them,” Metroselskabet CCO Eva Lind said in the statement.

“However, our survey has shown that the majority prefer the Danish pronunciation, so we’re now making that change,” she said.

The new announcements have already been implemented on the Metro lines M3 and M4 and will also soon take over on lines M1 and M2.