Synthesized answer
Groth's motivation to fill the "lack of a reliable grammar" for English-speaking students learning Danish or Norwegian suggests that existing resources were insufficient or unreliable in the late 19th century [1]. This indicates a perceived need for a grammar that could effectively guide these students.
While Groth mentions that "a couple of Danish or Norwegian grammars that may deserve this name" appeared during the time his book was being printed [1], his decision to proceed with his own work implies these were not adequate for his teaching purposes. The passages also list numerous dictionaries and readers available for Danish and Norwegian, suggesting a broader range of learning materials existed. However, Groth's focus is on the grammar itself as a primary deficiency. The passages do not provide specific details about the content or quality of these other grammars, only that Groth perceived a "lack" and that others subsequently appeared.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
← A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar ( 1894 ) by Peter Olsen Groth Introduction → related portals : Scandinavian languages 1407724 A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar 1894 Peter Olsen Groth Heath’s Modern Language Series A DANISH and Dano-Norwegian Grammar by P. GROTH, A.M. BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 1894 Copyright, 1894 By P. GROTH All rights reserved PRESS OF Rockwell and Churchill BOSTON, U.S.A. PREFACE A S a teacher of the Danish or Norwegian language to English speaking students I had very often felt the lack of a reliable grammar of the language, and finally I…
about two years, and meanwhile there have appeared a couple of Danish or Norwegian grammars that may deserve this name. The reason why I have given my book the somewhat cumbersome title of a "Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar" will be apparent from the "Introduction." As regards the use of the book I would advise the student first to make up his mind, whether he wants to study the pure Danish language or the Dano-Norwegian language. This must to a large extent depend upon personal and practical considerations. The tourist, the commercial traveller, the merchant may need to study one branch of…
s to study Danish must pass by §§ 81 to 146, while those who want to study Norwegian must pass directly from §§ 8 to 81. Besides, in the “Etymology,” attention is often called to certain rules as being peculiar to Danish, others to Norwegian. The student must select those he needs, and pass by those that refer to the language that he is not studying. I have added some “Exercises” at the end of the book in order to help the student fix in his memory those rules and paradigms which he must know before he can, with any degree of success, commence reading the language. For those who wish more…
s Dictionaries can be thoroughly recommended: A. Larsen’s Dansk-Norsk Engelsk Ordbog and Rosing’s Engelsk-Dansk Ordbog . To those who want to study the Norwegian form of the language I would recommend: I. Brynildsen’s Norsk-engelsk ordbog and the same author’s edition of Geelmuyden’s Engelsk-norsk ordbog . The tourist will find Bennett’s Phrasebook , Olsvig’s Words and Phrases and the same author’s Yes and No valuable guides to familiarity with the peculiarities of the language. This Grammar, besides being based upon my own studies and knowledge of the language, rests, as far as Danish is…
che; both these books are excellent, and especially the Danish Grammar has often been of use to me in writing this book. The several species of types that are peculiar to the Scandinavian languages compelled me to have this book set in a Danish Newspaper printing office in New York City, not properly equipped for a work of this kind. On that account the typographical appearance of the book is not in every respect as good as I would like it to have been. Deserving of special mention is the fact that the types œ and æ are everywhere in the book used promiscuously to represent the latter…
More questions about this book
- Explain the practical and historical reasons behind Groth's "somewhat cumbersome title," and how it reflects the linguistic relationship between Danish and Norwegian in the late 19th century.
- If you were an English-speaking student in 1894, how would Groth's advice guide your choice between studying "pure Danish" or "Dano-Norwegian," considering your personal and professional goals?
- Describe, as if teaching a classmate, how Groth's grammar is structured to accommodate students learning either Danish or Norwegian, specifically detailing the navigational instructions he provides. What does this structure imply about the differences he identifies between the two languages?
- Groth notes the "glottal catch" makes Danish pronunciation more difficult for English speakers. How might this specific phonetic challenge necessitate different learning strategies or pedagogical approaches for students of Danish compared to Norwegian?