One adult Dane in five is so bad at English that computers, the internet and the information highway are forbidden territory. Even everyday conversations can be difficult when the people they talk to use occasional English words. Nor can people with limited knowledge of English benefit from subtitled TV programmes and films while poorly-translated consumer goods instructions cause confusion.
Those are some of the findings of a survey carried out by Bent Preisler, a professor of English at Roskilde University Centre, and the Social Research Institute.
In a Danish daily newspaper, Politiken, Preisler says the division of Danes into those who can function in an international community that uses English and those who cannot is "a democratic problem" in a society that considers itself a member of the global village. Between 700,000 and 900,000 Danes are so weak in English that they are unable to manage everyday situations such as directing someone to the nearest station, following a sub-titled film, reading an instruction leaflet or writing to a friend.
Although the people who are weak in English are generally more than 45 years old, have had little education beyond seventh grade and have had little (or, for almost half the group, no) English tuition, the problem is not entirely age related. Between 40,000 and 120,000 younger people have problems with English. The only real solution is to offer courses specially tailored to the needs of each group, possibly combined with existing courses.
Paradoxically, the English dominance in electronic media, culture, conversation and higher education is causing concern at Danish universities.
"English has become the global language," says Johannes Norregaard Frandsen, associate professor of cultural exchange at the University of South Denmark's Odense campus. "Many people think that, if you know English, the world is open to you. But Germany has always been our great trade and cultural partner."