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Why is the Double A (AA) in
Danish Words Pronounced as Oh?

For example, the second largest city in Denmark is Aarhus, which properly pronounced is Orhoos (meaning originally river-mouth or perhaps river-house), but which non-Danes pronounce as Aur-hoos. The problem is that the Danish alphabet has a special letter Å (ring A) which has the sound Oh but outside of Denmark are represented as Aa. However in 2010, to enhance its international image, the city officially changed the spelling of its name from Århus to Aarhus;

Another example is the personal name Aage. It is properly pronounced as oh-weh and written in Danish as Åge.

The Danish alphabet has another special letter Ø (slash O. It has the pronunciation Ohr. Outside of Denmark it is represented as Oe. An example is in the feminine personal name Hjørdis, pronounced as Yourdis. Outside of Denmark it is written as Hjoerdis,


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