John Gunther Dean
Dean speaks four languages: English, French, German and Danish. He was the first U.S. Ambassador to Denmark who learned and spoke Danish, thus gaining significant respect from its people. He is married to the French-born Martine Duphenieux, and they have three grown children. He now lives in Switzerland and France but remains active on foreign affairs issues and comes to the U.S. often.
Minority languages of Denmark
Throughout much of its history, Denmark has been home to a population of Low German speakers in many of its towns, including the capital Copenhagen. Rural settlers known as "potato Germans" and "" also brought their own languages to Danish farms. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Dutch was spoken among descendants of Dutch/Flemish settlers on the island of Amager (Dragør, Store Magleby and Christianshavn). In its heyday, the Royal Danish Navy was largely manned by Norwegian speakers. Additionally, North Frisian was spoken on the North Frisian Islands. During the 19th century, German Jews brought the Yiddish language to Copenhagen and a few other towns, and in the early 20th century, an influx of Russian Jews gave this language a brief revival.