Languages of Denmark
A large majority (86%) of Danes also speak English as a second language; it is mandatory for Danish students to learn from the first grade in the public elementary schools (), by far the most popular option in the country. In the 1st (or 3rd, depends on the school) grade of folkeskole, a third language option is given, usually German or French. The vast majority pick German (47% of Danes report being able to speak conversational German). The third most widely understood foreign language is Swedish, with 13% of Danes reporting to be able to speak it.
Scandinavian Americans
The term "Scandinavia" is often misused when the term "Nordic" is meant. The Nordic countries consists of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland (a semi-independent Danish realm), the Faroese Islands (a semi-independent Danish realm), Åland (a semi-independent Swedish-speaking Finnish realm) and Finland. Sometimes also Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are included, due to the tiny group of Estonian Swedes in the archipelago of Northern Estonia. Unlike the three linguistically Scandinavian countries, the Nordic countries have languages that are only partially mutually intelligible (closest being Icelandic-FaroeIslandish on one hand and Danish-Norwegian-Swedish on the other) so therefore English is often used as a common language when Nordic people communicate. The Nordic countries have a lot of common history, as they have all been invaded/colonized by Scandinavians at one time, but even if there are close historical ties, these countries are also more culturally and genetically diverse than the Scandinavian countries with Greenlanders, Samis and Finns having a unique origin apart from the Germanic-Keltic Norsemen known as Scandinavians.