DET ER FORDI, AT ...

All languages have "filler" expressions, words that don't really mean anything, but which are used to fill out time, while the speaker thinks of something else to say. "Right" or "know what I mean" are examples in English.

The current one in Danish is "det er fordi, at ....", which Danes, particularly of the younger generation, use all the time. There are two things about this expression that puzzle this foreigner. The first is that it is grammatically incorrect. It literally means "it is because that ...". The "that" is redundant and grammatically wrong, and has become a sort of filler within the filler.

The second thing is that it is often used before a question; which is odd, because it is an active statement that ought to be followed by another active statement. Young people come up to me at school and say something like "it is because, that, er .... have you seen Julie?" or "it is because, that, er .... what time is our maths class?".

I have often told them to drop the "det er fordi, at" and use another expression, like "hej" (hello), or even nothing, on the grounds that what they are saying is - literally - inane. But so far, it is having zero effect. Det er fordi I am a foreigner, who just doesn't get it.

Walter Blotscher