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all nordic languages

  1. G

    Danish: obs. SAH

    From a Danish medical report: "[...] Here, the patient's case was discussed with the undersigned as backup on-call doctor, and the patient was referred to the emergency department [?]" SAH could very well mean "subarachnoid hemorrhage", and I'm familiar with "obs." meaning "Please...
  2. G

    Swedish: use of indicative verbs in instructions

    The following is an excerpt from a Swedish bank's instructions on anti-money-laundering procedures. I have highlighted the main verbs used in each sentence or clause: As you can see, the paragraph shifts back and forth between ”should”-statements and present indicative statements: [...] ska...
  3. G

    Swedish: etablering (construction / civil engineering)

    Hello again, The words etablera / etablering seem to have a special meaning in the context of construction or similar projects (i.e., projects for which the term entreprenad would be used). For example, here are some quotes from a document relating to a roadworks project: I can't make sense...
  4. G

    Swedish: tvåvägsfordon järnväg (structure used in technical/bureaucratic texts?)

    In Swedish technical texts, I frequently run across examples like the following (from a description of a roadwork job): The highlighted phrase (and others like it) throws off my comprehension, because it lacks any clear "connective tissue" – there are no prepositions, suffixes, punctuation...
  5. G

    Swedish: trivselregler

    Many Swedish companies/organizations have a set of rules called trivselregler, sometimes incorporated into a larger phrase trivsel- och ordningsregler. (Based on the little searching I've done, Norwegian appears to prefer a variant with -s- in the middle, trivselsregler. I'm not sure what the...
  6. G

    all Scandinavian: appeal instructions

    In Swedish-language legal documents, I sometimes see the term överklagandehänvisning "appeal instructions" used. There are some additional closely related legal terms involving hänvisning, such as fullföjldshänvisning "notice of right to appeal". My Swedish is not expert-level, but this use of...
  7. R

    Norwegian: Litt mer å gå på?

    Hei! Hva bety en frase "litt mer å gå på i følgende setning: "Jeg tror vi alle bør forsøke å gi hverandre litt mer å gå på. Hvis de andre foreldrene kommer for sent i bursdagen, betyr det ikke at de er dårlige"
  8. I

    Norwegian: "såret" or "såret noun / adjective"

    Hello dear friends, Kan jeg spørre dere et spørsmål? Why do you pronounce the t in "et" in "såret" (the wound). Normally, the "et" is pronounced as an a sound where the t is silent (huset, hodet, etc.). I didn't know that there were exceptions to this. Tussen Tak! :)
  9. S

    tilhengere eller supportere?

    When I first went to Norway in 1968-70, I'm pretty sure that the usual word for 'supporters' (of a football club) was 'tilhengere'. Now if I google '(name of club)tilhengere', I find far fewer hits than for '(name of club)supportere'. Same in Danish: much more 'Brøndbysupportere' than...
  10. T

    Bus 35 gå åt DET hållet

    Good afternoon. Could you please help me understand why the word DEN/ DET has been used in the following dialogue (taken from a graded Swedish reader). -Hej. Vet du hur vi kommer till restaurangen xxx? -Det är enkelt! Buss 35 gå åt DET hållet. Den går direkt till restaurangen. Men DEN bussen är...
  11. A

    Norwegian to English: premissleverandør

    Hei! Jeg lurer på om noen har et godt forslag til oversettelse av det norske begrepet 'premissleverandør' til engelsk. Jeg har sett noen foreslå 'premise setter' eller 'premise provider' i et annet forum, men jeg synes det låter kunstig og tilgjort. Her er konteksten i dette tilfellet: "vi...
  12. orros

    All Nordic languages: Genitiv på andre skandinaviske språk enn norsk

    Hei! Vanlig genitiv kan uttrykkes på tre forskjellige måter på norsk, nemlig s-genitiv (1), garpegenitiv (2) og preposisjonsfraser med preposisjonen «til» (3) [Faarlund, p.254-263]: Karis bil Kari sin bil Bilen til Kari Når det gjelder garpegenitiv har jeg lært at denne formen ble innført i...
  13. N

    All Nordic Languages: Snoppen och Snippan

    Hello fellow language people! What would you call the Swedish cartoon song about "Snoppen och Snippan" in other Nordic languages? Like the English version "Willie and Twinkle", how would you translate it in an accurate and child-friendly way? "Tissemand og Tissekone" in Danish? "Guttetiss og...
  14. J

    All Nordic languages: Impersonal passive

    I am wondering if impersonal passives can be used in Scandinavian languages like in the following German sentences or is the active form preferred with a subject as man as we do in French : 1. In den Bus wird durch die Hintertür ein gestiegen. 2.In den angelsächsisten Ländern wird links...
  15. Silverc

    standard written Swedish is the most conservative Nordic language on the Scandinavian peninsula

    I am Italian, but long interested in Nordic languages, whereof I have a general knowledge (some working knowledge of Swedish, in particular, but I can read and get some conversation of also the other languages on the Scandinavian peninsula) - I dare to say that, formally, standard Swedish has...
  16. J

    Skat

    Hi everyone In Danish, you can call someone you love like your child or spouse "skat" (meaning similar to treasure). What do people say in other Nordic languages?
  17. PEIQI

    the poetry from Eirik the red saga

    Hi, Can anyone tell me what metrical form it is ? do they have alliteration ? The poem is from Eirik the red's Saga and the character Thorhall wants to find land but failed and then he said this poem. Thanks. Hafa kvoðu mik meiðar/ malmþings es komk hingat, mér samir láð fyr lýðum/ lasta...
  18. H

    How do you pronounce å?

    Hello, I am confused about this letter for the Nordic languages such as Bokmål, Swedish, and Danish. I understand the other letters like ä, ö, and the others, but this one is confusing me. Can someone explain with an English equivalent? (Ex. å is pronounced like the letter in the word .)
  19. G

    all nordic languages: names of chapters/sections/etc. (punctuation)

    Imagine that you're reading a book about fishing, and you see the following sentence: For more details on the migration habits of these fish, see chapter 21, "Stickleback". In standard English writing, I would say that the comma and quotation marks (or something similar like italicization...
  20. G

    Swedish: ordinatör

    An instruction manual for a wheelchair makes several references to "ordinatör", but I'm not quite sure what the term means. E.g.: "Du eller en ordinatör måste ställa in rullstolen så att du sitter sittriktigt." "Du ska träna på detta tillsammans med din ordinatör." [Where detta = a certain...
  21. N

    Norwegian -> English: 'virkefelt'

    Hei! Er det noen her som har forslag til hvordan jeg kan oversette 'virkefelt' fra norsk til engelsk? Det dreier seg om en lærebok i vitenskapsteori, i et kapittel om taus kunnskap og hermeneutikk, og ordet forekommer to steder. Først i en overskrift: "Bakgrunnens virkefelter i ulike...
  22. Hans Molenslag

    All Nordic languages: coffee bean

    "... a detailed breakdown of your total income, including every euro, insurance and coffee bean." This is from a text about an online salary management system. It's almost certainly written by a non-native speaker, presumably a Scandinavian. The coffee bean must be a metafor, meaning the...
  23. T

    All Nordic languages: krøterveg

    I happened to come across this term while searching for shortcuts. The word is supposed to be (Ny)Norsk, but I wonder what the krøter refers to (veg is way, road, path, that I know already). Can it be a cow, or cows? Synonyms are welcome too.
  24. G

    Swedish: t.ex. (X) och (Y)

    Over time, I've noticed och being used in various contexts where it seems to me that the appropriate conjunction in English would be or, not and. Here's an example, from a hospital brochure: "Du är alltid välkommen att kontakta oss om du har frågor som rör din behandling, din sjukdom, dina...
  25. Riverplatense

    Icelandic: adverbial form of present participles

    Hello! Does the Icelandic present participle change when used adverbially — in case it can be used as an adverb? Or maybe, is there any Nordic language showing adverbial endings for present participles? Thank you!
  26. normordm

    Swedish: Why was the 'är' repeated in this sentence?

    I was speaking with a Swedish native and good friend of mine and he said correcting me over mixing past and present tense in a sentence: So I understand he's trying to say: 'I will go to school' is in the present while 'came back' is in the past But what I do not get is why he repeated 'är'...
  27. B

    Danish in "North Denmark"

    Hi verybody. I'd like to know if anyone knows (preferably from first-hand experience) anything about the extent of usage of Danish in Greenland and the Faroe Islands (sometimes referred to as "North Denmark", at least here :)) and Iceland (former Danish territory). For example: To what extent...
  28. M

    Danish: Alternatives to 'han eller hun'?

    Hello, if you are speaking in general terms regardless of a person's gender, are there any other alternatives in Danish besides 'han eller hun'? For example, 'The reader can skip this chapter if s/he wants to.' - Læseren må godt springe dette kapitel over hvis .... vil'. One non-native speaker...
  29. J

    Norwegian: Fest og selskap

    Hello, I just wanted to know if "fest" and "selskap" are interchangeable? Or they are not synonyms at all? I mean, is it alright either way or not? Mine venner har selskap på lørdag. Mine venner har festen på lørdag. Thanks !
  30. F

    All Nordic langauges: Female Version of Kili

    Hi everyone, we are searching for a female version of the name Kili. What we could found was: Cilli or Cilie. We are not very common with the nordic pronounciation. So is the "C" more an spoken "S" or a "K"? Thank you!!
  31. L

    All Nordic languages: Tuquoy

    Hello, I am researching the name Tuquoy which is found in France, the Landes and Loire regions, but also in Scotland in the Orkney Islands. I was told that "quoy" was of Norse origin, meaning an enclosure taken from the commons for cattle. In old Norse it would be written kvi. The word "quoy" is...
  32. G

    All Nordic languages: han/denne

    Hi, I saw the following sentence in Swedish: Han blockerade angriparens hand med ett hårt tag vari denne hade ett vasst föremål. "He blocked the assailant's hand with a hard grip, where he[?] had a sharp object." 1) Does the use of denne here (rather than han) indicate that the assailant...
  33. K

    Norwegian: dæsken døtti

    Hei, Hva betyr: dæsken han døtti? Det finnes ikke i ordboka. Er det dialekt?
  34. H

    futhark: Heathen

    Hello, I'm looking for a translation of the word Heathen in to younger futhark or elder futhark. From what I've found online elder makes the most sense, but its gonna be a tattoo and would like it to be correct. Thanks in advance.
  35. A

    Icelandic: I kick the fragility away

    Hi there, I don't know anyone who speaks Icelandic and English but Im hoping someone who does will see this! I'm getting a tattoo from Sigur Ros's "Svefn-g-englar" and I was hoping to get the line "I kick the fragility away". I would like the tattoo to be written in Icelandic and translate as...
  36. N

    All Nordic Languages: pronouns for common gender inanimate nouns

    Hello everyone. I'd like to ask you which pronoun do you use when you're speaking about a common gender noun referring to an inanimate object. Are these examples right? Book English: I read it Icelandic: Ég las* hana. (f.) lit. I read her Swedish: Jag läste den. (c.) Norwegian: Jeg leste den...
  37. S

    Danish: Skørt/nederdel

    Hi I have a friend from Denmark who I want to surprise by emailing in Danish! I want to tell her that I bought a new skirt for her party. Is there any difference between skørt and nederdel in Danish? Is one more commonly used than the other? Thanks Sarah
  38. 盲人瞎馬

    Faroese: Dialects

    Is it true that, despite being a very small country, the Faroe Islands are equally as rich in dialects as, for example, Norway? If that's true, is there an explanation as to why such dialectal diversity doesn't exist in Iceland, a much bigger country (it is agreed upon that Iceland has no...
  39. N

    Danish (...and other Scandinavian languages): Peter sidder og synger en sang

    Hi everyone! My question is specifically about a structure of Danish, but I think it can at least be extended to (or addressed to speakers of) the other mainland Scandinavian languages, as well. Is there a difference in meaning between a construction like: 1) Peter sidder/står og synger en...
  40. A

    Norwegian/Danish: aa ha meget ondt ved

    Hva betyr uttrykket aa ha meget ondt? I sammenhengen synes jeg at det betyr at det var vanskelig, men jeg er ikke sikker. Teksten er hentet fra et brev fra 1877. Koren havde meget ondt om at skaffe den udlovede Hjælps.
  41. A

    Norwegian/Danish: brækket Aker

    I'm curious if this word, Aker, comes from English acre(s). I found it in a letter written by a Norwegian-American in 1877. How would you translate bræket/brækket in this context? "Ole Fosse … har bræket omkring 10 Aker" "Halvor har brækket lidt over 10 Akeres ifjor"
  42. A

    Norwegian/Danish: å være i slet humør

    Hva betyr "å være i slet humør?" For eksempel: “hun var i meget slet humör”
  43. A

    Norwegian/Danish: å slå an

    Hva betyr "å slå an på?" Jeg fant det i denne setningen her: "Gamle hilsen slaar ogsaa an paa tysk" Old greetings also work in German(?)
  44. A

    Norwegian/Danish: Knuden er den; sagen er den

    I'm curious if "knuden er den..." means the same as "sagen er den..." ("saken er den"), as in, "the thing is..." Here is how the phrases appear in an 1877 letter: “Sagen er den, at jeg af visse Grunde maatte bestemme mig til at reise fra Kr.a för den almindelige Tid, saa det tog mye Tid, inden...
  45. J

    Norwegian: skal bli og vil være?

    hei jeg vil vet hvis jeg skulle bruk jeg skal bli og jeg vil være. Jeg tror at det er skal bli når jeg er sikker det ville skje. Og jeg burde bruk vil være når jeg er sikker men det er en valg jeg har gjort uten være sikker at det vil skje. Unnskyld hvis norsken min er misligholde.
  46. A

    Norwegian/Danish: lyd (penger)

    What is Lyd? From an 1877 Norwegian letter: For Sikkerheds Skyld vedlægger jeg 5 Lyd til Tusen hermed.
  47. A

    Norwegian/Danish: hæver

    I'm having trouble with translating a line from a Norwegian letter (1877). Skulde Du derimed af en eller anden Grund behöve at jeg hæver Vexelen og sender Dig Belöbet, maa Du give mig skriftlig fuldmagt da jeg eller ikke vil kunne faa den hævet. Should you thus for some reason need me to...
  48. M

    Language tags now in the Nordic Languages forum

    Hi everybody, I am pleased to announce that we now have "language tags" for use in this forum. In this forum, we have always put the language in the title of the thread. Starting now, we will also add a language tag to the thread using a drop-down menu. The menu has a list of the most popular...
  49. Hans Molenslag

    all Nordic languages: plötslig punktering

    Hej! Vad heter det när ett däck plötsligt går sönder under färden och smäller som ett gevärsskott på grund av lufttrycket? Jag tänker i synnerhet på cykeldäck om det gör någon skillnad. På nederländska heter det klapband (klappen, smälla, knalla + band, däck) och på engelska kallas det för tyre...
  50. N

    All Nordic languages: dative of interest/free dative "for him/on him"

    Hello everyobdy. I'd like to say if there is a way to translate the dative of interest in Nordic Germanic languages. I read that in Old Norse this construction was possible, for example: á knýit ðér og man yðr verða upp lokit "and the door will be opened for you". Dative of advantage: She...
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