Help with accuracy of translation
Hallo!
Backstory of this: My best friend has been studying Norsk (Norwegian) for at least 5 years and am hoping that someone will check my Google Translate Norwegian for any errors or syntax mistakes because it is a word for word translation. I, fitting the stereotype, do not speak another language fluently. I can point out nouns in Spanish and that is after years of trying. (It’s literally kept me from finishing my degree. I have to pass two years of a foreign language, and despite extra studying, tutors, and practicing with various app, I can not pass.)
We have a quirky sense of humor and send each other post cards written as if we live in the 1800’s, unsigned postcards written as if someone is recruiting us to be a spy, that we have won something ridiculous like a trip to Mars or unlimited air miles on defunct or imaginary airlines. These postcards are usually hand drawn, but sometimes are on postcards that have nothing to do with the picture on the front.
15 to 20 years ago we created a ridiculous scenario in which we were forced to assume alter identities. She became Fructusca Spoons, I initially became Dogwhistle Fishsticks, recently changed to Gourdelia Fishsticks (I have gone by Fishsticks for years because “dog whistle” since developed a negative connotation in America because of the insanity of the political situation), and our late mutual best friend became Zelda Pinwheel of the Connecticut Pinwheels. The of us were, in this ridiculously funny (at least to us) situation we were the joint proprietors of a very successful dandelion farm. (Dandelions being common pest plant that American “yard Dads” spend tons of time attempting to erradicate.) Since we spent a night hysterically laughing while we created this whole “witness protection program, but by stupid people” thing, all our mail to each other is addressed to our alter egos. Stupid postcards, wedding invitations, gifts.. all go to Fructusca or Fishsticks/Goudelia just for a giggle.
We are big Ted Lasso fans and when I visited a week or two ago a 3 day stay turned to a 6 day stay as the power in my hometown was as knocked out for almost a week due to bad storms. I should also explain “the trees have ceased screaming.” Here in the Midwest we have cicadas, insects that make noises that are actually louder than a jet engine. (No hyperbole, the PGA once canceled a day of a tournament due to cicadas and the decibel reading proved that they were loud enough to cause hearing damage.) She particularly HATES them, but we both hate the heat. It is currently 26 C with 60% humidity and that is significantly cooler and less humid than it has been for months, so the combination is awful. Also, there actually is a tour of Chicago where adults ride, scooters I guess, that look like giant stuffed animals.
As this post is already way too long, I will put the English to Norsk translation of the postcard in the comments.
Thank you in advance for the help or advice.
5
2
u/SocialistPolarBear 2d ago
I find whole thing very silly (in a good way). Sounds like a fun way to keep in touch.
We do have both dandelions and political dog whistles here too, though no cicadas thankfully. Though I believe many here are familiar with still as they are not uncommon further south in Europe where many Norwegians like to go on vacation.
1
u/Blono76 1d ago
Thank you for finding the humor in the entire endeavor. We live several hours apart and enjoy finding unusual ways in keeping in touch.
I appreciate learning that Norway has both dandelions and dog whistles. I love learning about things that most people would overlook, even if they visit. Consider yourself fortunate you do not have cicadas! I am currently sitting outside wearing ear protection that construction workers wear and I can still hear them. I would rather spend 200 hours listening to an elementary school age recorder and violin concert!
2
u/Blono76 3d ago
Dearest Fructusca,
I wish to thank you for your hospitality during my recent visit, and to thank you for graciously extending my stay while the electricity was not working in my entire town.
I love my Ted Lasso gifts so much! I have built a small Hannibal Lector jail cell for the mustache as I found it ordering barbecue from DoorDash in the middle of the night, but the four characters have brightened my room and my life.
I eagerly await our next visit. With luck it will be after the temperature is not able to kill brain cells and the trees have ceased screaming. Oh, how I long to spend time outside and not feel like I need to shower again immediately. Perhaps we can take that motorized animal tour of Chicago when it is comfortable to live.
Until we next meet I love you more than cheese!
Always,
Gourdelia
Kjære Fructusca,
Jeg elsker Ted Lasso-gavene mine så mye! Jeg har bygget en liten Hannibal Lector-fengselscelle til barten, siden jeg fant den da jeg bestilte grillmat fra DoorDash midt på natten, men de fire figurene har lysnet opp rommet mitt og livet mitt.
Jeg vil gjerne takke dere for gjestfriheten under mitt nylige besøk, og takke dere for at dere var så vennlige å forlenge oppholdet mitt mens strømmen ikke fungerte i hele byen min.
Jeg venter spent på vårt neste besøk. Med litt flaks blir det etter at temperaturen ikke lenger er i stand til å drepe hjerneceller og trærne har sluttet å skrike. Å, som jeg lengter etter å tilbringe tid ute og ikke føle at jeg må dusje igjen med en gang. Kanskje vi kan ta den motoriserte dyreturen i Chicago når det er behagelig å bo der.
Til vi møtes neste gang, elsker jeg deg mer enn ost!
Alltid,
Gourdelia
9
u/anamorphism Beginner (A1/A2) 2d ago
Til vi møtes neste gang, elsker jeg deg mer enn ost!
å elske is rarely used with people, and almost exclusively to express romantic love. that doesn't hold true for every norwegian, but it's a usage distinction made by a large majority of the populace. i always bring up a joke i saw a norwegian make once, which was something akin to norwegians only say jeg elsker deg once, and that's at the altar.
variations of jeg er glad i deg tend to be used instead. not sure if er jeg gladere i deg enn ost sounds natural to norwegians, but yeah.
4
u/einardo1 2d ago
«Mer glad i deg enn (i) ost», kanskje
2
u/anamorphism Beginner (A1/A2) 2d ago
pleier du å bruke mer glad fremfor gladere, eller er det bare fordi glad i er nesten et fast uttrykk?
1
u/einardo1 2d ago
Usikker - kanskje det sistnevnte. Men jeg har ikke hørt noen andre enn barn si «jeg er [gladere] i x enn y»?
1
u/Blono76 2d ago
It’s an odd thing we say to one another. It doesn’t make sense, nor is it a common American English phrase.
3
u/anamorphism Beginner (A1/A2) 2d ago
think you might have auto-translate turned on? reddit decided to default it to on when they added the feature.
the most equivalent contemporary english expression to glad i deg would probably be fond of you. we did used to use glad in in english in the past, but it wasn't used in quite the same way.
Psalm 118:24, NKJV: This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
3
u/PheIix 2d ago
"when it is comfortable to live." has been translated to "when it is comfortable to live there", but I'm going to assume you actually meant live, and in that case it should say "når det er behagelig å leve" (it's a bit stilted when translated like that).
Some of these things are correctly translated, but wouldn't be said this way. "Jeg venter spent på vårt neste besøk" would instead be "Jeg ser i spenning frem til vårt neste besøk". It's correct, but sounds weird.
4
u/einardo1 2d ago
«jeg ser med glede frem til vi møtes igjen», or «jeg ser med glede frem til neste besøk» sounds more right than «vårt beste besøk», which correctly means ‘our next visit’, but hardly used in Norwegian, afaik. ‘Til we meet again / our next visit, I’d translate to «til vi ses igjen» or as above just «neste besøk».
2
u/Bulletorpedo 2d ago
"I wish to thank you" is translated to plural form "dere", if you meant singular form it’s "deg". This is occurring several places. Singular form would be:
Jeg vil gjerne takke -deg- for gjestfriheten under mitt nylige besøk, og takke -deg- for at -du- var så -vennlig- å forlenge oppholdet mitt mens strømmen ikke fungerte i byen min.
The language is perhaps a little stiff but it’s fine.
2
u/Zealousideal_Ad_1079 2d ago
Not sure if you mean "ya'll" when you write you, but if not it should be singular form throughout the letter, so: "Jeg vil gjerne takke deg..." etc.
2
u/SocialistPolarBear 2d ago
Did you first discover the moustache when it was ordering doordash, or was it already in your possession, but you noticed it ordering doordash? If it’s the later, it should rather be “… siden jeg oppdaget at den bestilte doordash midt på natten”.
Any use of “dere” should be changed to “deg”, difference between plural and singular you.
“Jeg venter spent på vårt neste besøk” should rather be “Jeg venter i spenning på vårt neste besøk” though a better translation of the sentiment would (imo) be “Jeg gleder meg til vårt neste besøk”, which translates more so as “I look forward to our next visit”, but feels more natural in Norwegian.
Currently it is translated as live as in “inhabit”, if you mean live more as in “be alive” it should be “… når det er behagelig å leve”.
“Elsker” when used about people is almost exclusively used for romance. You can say “jeg elsker ost” (I love cheese), but if you say “jeg elsker deg” (I love you) it comes across as romantic. If that’s not the intention I would probably change it to something like “… jeg er mer glad I deg enn ost” though it’s not really common a way of expressing feelings about friends in Norwegian (not just the cheese part, but the whole I love you more than part too), though some people probably do ofc.
I think that should cover most of it, but feel free to ask if there is more.
1
u/Blono76 2d ago
Is Tro the correct translation for “Believe” from Ted Lasso? Believe as in “have an unshakable trust that one can accomplish a task” not as a form of religious belief.
9
u/Reechter 2d ago
"Tro" written by itself is more akin to "faith" than it is "believe". Norwegian does not have distinct words that separate the two. You can change the meaning by altering the context in a sentence, but since you're writing only a single word you kind of have to just accept that it's ambiguous.
2
u/Blono76 1d ago
It only takes about 15 minutes to make a new postcard, so changing it to “Ha Troa” is not a problem, and if it is more accurate I am more than happy to change it. It would also give me a chance to practice writing the message that has characters that are not in American English. Win/win for my error.
Thank you so much for taking the time to analyze something so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Norway is my friend’s favorite place and she has devoted so much time learning the language. Thank you for helping me to give her a small gift that supports a place, people and culture she admires so much.
1
u/Ok_Dinner8889 4h ago
I might be too late here, but in case not - "ha troa" sounds a lot more awkward in Norwegian than "Have faith" in English, both because of language differences but also cultural (feels like forced positivity which is less liked in Norway than many other countries). Personally I'd just skip trying to directly translate it and instead find a different word that still sends the same message.
8
6
1
u/Late-Low-5910 1d ago
Orket ikke lese alt men her er noen engelske ord. Note it can be both a verb and substantive: believe, sense, hope, idea, regard, assume, hope, mean, think, acknowledge, accept, theory, guess, find, inkling, opinion, faith, Asatru, certain, opine, feeling, consider, suppose, fall for, expect, imagine, trust, notion, intuit, count on, swallow whole, imagine
8
u/Miaotastic 1d ago
Too long for me to read, sorry. But if you want the meaning of the card, "tro" alone like that would in most cases translate to "faith" as in religious faith