Nordic Languages Thread

[Sunflower]

Wow, you're surprisingly observant and not too far from the general idea (about Iceland being out of control). Blytt was a biologist anyhow, samt means "as well as".

I'm surprised by the number of lurkers around here.

Thanks for the compliment (though maybe it's better as a warning about nosy eavesdroppers...)
1) I am a former investigative journalist
2) ...trying to earn a living as a market researcher, someone who spots patterns in large quantities of info for a living
3) ...full of curiosity and fond of puzzles, and
4) ...know just enough about Germanic languages and word origins to be dangerous.

I will have to Google Dr. Blytt and his theories.  There are a lot of other proposed historical/legendary explanations in that vein, e.g. that the eruption of Santorini/Thera in the Aegean in ~1400 BC destroyed the high Minoan culture (a/k/a "Atlantis") and fueled a lot of Old Testament stories about "a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night," etc.

[olavi]

Vad intressant tema! Uh, att skriva svenska känns som att starta en gammal bil. Det kommer att ta en stund innan man kör i motorvägen. Jag hoppas att ni kan förstå mig trots alla felen (och att den här är inte norska eller danska. Jag kan läsa dem, men inte skriva heller.)

Jag hade inte hört om fimbulvintern, även om jag trodde att jag visste grunderna i nordisk mytologin. Det är inte ovanlig för att man relaterar sin tiden i sådan sätt när man talar om religion eller skriver religiösa texter. Är Fimbulvarg rollfiguren i denna saga eller har du uppfann det namnet själv? Wikipedia säger fimbul betyder mäktig (eller nån likadan), så är du en mäktig ulv?

Translation: Swedish after 10 years of silence is kinda hard. I too enjoy reading about apocalyptic winters. Does Flimbulvarg mean just a great wolf or is there something more to it?

[Fimbulvarg]

Thanks for the compliment (though maybe it's better as a warning about nosy eavesdroppers...)
1) I am a former investigative journalist

I will have to Google Dr. Blytt and his theories.  There are a lot of other proposed historical/legendary explanations in that vein, e.g. that the eruption of Santorini/Thera in the Aegean in ~1400 BC destroyed the high Minoan culture (a/k/a "Atlantis") and fueled a lot of Old Testament stories about "a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night," etc.

Maybe we'll hire you to conduct investigations into the more mysterious forumers when our secret santa project gets rolling. Detective Sunflower on the case.

There are loads of intriguing theories about the role of climate in pivotal historical events, which is reasonable because climate is so important to human civilization. Some speculate that Iceland is one of the chief culprit behind the french revolution because a volcanic eruption might have reduced the European degree days and caused the famine that inflamed anti-royalist sentiments among the peasantry. Some also link the European Little Ice Age (16th-18th century) to the black death and the large-scale cessation of European agriculture when the peasant stock was decimated by the plague. The very same Little Ice Age drove the viking descendants away from Greenland. History and climate have very interesting links.

Jag hade inte hört om fimbulvintern, även om jag trodde att jag visste grunderna i nordisk mytologin. Det är inte ovanlig för att man relaterar sin tiden i sådan sätt när man talar om religion eller skriver religiösa texter. Är Fimbulvarg rollfiguren i denna saga eller har du uppfann det namnet själv? Wikipedia säger fimbul betyder mäktig (eller nån likadan), så är du en mäktig ulv?

Navnet er ganske vilkårlig, jeg ville ha et nordisk navn og kom på strategispillet Age of Mythology hvor fimbulvinteren kan sette inn og fimbul-ulver dukker opp for å gjøre ugagn. Jeg tror det er innspirert av den nå utdødde jättevargen som levde under istiden (dire wolf), og som du helt riktig sier betyr fimbul mektig/skrekkelig/voldsom på norrønt. Fimbulvinter betyr dermed mektig eller voldsom vinter.
Enkelte er over gjennomsnittet interessert i ulver av forskjellige årsaker, det er jeg i utgangspunktet ikke =P. Ulver er flotte dyr, men alle dyr er flotte.

[ruth]

hej alla, jättebra nyheter! från och med idag har jag och min sambo flygbiljetter till island i sommar. vi ska gå i juni, så...jag antar att det är tur för att börja lära mig islenska!

heisann, kjempebra nyheter! per (?) i dag har jeg og min sambo flygbilletter till island i sommer. vi kommer till gå i juni, så...jeg antar å det er tur for å starte lære mig islenska!

hæ alla, ég er með frábæra frétta! eins og í dag eru ég og kærasta mín með miða til íslands í sumar. við erum að fara í júní, þannig...ég ætti að læra íslensku nú!

hey everyone, great news! as of today my partner and i have tickets to iceland this summer. we're going in june, so i guess it's time for me to start learning icelandic! (and by the way, all help with the norwegian is appreciated! it's mostly just me trying to respell swedish in the norwegian way right now...)

Vad intressant tema! Uh, att skriva svenska känns som att starta en gammal bil. Det kommer att ta en stund innan man kör i motorvägen. Jag hoppas att ni kan förstå mig trots alla felen (och att den här är inte norska eller danska. Jag kan läsa dem, men inte skriva heller.)

jag kan förstå dig enkelt! för mig är det fast nog bättre att du använder svenska istället för norska eller danska.

[olavi]

hej alla, jättebra nyheter! från och med idag har jag och min sambo flygbiljetter till island i sommar. vi ska gå i juni, så...jag antar att det är tur för att börja lära mig islenska!

heisann, kjempebra nyheter! per (?) i dag har jeg og min sambo flygbilletter till island i sommer. vi kommer till gå i juni, så...jeg antar å det er tur for å starte lære mig islenska!

hæ alla, ég er með frábæra frétta! eins og í dag eru ég og kærasta mín með miða til íslands í sumar. við erum að fara í júní, þannig...ég ætti að læra íslensku nú!

hey everyone, great news! as of today my partner and i have tickets to iceland this summer. we're going in june, so i guess it's time for me to start learning icelandic! (and by the way, all help with the norwegian is appreciated! it's mostly just me trying to respell swedish in the norwegian way right now...)

jag kan förstå dig enkelt! för mig är det fast nog bättre att du använder svenska istället för norska eller danska.

:sweden: Snygg! Hur ska du lära dig språket? Jag har bara börjat lära islenska också och vill vet vad skulle vara bästa sättet att göra det. Jag ögnade en bok "Colloquial Icelandic" men jag tycker det hade dåliga strukturen. Det var inte klar vad man ska lära när index var bara teman av diskussioner i olika situationer.

Islands universitet har en kurs på nätet. Man måste registera sig men det är gratis. Jag har inte testat den här saijten men jag tror det skulle vara bra när universitetet tillverkade den.

:uk: What's the best way to learn Icelandic? At first glance "Colloquial Icelandic" seemed to have too vague structure. The University of Iceland has an online course which seems promising, but I haven't tried it yet.

[ruth]

:sweden: Snygg! Hur ska du lära dig språket? Jag har bara börjat lära islenska också och vill vet vad skulle vara bästa sättet att göra det. Jag ögnade en bok "Colloquial Icelandic" men jag tycker det hade dåliga strukturen. Det var inte klar vad man ska lära när index var bara teman av diskussioner i olika situationer.

Islands universitet har en kurs på nätet. Man måste registera sig men det är gratis. Jag har inte testat den här saijten men jag tror det skulle vara bra när universitetet tillverkade den.

:uk: What's the best way to learn Icelandic? At first glance "Colloquial Icelandic" seemed to have too vague structure. The University of Iceland has an online course which seems promising, but I haven't tried it yet.

:sweden: åh hej, det är ett snyggt handlaget för att särskilja språken. jag tycker att jag ska stjäla och använda det också alltså, gällande hur man kan bäst lära sig isländska (skenbar är det den riktiga stavningen, men det ser så klantigt ut!), jag har börjat nyss med universitets kursen. hittills har det varit bestämt användbar. inte så bra som, jag vet inte, babbel eller duolingo eller nåt liknande, men bättre än allt annars.

:iceland: (åh skit, det här ska vara roligt...) ó, það er gott handaband til að greina tungumálin! ég held að ég stela og nota það líka svo, um hvernig er best að læra íslensku, ég hef byrjaði með námskeiði háskólins. svo langt það hefur verið sérlega gagnlegt. ekki eins góð og babbel eða duolingo eða eitthvað svipað, en það er betra en nokkuð annað.

:uk: oh hey, that's a cute way to separate the languages. i think i'm going to steal that and use it myself! so anyway, regarding the best way to learn icelandic, i've started to use university of iceland's course. so far it's definitely been useful. not as good as, i dunno, babbel or duolingo or something like that, but since nobody else has it, it's much better than anything else available.

[Sunflower]

So cute when Sigrun calls Tuuri "little pal" on p. 218!  What would that be in Norwegian?
How about "Stubby"?

[Fenris]

So cute when Sigrun calls Tuuri "little pal" on p. 218!  What would that be in Norwegian?
How about "Stubby"?

"Lille venn" for "Little pal". "Stubby" I'm unsure about. "Lubben" (chubby) or possibly "Butt" (stumpy)? Neither works very well as a nickname, though, so perhaps something like "Lubbeliten" (chubby-small, which sounds more nickname-esque in Norwegian).

[Fimbulvarg]

"Lille venn" for "Little pal". "Stubby" I'm unsure about. "Lubben" (chubby) or possibly "Butt" (stumpy)? Neither works very well as a nickname, though, so perhaps something like "Lubbeliten" (chubby-small, which sounds more nickname-esque in Norwegian).

This one is a bit challenging because there are really not many words for it. Maybe "stumpen" (the stump).

Also "Lille venn" is very endearing, maybe "lille kompis" (little buddy). It's an amusing thought to imagine her calling Tuuri her "tjommis" (chomie).

[Sunflower]

Ooo!  Great answers from *two* Norwegians!  Thank you!

How about when Sigrun addresses Emil as "...my right-hand warrior"?

And what do you think she'll call Lalli?  "Kitty"? "Skinny"?  She's already called him "my little mage," but he didn't seem to like that.

[Fimbulvarg]

Ooo!  Great answers from *two* Norwegians!  Thank you!

How about when Sigrun addresses Emil as "...my right-hand warrior"?

And what do you think she'll call Lalli?  "Kitty"? "Skinny"?  She's already called him "my little mage," but he didn't seem to like that.

I suppose she'd use a literal translation: "min høyrehånds-kriger" (warrior of my right hand/my right hand-warrior)

My little mage would probably be "min lille magiker/trollmann" (my little magician/wizard). Kitty is a bit tricky. It could be "kattunge" (Cat-youngling/kittycat), which is a bit unwieldy to throw around casually. There's also "pus" which is related to English puss, but that would be a bit strange because I've only ever heard married adults call one another that. Maybe "nøstet" (skein) which is something one often calls small cute things like kittens.

Skinny is also tricky because the norwegian translations only occur as adjectives. There's "rekel" and "bengel" (a person, usually male, who's long and looks emaciated and flimsy),

I should point out that I'm pretty sure that Minna writes her manusscript using English phrases. I've never noticed anything in Sigrun's lines that I've felt to be inspired by actual Norwegian phrases. So in other words the only translations we can provide are adaptions that look and feel appropriate.

[olavi]

:sweden: åh hej, det är ett snyggt handlaget för att särskilja språken. jag tycker att jag ska stjäla och använda det också alltså, gällande hur man kan bäst lära sig isländska (skenbar är det den riktiga stavningen, men det ser så klantigt ut!), jag har börjat nyss med universitets kursen. hittills har det varit bestämt användbar. inte så bra som, jag vet inte, babbel eller duolingo eller nåt liknande, men bättre än allt annars.

:sweden: Haha, isländska är ju rätt... jag undrar hur islenska slank in i huvudet. Det där ser ut mer som konstig isländska. Därför att vi nu använder fem olika språken, jag tycker att flaggorna skulle hjälpa ut de som kan inte uppfatta genast vilken språk man läser och vill översätta. Vi ses om praktiken ska bli populär.

:uk: I think the flags might make reading and translating a bit easier for those who can't differentiate immediately between the 5 languages used in this thread. Vote with your actions and we'll see whether the practice will catch on.

[ruth]

:sweden: Haha, isländska är ju rätt... jag undrar hur islenska slank in i huvudet. Det där ser ut mer som konstig isländska. Därför att vi nu använder fem olika språken, jag tycker att flaggorna skulle hjälpa ut de som kan inte uppfatta genast vilken språk man läser och vill översätta. Vi ses om praktiken ska bli populär.

:uk: I think the flags might make reading and translating a bit easier for those who can't differentiate immediately between the 5 languages used in this thread. Vote with your actions and we'll see whether the practice will catch on.

:sweden: jag tycker att det har med hur man säger det på isländksa att göra. gällande den svenska stavningen jag skulla tycka att det kommer från tyska liksom flera andra ord. på tyska stavningen är "isländisch", då ser vi "isländska" på sverige, "islandsk" på norge, "íslendskt" på färöarna (lite närmare!) och slutligen "íslenska" på island.

:uk: i think it has to do with how one says it in icelandic. regarding the swedish spelling, i think it could come from german, like a lot of other words. in german it's spelled "isländisch", then we have "isländska" in swedish, "islandsk" in norwegian, "íslendskt" in faroese (a bit closer!) and finally "íslenska" in icelandic.

[kjeks]

Utfor Tjøtta i Omd budde ein mann som heite Eitil, fyrste son av Torgeir Ragnarsson. Mor til  Eitil døydde før Eitil var eldre enn to vintrar, og far hans måtte stelle med ham åleine. Eitil vaks til ein jøkul av ein mann, og vart kjend som Fimbulskælfa, for han var høgare og sterkare enn nokon mann i Omd, og det vart sagt at han fekk det til å skjelve i jorda kvar helst han gjekk.

I tried hard, then I got stuck but luckily I discovered that nynorsk would help on some parts so here my attempt of translation:
Near Tjøtta in Omd lived a man called Eitil, first son of Torgeir Ragnarssoin. Eitil's mother died before Eitil turned two winters old and his father had to care for him on his own. Eitil grew into a "mountain of a man" and was as popular as Fimbulskælfa, because he was bigger and stronger than any other man in Omd. (And) It was said, that the earth seemed to tremble where he liked to walk.

The last part was the hardest and still I'm not quite sure what "han fekk det til å skjelve i jorda kvar helst han gjekk" really means. Is it some kind of really old grammar or a passive construct?

[ruth]

I tried hard, then I got stuck but luckily I discovered that nynorsk would help on some parts so here my attempt of translation:
Near Tjøtta in Omd lived a man called Eitil, first son of Torgeir Ragnarssoin. Eitil's mother died before Eitil turned two winters old and his father had to care for him on his own. Eitil grew into a "mountain of a man" and was as popular as Fimbulskælfa, because he was bigger and stronger than any other man in Omd. (And) It was said, that the earth seemed to tremble where he liked to walk.

The last part was the hardest and still I'm not quite sure what "han fekk det til å skjelve i jorda kvar helst han gjekk" really means. Is it some kind of really old grammar or a passive construct?

just going off of what i know here (which is swedish), but i read that as :sweden: "han fick det till att skälva i jorda kvar helst han gick," which i'd translate as "he made the earth shake wherever he liked to go." so your translation seems to capture that pretty well. i'm not sure what you struggled with, but 'få till' means 'to make sth. so' or 'to cause sth. to happen,' which tripped me up for a moment.