Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Norwegian term or phrase:
tat i felten
English translation:
conscripted
Added to glossary by
ohemulen
Aug 19, 2004 03:00
19 yrs ago
Norwegian term
United States
Reliable quality, attention to detail
Native in: English
Works in: Swedish to English, Danish to English, Norwegian to English
tat i felten
Norwegian to English
Art/Literary
History
From a man's personal letter written in Boston in 1898 home to his wife and kids in Norway:
[He writes that it's hard to find work as a sailor and that it looks like the U.S. and Spain may go to war] and then "Jeg er for saa vidt frisk og rask nu men jeg har veret skrekkeligt forkjölet siden jeg kom til Boston og forresten er dette et daarligt clima for en sjugling som mig saa dere behöver at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten men det var ikke om mig at jeg vilde skrive men om dig."
[He writes that it's hard to find work as a sailor and that it looks like the U.S. and Spain may go to war] and then "Jeg er for saa vidt frisk og rask nu men jeg har veret skrekkeligt forkjölet siden jeg kom til Boston og forresten er dette et daarligt clima for en sjugling som mig saa dere behöver at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten men det var ikke om mig at jeg vilde skrive men om dig."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 2 +1 | conscripted |
ohemulen
|
| 4 | pressed into service, conscripted |
Richard Lawson
|
Proposed translations
+1
3 hrs
Selected
conscripted
In the context of prospective war, I'd say he's afraid of being conscripted.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you!"
3 hrs
pressed into service, conscripted
Declined
I think there is an "ikke" missing here:
"dette et daarligt clima for en sjugling som mig saa dere behöver IKKE at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten" - "this is a poor climate for a sickly person such as me, so you need have no fear that I will be pressed into service"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days 6 hrs 29 mins (2004-08-22 09:29:59 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
I still think that \"dere behöver at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten\" is a most unlikely (and unidiomatic) construction. If this is what he meant, he would have been much more likely to have written something like \"jeg er redd for hvordan det kan gå med meg hvis ...\". \"You need to be worried about me\" is a very odd thing to say, especially in the circumstances, where it is hardly likely that an emigrant writing home to Norway would want to increase people\'s anxiety as to how it was going with him. If the letter is correctly quoted, I am inclined to believe that the writer meant to write \"dere behöver IKKE at frygte...\".
"dette et daarligt clima for en sjugling som mig saa dere behöver IKKE at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten" - "this is a poor climate for a sickly person such as me, so you need have no fear that I will be pressed into service"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days 6 hrs 29 mins (2004-08-22 09:29:59 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
I still think that \"dere behöver at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten\" is a most unlikely (and unidiomatic) construction. If this is what he meant, he would have been much more likely to have written something like \"jeg er redd for hvordan det kan gå med meg hvis ...\". \"You need to be worried about me\" is a very odd thing to say, especially in the circumstances, where it is hardly likely that an emigrant writing home to Norway would want to increase people\'s anxiety as to how it was going with him. If the letter is correctly quoted, I am inclined to believe that the writer meant to write \"dere behöver IKKE at frygte...\".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Terry Arness
35 mins
|
| disagree |
LinguaLab.net
: i am not sure there is an "ikke" missing; he might fear that he will be drafted, and that he will fall seriously ill as his health is already poor. not sure they let people off that easily back then! ;o) I don't disagree with the translation of the term.
1 hr
|
Comment: "I thought there might be an "ikke" missing at first, but I think since he said "jeg er for saa vidt frisk og rask nu... saa dere behöver at frygte at jeg bliver tat i felten..." that he really did mean they should be worried about his being conscripted. "
Something went wrong...