tat i felten

English translation: conscripted

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Norwegian term or phrase:tat i felten
English translation:conscripted
Entered by: ohemulen

03:00 Aug 19, 2004
Norwegian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History
Norwegian term or phrase: tat i felten
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."
Tara Chace
United States
Local time: 04:57
conscripted
Explanation:
In the context of prospective war, I'd say he's afraid of being conscripted.
Selected response from:

ohemulen
France
Local time: 12:57
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4pressed into service, conscripted
Richard Lawson
2 +1conscripted
ohemulen


  

Answers


3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
conscripted


Explanation:
In the context of prospective war, I'd say he's afraid of being conscripted.

ohemulen
France
Local time: 12:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish, Native in FinnishFinnish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Paul Larkin (X)
1 hr
  -> Thank you!
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
pressed into service, conscripted


Explanation:
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"

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Note added at 3 days 6 hrs 29 mins (2004-08-22 09:29:59 GMT) Post-grading
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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...\".

Richard Lawson
Local time: 12:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading 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.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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
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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.



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