# Norwegian: placing emphasis on one's location rather than action



## David1989

Hello,

I'm not certain as to how Norwegians usually write sentences such as these: I'm at the library studying.  I'm on the computer looking up an article.  I know I can say "Jeg studerer på biblioteket" "Jeg ser etter en artikkel på datamaskinen" but I want to put emphasis on where I'm at instead of the action.  What is the best way to translate sentences such as those?  Are there any words you have to add instead of simply changing the word order?

Tusen takk.


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## myšlenka

David1989 said:


> [...]but I want to put emphasis on where I'm at instead of the action.  What is the best way to translate sentences such as those?  Are there any words you have to add instead of simply changing the word order?


What is the strategy in English?


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## sjiraff

På biblioteket studerer jeg og slår opp en artikkel på dataen?


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## raumar

David, you can translate this kind of English sentences almost directly. Just add "og" before the second verb.

"I'm at the library studying" is "Jeg er på biblioteket og leser" (or "... og skriver en oppgave", or whatever you do there.) "Å studere" (without an object) usually means "to be a student", as in "Jeg studerer ved Universitetet i Oslo". It can also mean "scrutinize", but then you need an object ("Han studerte dokumentet"). Sjiraff,  "På biblioteket studerer jeg" is more like "At the library I study". 

For "I'm on the computer looking up an article", I would say "Jeg er på nettet og ser etter en artikkel". I would not translate "I'm on the computer" directly; I think "I'm online" works better in Norwegian. But if you need to translate "the computer", I would use "PCen". "Datamaskinen" is fine, but maybe not something you would say in everyday speech. I'm afraid "dataen" looks odd to me.


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## David1989

Thank you raumar.


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## myšlenka

raumar said:


> David, you can translate this kind of English sentences almost directly. Just add "og" before the second verb.
> 
> "I'm at the library studying" is "Jeg er på biblioteket og leser" [...]


Raumar, how is this adding emphasis to the location rather than the action? A mechanism where making the _verb phrase_ heavier results in emphasis on a non-verbal constituent seems very unlikely to me.


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## Dan2

David1989 said:


> I want to put emphasis on where I'm at instead of the action.





myšlenka said:


> What is the strategy in English?


David is starting from the assumption that "I'm studying at the library" and "I'm at the library studying" mean essentially the same thing but that the first puts emphasis on the action while the second puts emphasis on the location.  So for him, the "strategy" is changing the word order.

But I don't _think _I agree with David's analysis.  For ex., his friend phones, suggests an activity, and David says "Can't do it - I'm studying".  Friend: "Oh so you're home".  David: "No, I'm studying at the library".  The emphasis here is clearly on library.  I think _either _of his sentences can quite naturally emphasize _either _location or activity.

I actually agree with raumar's view of things.  Forget the issue of emphasis.  "I'm at the library studying" really means "I'm at the library and I'm studying" and thus is well translated by "... og leser".


myšlenka said:


> Raumar, how is this adding emphasis to the location rather than the action?


Again, I think that's a non-issue.

Anyway, that's how I see it.  I'm open to other views.

Dan


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## myšlenka

Dan2 said:


> I actually agree with raumar's view of things.  Forget the issue of emphasis.  "I'm at the library studying" really means "I'm at the library and I'm studying" and thus is well translated by "... og leser".


Ah, then it makes sense


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## sjiraff

Not to hijack David's thread but, since it's also said for example "jeg øver meg på norsk", would it sound right to say "Jeg øver meg på biblioteket", or maybe "jeg får repitert (på et fag) på biblioteket"?

Although now I'm wondering if saying "øve seg på biblioteket" makes it sound like you're saying "i'm revising the library" rather than "at". Hmmm.


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## myšlenka

sjiraff said:


> Not to hijack David's thread but, since it's also said for example "jeg øver meg på norsk", would it sound right to say "Jeg øver meg på biblioteket", or maybe "jeg får repitert (på et fag) på biblioteket"?
> 
> Although now I'm wondering if saying "øve seg på biblioteket" makes it sound like you're saying "i'm revising the library" rather than "at". Hmmm.


I am afraid the use of _øve_ in this context sounds a little awkward. _Øve_, at least the way I understand it, denotes a (mechanical) repetition of something rather than expanding your knowledge.


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## raumar

Dan2 said:


> David is starting from the assumption that "I'm studying at the library" and "I'm at the library studying" mean essentially the same thing but that the first puts emphasis on the action while the second puts emphasis on the location.  So for him, the "strategy" is changing the word order.
> 
> But I don't _think _I agree with David's analysis.  For ex., his friend phones, suggests an activity, and David says "Can't do it - I'm studying".  Friend: "Oh so you're home".  David: "No, I'm studying at the library".  The emphasis here is clearly on library.  I think _either _of his sentences can quite naturally emphasize _either _location or activity.



Thanks for the explanation, Dan! This example makes sense. But on the other hand, wouldn't the word order imply emphasis (as David writes) - unless the context suggests a different emphasis? 



David1989 said:


> I'm not certain as to how Norwegians usually write sentences such as these: I'm at the library studying.  I'm on the computer looking up an article.  I know I can say "Jeg studerer på biblioteket" "Jeg ser etter en artikkel på datamaskinen"



I forgot to mention that there is another problem here: We don't have the distinction between "I study" and "I am studying" in Norwegian. That means that "_Jeg leser/studerer på biblioteket_" is problematic as a translation of "I'm studying at the library", because it is ambiguous. It means either that you are studying at the library right now, or that you usually study at the library. If you want to make it clear that you are studying now, and you want to put "the library" at the end of the sentence, I think the best option is "_Jeg sitter og leser på biblioteket_".



sjiraff said:


> since it's also said for example "jeg øver meg på norsk", would it sound right to say "Jeg øver meg på biblioteket", or maybe "jeg får repitert (på et fag) på biblioteket"?



No, I agree with myšlenka. "_Øve (seg)_" is closer to "practise" or "rehearse". Regarding "_rep*e*tere_", it is true that it can mean "revise (for an exam)". But I don't think it is much used. It is many years since I went to school now, but we always said "_lese til eksamen_". Or "_pugge_", if we were memorizing something.


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## myšlenka

raumar said:


> But on the other hand, wouldn't the word order imply emphasis (as David writes) - unless the context suggests a different emphasis?
> [...]


Emphasis in both Norwegian and English is usually expressed through pitch. Word order itself is not a very good means to express this given that both languages have a fairly rigid word order. Assuming that the word order does imply emphasis, we would first of all also have to assume that "I am at the library reading" and "I am reading at the library" are structurally the same. That is not the case. Second, a rule for emphasis based on word order would be too _ad hoc_ and thus not applicable enough to point to a generalization.


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## sjiraff

Ah I see now, good explainations chaps.


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