# Norwegian:  Men det var og bruk i greiner og kvister



## girecole

Hello, and thank you for any help you can give.  The context of this phrase is as follows:

"Eit år rodde far bortom fjorden og hogg ved i Agjels-marka eller Holen.  Han frakta stokkane him bundne atti båten.  Men det var og bruk i greiner og kvister--til dømes under vasskjelen i grua eller under steikehella.  Far hadde bunta saman dette så det lett kunne fraktast med båt."

My translation attempt is this:

             "One year Father rowed beyond the fjord to cut wood in the Agjelds area or Holen.  He brought the wood back tied in the back of the boat.  Though it was branches and twigs we usually used--for example, under the water kettle in the fireplace, or under the cooktop.  Father had tied the wood together so it could be easily transported by boat."


In the second sentence, should "atti" be translated as "in the back of" or as "behind?"  In other words, is the wood in the boat, or outside the boat?

It's the third sentence that I am most puzzled about.    Is the writer saying that the wood her father brought back across the fjord was different from what they usually used--the branches and twigs?  The word "men" at the beginning of the sentence seems to indicate that.  In the same sentence,  should the words "vasskjelen" and "steikehella" be translated differently?



I will be very grateful for help received.


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## Cerb

Hi!

You're right, "Atti" means "In the back of". It's a preopositional phrase made from the word "att" ("back") and "i" ("in", which translates to "of" in this case). 

The "og" here means "also". This "og" is also written with a grave accent ("òg") to avoid confusion, but it's not required. Both are accepted and most people probably don't even know or are afraid to use the wrong accent  You'll probably see the accent used a bit more in nynorsk than in bokmål, but "og" in the meaning of "also" appears in both. 

"Water kettle" is fine and so is "cooktop" in my opinion. A "steikehelle" appears to be an iron cooktop, but I had to look that up to be honest. I'd normally understand a "helle" to be a stone slab, but it's frequently used in the meaning of an iron cooktop with a few different prefixes depending on the exact use. 

All in all I have to say I'm impressed. That's certainly no easy text to translate


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## girecole

Hi and thank you,

Your response is immensely helpful.  And I appreciate your kind words regarding this tricky bit of text.  The picture is clearer now;   I don't envy the rower with his load of wood.  But we know that Norwegians--I speak as a second-generation Norwegian-American--are a determined bunch!


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## Cerb

Bare hyggelig 

Seems I was a bit quick on the "atti" by the way. The "i" in "atti" is of course represented by "*In* (the back of)". It's just the English translation that needs "of" to make sense.


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## girecole

Thanks.  Got it.


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## Vikingo

Good work, girecole! 

Regarding the phrase in question, I see the meaning as follows: "He transported the logs back home (I assume the text said heim, not him?) tied to the back of the boat. But the branches and twigs were also usable, for example (...)"

A word-for-word translation of "det var og bruk i" could be "there were also usability in", if you get my drift.


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## girecole

Hi Vikingo,

Thank you--I hadn't thought of that interpretation, but it seems to fit.  The writer is saying that both logs and  branches/twigs were  brought back.  I like it!


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## Klatremus

I understand very well what the writer means when it comes to the need for both logs and branches/twigs. In our cabin we have/had this "system". The logs are used in the fireplace, but in the stove they can't be used. There we use small logs and dried branches. (These days we have electricity so we use the old one less).

My father has told me about how his grandmother taught him how to bake bread with a fire-heated stove. Takes some practice to get the correct temperature and keep it stable..

Good job understanding and translating this text, it is not Norwegian for novices!


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## girecole

Hi Klatremus, 
I appreciate very much the anecdotal experience you provide with your story from real life!  This forum has been extremely helpful.  I approach this translation as I would a puzzle I would like to solve.  Sometimes there is rapid progress; sometimes I find myself stalled.  That's where the forum comes in.  Thanks to all!


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## Grefsen

Klatremus said:


> In our cabin we have/had this "system". The logs are used in the fireplace, but in the stove they can't be used.


How could you write "the logs are used in the fireplace" *på  norsk?*

Loggene  blir brukt i peisen kanskje?


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## Pteppic

Grefsen said:


> How could you write "the logs are used in the fireplace" *på  norsk?*
> 
> Loggene  blir brukt i peisen kanskje?



"Loggene" refers to the kind of log you find in log books. Firewood is called "ved" (same as the preposition) - the bigger pieces are called "kubber" or "vedkubber". Apart from that, the sentence is fine:

Kubbene blir brukt i peisen.


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