# Norwegian: Roller coaster ride hit a low point



## Grefsen

How would I write the following *på norsk*?

The roller coaster ride I've been on as a fan of Norwegian women's football hit a very low point today.  

Mitt forsøk:

 Den berg og dalbanetur jeg har vært på  som en  fan av norsk kvinnefotball  truffet  et meget  lavt nivå i dag.


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## Ben Jamin

Grefsen said:


> How would I write the following *på norsk*?
> 
> The roller coaster ride I've been on as a fan of Norwegian women's football hit a very low point today.
> 
> Mitt forsøk:
> 
> Den berg og dalbanetur*en *jeg har vært på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball truffet traff et meget lavt nivå i dag.


 
So far I can see the grammar is OK after the correction, but the meaning remains a mistery.
The sentence implies also that you still are on the rollercoaster.


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## basslop

It does not sound quite right when translating hit directly here. I suggest:
Den berg og dalbaneturen jeg har vært på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball*, havnet på * et meget lavt nivå i dag.

I have used the verb "å havne  (på)" instead of "å treffe" and I have added a "," after "kvinnefotball". When in doubt it's rarely wrong to add a comma in Norwegian.


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## Grefsen

Takk for rettelser Ben Jamin og basslop!  



Ben Jamin said:


> So far I can see the grammar is OK after the correction, but the meaning remains a mistery.
> The sentence implies also that you still are on the rollercoaster.


Would the meaning be more clear if I wrote "emotional roller coaster" instead of "roller coaster ride?"  In American English a person who is on an "emotional roller coaster" can go through many sudden or extreme changes in emotion in a short time period.  This is what happened to me while watching the Australia - Norway Women's World Cup match yesterday.


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## Ben Jamin

Grefsen said:


> Takk for rettelser Ben Jamin og basslop!
> 
> Would the meaning be more clear if I wrote "emotional roller coaster" instead of "roller coaster ride?" In American English a person who is on an "emotional roller coaster" can go through many sudden or extreme changes in emotion in a short time period. This is what happened to me while watching the Australia - Norway Women's World Cup match yesterday.


 Yes, it certainly would, especially for readers that neither er American or fans of football. In my personal opinion the sentence would be much easier to understand if you rearranged it somehow like this:

Jeg er en fan av norsk kvinnefotball, men på den følelsesmessige berg og dalbaneturen jeg har vært på mens jeg så på kampene, havnet jeg i dag på det laveste punktet.

Quite complicated, though.
If i were to try to express the same meaning, I would say:
Jeg er en fan av norsk kvinnefotball, og jeg ble virkelig nedfør i dag av å se på kampene.


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## sendintheclowns

I think "lavpunkt" is an acceptable term for "low point", but that the best verb to use is "nådde" (past of "nå" = reach). 

Den følelsesmessige berg og dalbaneturen jeg har vært på som fan av norsk kvinnefotball nådde i dag sitt lavpunkt.


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## NorwegianNYC

Avoid the roller coaster all together. There is no such think in Norwegian as a "berg-og-dalbanetur" unless you are actually sitting on a roller coaster. I presume you did not sit - physically - on a roller coaster watching the games!

In Norwegian it is called OPP- OG NEDTUR, because Norwegian does not have idioms pertaining to roller coasters! The sentence you are trying to put forth is suppose to read:

De opp- og nedturer jeg har vært på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball er i dag på et bunnivå.


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## sendintheclowns

NorwegianNYC said:


> Avoid the roller coaster all together. There is no such think in Norwegian as a "berg-og-dalbanetur" unless you are actually sitting on a roller coaster. I presume you did not sit - physically - on a roller coaster watching the games!
> 
> In Norwegian it is called OPP- OG NEDTUR, because Norwegian does not have idioms pertaining to roller coasters! The sentence you are trying to put forth is suppose to read:
> 
> De opp- og nedturer jeg har vært på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball er i dag på et bunnivå.



It is unusual, I agree, but perfectly understandable, as long as you include the qualifier "følelsesmessig." I think it would be quite creative writing.


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## NorwegianNYC

Well, I hear your point. As a literary tool, a metaphor, it can be used. However, to be pedantic (to which I apologize in advance...), in the sentence: "The roller coaster ride I've been on as a fan of Norwegian women's football hit a very low point today" the reference to roller coaster is an IDIOM and not a METAPHOR, since a roller coaster cannot "hit a low point" (it can be in "a deep valley"). There is no idiom in Norwegian pertaining to roller coasters, so either write the whole sentence as a metaphor ["Den følelsesmessige berg og dalbaneturen jeg har vært med på som fan av norsk kvinnefotball nådde i dag sin dypeste dal"], or use existing Norwegian idioms ["Etter alle de opp- og nedturer jeg har vært med på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball er jeg nå langt nede"]

Of course, you are (we all are) entitled to write in whichever style you prefer!


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## Grefsen

Tusen takk for hjelpen alle sammen! 



NorwegianNYC said:


> In Norwegian it is called OPP- OG NEDTUR, because Norwegian does not have idioms pertaining to roller coasters!


I had seen "nedtur" used before, but not "opp- og nedtur."



NorwegianNYC said:


> The sentence you are trying to put forth is suppose to read:
> 
> De opp- og nedturer jeg har vært på som en fan av norsk kvinnefotball er i dag på et bunnivå.


Takk for forslaget!


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## Ben Jamin

Is there really an *idiom* in English: "to hit the low point of a rollercoaster ride", that does not need  the "emotional" qualifier to be understood?


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## Grefsen

Over the past week I heard the expression "emotional roller coaster" used a number of times during interviews with players and coaches at the Women's World Cup in Germany especially after the final match between the U.S. and Japan.  During that final match the U.S. hit some very high points, but in the end it unfortunately couldn't have gotten much lower for the U.S. players and coaches.  



Ben Jamin said:


> Is there really an *idiom* in English: "to hit the low point of a rollercoaster ride", that does not need  the "emotional" qualifier to be understood?


I think in most cases when you hear someone talking about "hitting the low point of a roller coaster ride" it is assumed that they mean "an emotional roller coaster."  However, "roller coaster ride" can also be used to describe just about anything that is characterized by peaks and valleys such as someone's career in business.  "John Smith's roller coaster ride of a career has hit a low point" for example.  Another example could be "Wall Street's roller coaster ride hit a low point just before the market closed today."


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## NorwegianNYC

Grefsen said:


> Over the past week I heard the expression "emotional roller coaster" used a number of times during interviews with players and coaches at the Women's World Cup in Germany especially after the final match between the U.S. and Japan.  During that final match the U.S. hit some very high points, but in the end it unfortunately couldn't have gotten much lower for the U.S. players and coaches.
> 
> I think in most cases when you hear someone talking about "hitting the low point of a roller coaster ride" it is assumed that they mean "an emotional roller coaster."  However, "roller coaster ride" can also be used to describe just about anything that is characterized by peaks and valleys such as someone's career in business.  "John Smith's roller coaster ride of a career has hit a low point" for example.  Another example could be "Wall Street's roller coaster ride hit a low point just before the market closed today."



There can be no doubt about the idiomatic properties of this expression in ENGLISH. My point is that since this is not an idiom in Norwegian, is can best be described as a metaphor.


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## Grefsen

NorwegianNYC said:


> There can be no doubt about the idiomatic properties of this expression in ENGLISH. My point is that since this is not an idiom in Norwegian, is can best be described as a metaphor.


Tusen takk igjen for hjelpen *NorwegianNYC*!  

The main purpose of my previous post was to reply directly to *Ben Jamin's  "*Is there really an *idiom* in English" question.  I really appreciate all of the help  I receive in this forum and want to do my best to reciprocate whenever possible.


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