# Norwegian: I just started using skype to call Norway



## Grefsen

I would like to write the following *på norsk:*

"I just started using skype to call Norway last week."

The first *ordbok* I checked gives the following options for "just:"

*blott, nettopp, rettferdig, rimelig
*
I'm guessing that I might be able to use *nettopp* in my example.

Here are some of the different options for "start:"

*begynne, begynnelse, starte*

There were numerous options for "use," but in my example I believe I should probably use *bruke*.

For "to call Norway" would it by okay to use "*til **å** ringe norge*"?

And finally, for "last week," should I use *forrige uke*?

*På forh**ånd takk for hjelpen!  *


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> I would like to write the following *på norsk:*
> 
> "I just started using skype to call Norway last week."
> 
> The first *ordbok* I checked gives the following options for "just:"
> 
> *blott, nettopp, rettferdig, rimelig*
> 
> I'm guessing that I might be able to use *nettopp* in my example.
> 
> Here are some of the different options for "start:"
> 
> *begynne, begynnelse, starte*
> 
> There were numerous options for "use," but in my example I believe I should probably use *bruke*.
> 
> For "to call Norway" would it by okay to use "*til **å** ringe norge*"?
> 
> And finally, for "last week," should I use *forrige uke*?
> 
> *På forh**ånd takk for hjelpen! *


 
Hi

If you should translate "just" in this case, I would use "akkurat", meaning roughly - but not quite - the same as "nettopp". That said, I think the Norwegian sentence would be better off without it. 

I would further use "begynne" for "start" ("begynnelse" is a noun, by the way).

"bruke" looks fine to me. 

"to call Norway" - "til å ringe til Norge". You may "ringe" or "ringe til" a person, but when it's a country, I would use "ringe til". "Ringe" alone should, I think, only be used when you're talking about the specific person or company or whatever you're trying to contact, not when you are talking about the place containing people and companies etc that you in general are trying to contact. I don't know if that sentence made any sense at all.

"last week" - I think you should add "i" to "forrige uke".


So, my suggestion: "Jeg begynte å bruke skype (is there any Norwegian word for that?) til å ringe til Norge i forrige uke." 

When it comes to "just", I'm not really sure how to convey the same meaning in Norwegian.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> Hi
> 
> If you should translate "just" in this case, I would use "akkurat", meaning roughly - but not quite - the same as "nettopp". That said, I think the Norwegian sentence would be better off without it.
> 
> I would further use "begynne" for "start" ("begynnelse" is a noun, by the way).
> 
> "bruke" looks fine to me.
> 
> "to call Norway" - "til å ringe til Norge". You may "ringe" or "ringe til" a person, but when it's a country, I would use "ringe til". "Ringe" alone should, I think, only be used when you're talking about the specific person or company or whatever you're trying to contact, not when you are talking about the place containing people and companies etc that you in general are trying to contact. I don't know if that sentence made any sense at all.
> 
> "last week" - I think you should add "i" to "forrige uke".
> 
> 
> So, my suggestion: "Jeg begynte å bruke skype (is there any Norwegian word for that?) til å ringe til Norge i forrige uke."
> 
> When it comes to "just", I'm not really sure how to convey the same meaning in Norwegian.



*Tusen takk for rask hjelpen oskhen! 

*I don't really know very much at all about skype, but since all of my friends in Norway and the U.S. also call it skype (rhymes with "snipe") I'm assuming that it is just the name of a company.


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## Hilde

Hei! My proposal is:

Jeg har nettopp begynt å bruke skype for å ringe til norge. (har du (en) konto?)

But. I wonder: Did you start using skype just for calling norway?

Skype is skype.


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## Grefsen

Hilde said:


> Hei! My proposal is:
> 
> Jeg har nettopp begynt å bruke skype for å ringe til norge. (har du (en) konto?)
> 
> But. I wonder: Did you start using skype just for calling norway?
> 
> Skype is skype.



*Tusen takk for hjelpen Hilde! 

Også velkommen til nordisk forum. *  

Lately I haven't been visiting the *nordisk forum* as often as I usually do , but did I notice today that you have made a lot of very valuable contributions here in a short time. I encourage you to keep up the good work!  

In answer to your question, *Ja*, the main reason why I am using skype is to call Norway.  I don't want to get off topic here by commenting any further about skype, but if you want to discuss skype with me privately, please feel free to send me a PM. 

*Ha en kjempefin helg!  *


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## Hilde

thanks for your welcome

I asked about skype for "linguistic reasons"


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## Wilma_Sweden

Grefsen said:


> In answer to your question, *Ja*, the main reason why I am using skype is to call Norway.


Skype is a registered trademark software, and as such, the convention is usually to write it with a capital S, at least in English. 

/Wilma


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## Grefsen

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Skype is a registered trademark software, and as such, the convention is usually to write it with a capital S, at least in English.
> 
> /Wilma




*Tusen takk* for pointing this out Wilma! 

I think I started out writing Skype with a capital "S," but got into the habit of using a lower case "s" during the past few days.   I appreciate you setting me straight so I don't keep repeating the same mistake.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Grefsen said:


> *Tusen takk* for pointing this out Wilma!


You're welcome! 


oskhen said:


> is there any Norwegian word for that?)





Hilde said:


> I asked about skype for "linguistic reasons"


I am assuming here that, because it's a name, it shouldn't be translated at all, just left as is with the capital S. Since it's part of the original question, I'm confident that we're not going off-topic for discussing Skype from this point of view. 

/Wilma


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## Hilde

hi!

My so called linguistic reason was that I thought it sounded strange that he only started using it "to call norway" I thought maybe he wanted to say something else, but know I know that this was his intentions.

i totally agree on Skype as tradmark


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## Alxmrphi

Yeah it's like translating Nike / McDonalds / Microsoft (I know some countries translate Coke, but I think that's cos it's soo huge)..

There just isn't a way to translate it because it was thought up from nothing in one language, how can you translate a word that "has no meaning" if you get what I mean.
"Skype" is a word... but has no _meaning_, it means the company name of course, but not a real meaning.


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## Hilde

Skype is a proper name, and has reference, whcich in some sense is meaning enough
how do you know that it was made up from nothing, by the way?


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## Alxmrphi

What I meant was, it had it's meaning and origin in one language, and unless it's a copy of an existing word that's how it was created, from nothing to a brand name, like an acronym of a longer name, essentialy (and usually) untranslatable.



> _From skype's website_
> I often get asked "where did the Skype name come from?" A creative version was offered by one of our forum members.
> 
> So somewhere a few years ago, Niklas and the other guys started thinking of this new thing they are going to make, which would let the world talk for free. And so they needed a name for it.
> One of the names they came up with was "Sky peer-to-peer", which got soon shortened to "Skyper". But as happens in the Internet world, some of the domain names associated with "skyper" were already taken, so they thought what the heck, let's just drop the "r" and make it "Skype". It sounded good and the domains were available.
> Initially the name didn't make sense to many people. (Probably still doesn't.) They go "Skype, what is that? A bird? Or a disease?" But after people learn about what Skype can do for them, the name seems to kind of work.


 
So, as we can see, it is a word with no standard meaning, just an idea, changed and shortened, nothing is made up "from nothing" unless someone just bashes a keyboard and goes "we found our new company name", but just because there is a process to creating a name / brand name like Skype, doesn't mean it is somehow a "normal word".

So can you tell me how "Skype" is a proper name that has reference?


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## Lemminkäinen

I think the original question has been sufficiently answered, and in order for this thread to not go down a predictable off-topic path, I'm closing it.


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