# Norwegian: to be/think like Ataturk



## Chazzwozzer

Hello,

A frequently forwarded email says that in Norwegian there's a popular idiom which translates literally as "to be/think like Ataturk". Since there have been many urban legends attributed to charismatic leaders, I didn't attach much significance to it when I received the email from a friend at first. However, the same story has just come up in a Turkish language forum.

I need your confirmation whether such idiom exists in Norwegian.

Thanks in advance,
Ekin


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## Magb

I've never heard anything of the sort, and a google search for "tenke som Ataturk" and "være som Ataturk" (I also tried the spellings "Atatürk" and "Atatyrk", and with different forms of the verb) gave no results, so I think it's safe to say that if there's any such idiom it must be highly marginal.


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## GraaEminense

Never heard of it. 
The closest I can think of is "sint som en tyrk" ("angry as a turk"), which isn't close at all. 
So, what Magb said.


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## Marianne H

Prof.Dr.Ilknur Gunturkun Kalipci work about Atatürk 26 year.She know better than us.She have proof about everything she says & she archives everything she found about him.She hear "think like Atatürk"from Norwegian Consul.Than I believe educated people knows better than other.
I get this conferanse from my college.May be can help you:
I hear also sayings:"stærk som Turk" (strong as Turk) in North of Norway.


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## basslop

Marianne H, do you know exactly which words this consul used in Norwegian when expressing "think like Atatürk"?


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## GraaEminense

Marianne H said:


> Prof.Dr.Ilknur Gunturkun Kalipci work about Atatürk 26 year.She know better than us.She have proof about everything she says & she archives everything she found about him.She hear "think like Atatürk"from Norwegian Consul.Than I believe educated people knows better than other.
> I get this conferanse from my college.May be can help you:
> I hear also sayings:"stærk som Turk" (strong as Turk) in North of Norway.


Well, being both Norwegian and reasonably well-educated I'm quite  confident I know at least as well as the Prof. Dr. what common Norwegian  idioms are. This isn't one of them. 
"Angry as a Turk" is well-known, "Strong as a Turk" I haven't heard but  it's not entirely unlikely. "Think like Atatürk" may very well be an  expression used by a Norwegian but it is not a common Norwegian  expression by any stretch of the imagination. 

To be quite honest, it sounds like someone has been trying to impress  the natives by honouring their national hero. Well within the job  description of a Norwegian ambassador to Turkey.


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## NorwegianNYC

GraaEminense said:


> Well, being both Norwegian and reasonably well-educated I'm quite  confident I know at least as well as the Prof. Dr. what common Norwegian  idioms are. This isn't one of them.
> "Angry as a Turk" is well-known, "Strong as a Turk" I haven't heard but  it's not entirely unlikely. "Think like Atatürk" may very well be an  expression used by a Norwegian but it is not a common Norwegian  expression by any stretch of the imagination.
> 
> To be quite honest, it sounds like someone has been trying to impress  the natives by honouring their national hero. Well within the job  description of a Norwegian ambassador to Turkey.



I cannot agree more! Whether the Norwegian consul actually said "Think like Ataturk" is irrelevant, because it is not, and has never been a Norwegian expression. You can try to Google it, and its only occurrence is in this thread!

"Sint som en tyrk" is a Norwegian expression, and an old one too, hailing back the wars against the Ottoman Empire.

A possible explanation for "Think like Ataturk" is that it is a misunderstanding and backformation of "Sint som en tyrk", perhaps like this: [Sint > "sink" > "think"] and [en tyrk > "en(a)tyrk" > ataturk]


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## oskhen

I'll join the choir just to give it more punch: If this exists as a Norwegian expression, it's very rare. It may of course exist in a very limited geographical area, though I doubt it.


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## Eskil

It is of course possible that the expression is used by Norwegian speakers of Turkish descent. Many second and third generation immigrants prefer Norwegian, but may have translated the expression from the language of their forefathers? But I have to agree that it does not sound like a Norwegian expression at all, and I am also a native Norwegian with higher education.


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