# Swedish: Lotsbyggnaden



## nordiskaspanjor

Hej!  
How would you translate "lotsbyggnaden" to English? I could not find any translation. I saw some pictures about it and it seems to me like a building where a sailor could live and look out for other boats...? I appreciate if somebody could help me with this term. Thank you!

¡Hola!
¿Podría alguien ayudarme con el significado de "lotsbyggnaden" en español? Por las fotos que he visto parece una construcción tipo puesto de vigilancia en la que un operario se encargaba de vigilar los barcos que llegaban a tierra? ¡Muchas gracias!


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## MattiasNYC

So "lots" according to google translates into "pilot" but their function is to guide foreign ships through local waters to dock in a harbor (verb: "att lotsa"). So rather than "pilot" they're more of a "guide" as far as I know.

As for an actual translation either directly to Spanish or indirectly through English I don't know. It's possible that the construction of "lots" and "byggnad/hus/etc." is uncommon outside of Scandinavia. Hopefully though the above can 'point you in the right direction'...


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## raumar

I did not know this before, but "pilot" is actually the English translation of the Swedish word "lots" (Norwegian "los"). It is in the WordReference dictionary under "pilot": pilot - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


> 2. [Naval Terms] a person qualified to steer ships into or out of a harbor or through difficult waters.



So "lotsbyggnaden" is the house of the person whose job was to steer ships safely into the harbour.


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## MattiasNYC

Ah, didn't know "pilot" was used in naval terminology. Thanks Raumar.


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## winenous

MattiasNYC said:


> Ah, didn't know "pilot" was used in naval terminology. Thanks Raumar.


I'd guess not many native English speakers do either. 

I first encountered it in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "The Pirates of Penzance" where, due to a misheard instruction, a young lad was made apprentice to a pirate rather than a pilot. So be careful when using it!


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## MattiasNYC

lol


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## nordiskaspanjor

Thank you! Now I know better. 
Thanks to your help I could find the term in Spanish. 
So the Spanish translation of "lotsbyggnaden_" _would be "caseta de práctico de puerto".


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## nordiskaspanjor

Another question is...if lotsutkiken and lotsbyggnaden are synonyms...?


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## MattiasNYC

nordiskaspanjor said:


> So the Spanish translation of "lotsbyggnaden_" _would be "caseta de práctico de puerto".



I don't speak Spanish much, but does "practico" imply either "pilot" or "guide"?



nordiskaspanjor said:


> Another question is...if lotsutkiken and lotsbyggnaden are synonyms...?



I would guess that in practice a "lotsbyggnad" is likely to be a building in which the pilot can remain for longer periods of time, often outfitted with amenities to make food or drinks, perhaps to rest and so on, and on the other hand I would expect that "lotsutkik" would require a good view of the coastline at minimum and might not require those other amenities.

Here's an example of a "lotsutkik" from the south-east of Sweden:






In that case I would imagine that the "lotsutkik" is the elevated structure, a building in a sense, from which the pilot can monitor the water. But you can also see how the stairs lead down to a little cabin, and so the question is if in this case we'd call both a "lotsbyggnad" or just the one on the ground level. My hunch is that the two would be separated into the "utkik" (elevated) and then probably use something like "stuga" to create "lotsstuga" for the one on ground level.


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## MattiasNYC

Oh, and in case you weren't aware:

"utkik" breaks down into "ut" = "out" and "kik" from "kika" = "look".

You can find both "utkikstorn" (a tower to look from) and "utsiktstorn" (a tower to see from). "sikt" = "sight" / "see"


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