# Norwegian: "å prate over seg"



## jhswe

In a Norwegian text I'm reading, an imprisoned Norwegian man talks and talks about how Scandinavia has benefitted from other countries' wars and conflicts, and goes on to say that it is only right he be punished, but interrupts himself and says:

*"Men nå prater jeg over meg." = "But now I'm rambling" [see discussion below]*

I think I sort of get what it means, but I also think I need a more specific definition or explanation, just to be sure. Or, to see if I'm way off, which may well be the case ...

Does he mean that he shouldn't allow himself to represent something as large as an entire region? That he shouldn't think he is more important or significant than he actually is? *How would you define or translate this?*


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## raumar

No, that is not quite right. His talking is not "above" anything, it just overflows. The sentence means that he talks too much, and maybe not coherently. "_But now I'm rambling_" could be a translation.


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## jhswe

raumar said:


> "_But now I'm rambling_"



Oh god, when I first read it I understood it as something along the lines of "But I digress" (which he does), and then I went back and started overanalysing.  As always, you shouldn't underestimate your intuition. Thanks, raumar!


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## bicontinental

raumar said:


> The sentence means that he talks too much, and maybe not coherently. "_But now I'm rambling_" could be a translation.



That's very interesting, raumar. The Danish idiomatic expression _at tale/snakke over sig_ means that someone happens to disclose/share information they shouldn't have. It's a reference to the content of what's being said..rather than how it's been said. The person could be a chatterbox who rambles (also incoherently), but the point is that he shares too much information/spills confidential details in the process.

Bic.


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## raumar

Yes, that is interesting, Bic. The Norwegian expression "_snakke/prate over seg_" also means to speak in a delirious state, not aware of what one is saying. This is how the expression is explained in Bokmålsordboka: "_tale i villelse_"; Bokmålsordboka | Nynorskordboka . (I did not mention this in post # 2, since it does not fit into jhswe's context.). The other meaning, to ramble, is of course related to "_tale i villelse_". 



bicontinental said:


> The Danish idiomatic expression _at tale/snakke over sig_ means that someone happens to disclose/share information they shouldn't have.



In Norwegian, this is covered by the expression "_å forsnakke seg_". However, Bokmålsordboka uses "_snakke over seg_" to explain "_forsnakke seg_" (as one of several explanations: Bokmålsordboka | Nynorskordboka

This indicates that the Danish meaning of "_snakke over seg_" isn't completely unknown in Norwegian, although I don't think I have seen the expression used that way.


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## jhswe

Alltså:

DK: snakke over seg
NO: forsnakke seg
*SV: försäga sig*


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## Hans Molenslag

What about the Norwegian idiom _slenge med leppa_? Does that mean "forsnakke seg" (to tell a secret unintentionally) too? My Dutch-Norwegian dictionary says: _je mond voorbijpraten, slenge med leppa_, but I doubt that's correct.

Incidentally, Dutch uses the same figure of speech as Swedish _prata bredvid munnen_.


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## bicontinental

Thanks for your reply, raumar. The various nuances of Norwegian vs. Danish never cease to amaze me…despite all the apparent similarities in grammatical structure, vocabulary and idioms. 

Going back to the idiom _at tale/snakke over sig_, I’d just like to add that Danish also has the expression _at fortale sig _which is essentially synonymous with the former idiom. (For the sake of completeness... it can also mean _to misspeak._)

Ref: fortale,2 — Den Danske Ordbog  (def. #1)

tale el. snakke over sig — Den Danske Ordbog

It looks like a nice summary, jhswe (with a minor correction and an addition, if I may.)



> DK: snakke/tale over s*i*g = fortale sig
> 
> NO: forsnakke seg
> *SV: försäga sig*



Bic.


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## raumar

Hans M. said:


> What about the Norwegian idiom _slenge med leppa_? Does that mean "forsnakke seg" (to tell a secret unintentionally) too?



These expressions have something in common: somebody is saying something they shouldn't have said. I suppose "_slenge med leppa_" could mean "_forsnakke seg_", but that is not the usual meaning. It usually means that somebody makes rude or disrespectful comments.


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## basslop

Hans M. said:


> What about the Norwegian idiom _slenge med leppa_? Does that mean "forsnakke seg" (to tell a secret unintentionally) too? My Dutch-Norwegian dictionary says: _je mond voorbijpraten, slenge med leppa_, but I doubt that's correct.
> 
> Incidentally, Dutch uses the same figure of speech as Swedish _prata bredvid munnen_.



"Slenge med leppa" means to speak rude or nasty. It can also mean to brag.


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## basslop

...or that you say something to provoke a conflict, a quarrel or a fight.


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## Hans Molenslag

OK, thanks raumar and basslop.


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## jhswe

bicontinental said:


> It looks like a nice summary, jhswe (with a minor correction and an addition, if I may.) *[i.e. seg -> sig in Danish translation]*



Oops. But personally, I have long since adopted the view of SV/NO/DA as a dialect continuum ("Scandinavian"), as well as the Norwegian acceptance of multiple spelling and pronunciation alternatives within the written standards. Anything else is nationalist purism! (!)


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## Sepia

jhswe said:


> Alltså:
> 
> DK: snakke over seg
> NO: forsnakke seg
> *SV: försäga sig*




DK: snakke over sig  -   That does not mean "to be rambling". It means to spill the beans = uncautiously reveal some secret.


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## jhswe

Sepia said:


> DK: snakke over sig  -   That does not mean "to be rambling". It means to spill the beans = uncautiously reveal some secret.



Yes, and that is what it says.


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