Aboutkarinafp Expertise I`m a teacher from and in Sweden. I teach Swedish as well as English, French, Spanish and music. I`m also rather good at finding information on the Internet.
Experience I've been an expert at askme.com, and was rated # 1 in the "Language" category. Must have been doing something right, then...
Expert: karinafp Date: 2/12/2003 Subject: FANNY OCH ALEXANDER
Question Hi Karin, and many thanks for the recent help!
Are you a fan of FANNY OCH ALEXANDER?
Anyway, at the beginning there is a hall with "ei blot(t) til(l) lyst" on it.
This is translated as "not only for pleasure", but can you enlighten me a bit more, pls?
Isn't it a rather strange thing to put on a building, particularly with the odd spelling (the letters I've put in brackets not being present)?
Cheers,
Simon
Answer Hi again, Simon!
Good heavens, I haven't seen that film for ages! I'm sorry, I can't remember that particular scene. However, the expression "ei blot til lyst" is a common one, used in several connections, when we talk about things or actions that are not only for decoration. If put on a building, I can imagine that it's not only beautiful but also of some use. The expression involves a slight bit of excuse for making this - let's say building - more beautiful or extravagant than was really needed. Another example is when you read a book not only for the pleasure of it, but also because it can teach you something. The translation is correct.
The strange spelling is because it's not Swedish, it's Norwegian. We use several Norwegian and Danish sayings and quotations, since we all study both languages and read a lot of books in them at school. When I studied French at the university, we used a grammar book written in Danish, and when I was studying to become a teacher, I had to read several books in both Danish and Norwegian. We're supposed to understand them both almost as well as we understand Swedish.
