Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Oct 20, 2005 23:45
21 yrs ago
Swedish term
utan
Dear colleagues,
I have a problem with a sentence about foreigners in Sweden driving after they drank alcohol.
The sentence is a statement made by a police officer.
"de" refers to these foreign drivers:
"Det verkar inte som om de blivit informerade om eller anammat de svenska lagarna utan kör bil trots att de druckit".
Do you understand UTAN here as:
- "BUT they drive despite the fact that they aren't sober"
- or as "WITHOUT driving"? In this case, I don't really understand the meaning of "trots att" (indicates opposition to what then??).
Since context usually is very helpful, here's the next sentence in the text. It indicates that the sentence I have a problem with seems to be the policeman's "vindication" for these foreign people driving unsober:
"De vi har tagit [=the drivers we caught unsober] har ofta runt 0,5 promille, alltså den gräns som de är vana vid att försöka hålla sig under i sina hemländer."
Thanks a lot for your precious help!
Eric
I have a problem with a sentence about foreigners in Sweden driving after they drank alcohol.
The sentence is a statement made by a police officer.
"de" refers to these foreign drivers:
"Det verkar inte som om de blivit informerade om eller anammat de svenska lagarna utan kör bil trots att de druckit".
Do you understand UTAN here as:
- "BUT they drive despite the fact that they aren't sober"
- or as "WITHOUT driving"? In this case, I don't really understand the meaning of "trots att" (indicates opposition to what then??).
Since context usually is very helpful, here's the next sentence in the text. It indicates that the sentence I have a problem with seems to be the policeman's "vindication" for these foreign people driving unsober:
"De vi har tagit [=the drivers we caught unsober] har ofta runt 0,5 promille, alltså den gräns som de är vana vid att försöka hålla sig under i sina hemländer."
Thanks a lot for your precious help!
Eric
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +7 | but |
Iouri Belov
|
| 5 +1 | but rather |
Charlesp
|
Change log
Oct 21, 2005 07:34: Daphne Theodoraki changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Proposed translations
+7
48 mins
Iouri Belov
Finland
Finland
Specializes in field
Finland
Experienced professional translator
Native in: Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia) 
Works in: English to Russian, Swedish to Russian, French to Russian, and 2 more.
Selected
but
the first variant is correct.
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Note added at 1 hr 2 mins (2005-10-21 00:47:56 GMT)
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"Utan" (but) is similar to "men" but follows a negative and introduces a second element contradicting the first. Unlike "men" "utan" implies the same subject in both clauses.
(Swedish. A Comprehensive Grammar)
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Note added at 1 hr 8 mins (2005-10-21 00:54:08 GMT)
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Example: Uppsatsen är inte kort utan igentligen ganska kort.
Example of "utan" used as a preposition (without):
Utan tvivel klarar han sig utan hjälp.
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Note added at 1 hr 11 mins (2005-10-21 00:56:59 GMT)
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Sorry, the correct spelling is "egentligen".
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Note added at 1 hr 2 mins (2005-10-21 00:47:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Utan" (but) is similar to "men" but follows a negative and introduces a second element contradicting the first. Unlike "men" "utan" implies the same subject in both clauses.
(Swedish. A Comprehensive Grammar)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 8 mins (2005-10-21 00:54:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Example: Uppsatsen är inte kort utan igentligen ganska kort.
Example of "utan" used as a preposition (without):
Utan tvivel klarar han sig utan hjälp.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 11 mins (2005-10-21 00:56:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry, the correct spelling is "egentligen".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you for your quick answer and for all the explanations provided!"
+1
10 hrs
but rather
or "but rather that"
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Note added at 10 hrs 39 mins (2005-10-21 10:25:04 GMT)
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Some background:
It was common some years back that Poles would take their car with the ferry to Trelleborg, get drunk, and drive around a particular place in the center of town. This was to get arrested, ie for the express purpose of getting arrested.
The sentence was usually 30 days in jail.
The convicted person recieves a small per diem payment from the Swedish government for the days spent in prison. (And at the time, that would be considered 'hard currency,' exchangable at the black market rate for substantially more than a months salary.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs 39 mins (2005-10-21 10:25:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Some background:
It was common some years back that Poles would take their car with the ferry to Trelleborg, get drunk, and drive around a particular place in the center of town. This was to get arrested, ie for the express purpose of getting arrested.
The sentence was usually 30 days in jail.
The convicted person recieves a small per diem payment from the Swedish government for the days spent in prison. (And at the time, that would be considered 'hard currency,' exchangable at the black market rate for substantially more than a months salary.
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