Scandinavia and the World

Comments #9489104:


Icelandic place names may sound exotic, but they're usu 29 5, 6:36pm

@Karen This is more of a technicality.
Yes, the norwegian word for "waterfall" is "foss". But the technical translation of "waterfall" would be "vannfall".
The norwegian word "foss" is also the basis for words such as "fossende", which would translate as "rushing" or "cascading". Thus I would say that a more correct translation of "foss" would be "cascade".

I don't know if there is a technical difference between a waterfall and a cascade. I am just discussing the minor details of the words, and not how they are used.

It's like "glacier". In norwegian we could call that "isbre", "fonn", or "jøkul". The common word for "glacier" is "isbre". But the word "isbre" is made up from "is", which means "ice", and "bre" which means "spread". So technically "isbre" means "ice-spread" in english.
Glaciers in Norway use all of these names. Such as Svartisen (The Black Ice), Jostedalsbreen (The Jostevalley Spread), Folgefonna, and Hardangerjøkulen.

Translations can be fun. Such as the english word "trailer", which in norwegian is "tilhenger", which is the same word that we also use for "fan" or "supporter". The word "tilhenger" would technically be translated as "hanger-on". And so it's possible to see how that can mean both "supporter" and "trailer".