Feb 20, 2010 13:26
14 yrs ago
11 viewers *
Swedish term
Italy
Proper Words in Proper Places..
Native in: Swedish 
Works in: Italian to Swedish, English to Swedish, Swedish to Italian, and 2 more.
syftningsfel
Swedish to English
Other
Linguistics
grammar
what is the English term ?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +1 | grammatical error / misplaced modifier |
Gayle Rolando (X)
|
| 4 +1 | ambiguous reference / ambiguous reference error |
egj_translation
|
| 4 | pronoun reference error(s) |
Sven Petersson
|
| 4 -1 | allusion error |
asptech
|
| 4 -1 | ambiguous reference |
Thomas Johansson
|
| 3 -1 | wrong usage |
Viachaslau
|
Proposed translations
+1
39 mins
Selected
grammatical error / misplaced modifier
I think a syftningsfel is a specific kind of grammatical error whereby the parts of the sentence are misplaced often giving a comic meaning. They are called dangling modifiers too.
But all those kind of errors are still simply, grammatical errors - so I am sure that term can be used if you need a more general term.
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Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2010-02-21 18:11:08 GMT)
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Ulla - As far as I know each of those grammatical errors has its own name (depending on which part of the sentence is roving around in the wrong place...) It's hard to know exactly which one(s) you have in your text without seeing it, and I am not an expert on the specific names either... the wiki site also had quite a nice example, it's the kind of thing you see sometimes in newspaper headlines...
But all those kind of errors are still simply, grammatical errors - so I am sure that term can be used if you need a more general term.
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Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2010-02-21 18:11:08 GMT)
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Ulla - As far as I know each of those grammatical errors has its own name (depending on which part of the sentence is roving around in the wrong place...) It's hard to know exactly which one(s) you have in your text without seeing it, and I am not an expert on the specific names either... the wiki site also had quite a nice example, it's the kind of thing you see sometimes in newspaper headlines...
Reference:
Note from asker:
| Yes, thank you, I was looking for a general term for the moment, but there are so many types of this error, it might have to be discussed somewhere else. |
| Very good, the link to towson univ. So : A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies / describes and : A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies (i.e. is placed next to). Interesting discussion .Maybe there are other.. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, Gayle!"
-1
11 mins
allusion error
ordagrant - kanske finns en mer vedertagen term
-1
29 mins
Viachaslau
Sweden
Sweden
Specializes in field
Sweden
Russian translator in Stockholm
Native in: Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia) 
, Belarusian
Works in: English to Russian, Swedish to Russian, Norwegian to Russian, and 4 more.
wrong usage
maybe, some more context would do a lot of good :-)
1 hr
Sven Petersson
Sweden
Sweden
Native in Swedish
&
English
Sweden
Medical Translator
Native in: Swedish , English
Works in: English to Swedish, Danish to Swedish, German to Swedish, and 13 more.
pronoun reference error(s)
:o)
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Thomas Johansson
: Jag kom på att det också kan gälla demonstrativer och particip, se mitt inlägg i diskussionsområdet.
6 hrs
|
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Thank you very much!
|
+1
5 hrs
egj_translation
Sweden
Sweden
Native in Swedish
Sweden
native Swedish transl, 20 yrs experience
Native in: Swedish
Works in: English to Swedish, French to Swedish, Danish to Swedish, and 2 more.
ambiguous reference / ambiguous reference error
Ambiguous Reference
If a reader does not know which of two or three earlier nouns a pronoun stands for, grammar books call that an ambiguous reference error:
Ethel told Lucy that her pie was wonderful.
[Is this pie Ethel's or Lucy's?]
The files arranged by the temporary workers were out of order, so we sent them back to the main office.
[Did the files or the workers return to the main office?]
You can fix the pie problem by making the sentence a quotation: Ethel said, "Lucy, your pie is wonderful!" You can also fix it by naming the baker: Ethel told Lucy that Lucy's pie was wonderful. That's also the way to fix the office problem: ...so we sent the files back to the main office. (http://www.penandpage.com/EngMenu/gramref.htm)
If a reader does not know which of two or three earlier nouns a pronoun stands for, grammar books call that an ambiguous reference error:
Ethel told Lucy that her pie was wonderful.
[Is this pie Ethel's or Lucy's?]
The files arranged by the temporary workers were out of order, so we sent them back to the main office.
[Did the files or the workers return to the main office?]
You can fix the pie problem by making the sentence a quotation: Ethel said, "Lucy, your pie is wonderful!" You can also fix it by naming the baker: Ethel told Lucy that Lucy's pie was wonderful. That's also the way to fix the office problem: ...so we sent the files back to the main office. (http://www.penandpage.com/EngMenu/gramref.htm)
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Sven Petersson
: A "syftningsfel" is not ambiguous; it's something that's dead wrong.
2 hrs
|
|
I am quite familiar with the term, Sven, but here is a reference for you: http://www.nada.kth.se/kurser/kth/2D5381/rapporter/pd.pdf
|
|
| agree |
Sofia Löfberg
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Thomas Johansson
: Tror Gabriella har rätt. "Unclear reference" skulle kanske vara ett alternativ, men "ambiguous reference" verkar vanligare.
1 day 23 mins
|
-1
5 hrs
Thomas Johansson
Peru
Peru
Native in Swedish
Peru
Accurate, careful translations
Native in: Swedish
Works in: English to Swedish, Spanish to Swedish, Portuguese to Swedish
ambiguous reference
Syftningsfel är när ett ords eller en fras syftning/referens i ett sammanhang missförstås eller sannolikt kommer att missförstås, p.g.a. att talaren inte har formulerat sig tydligt nog.
Exempel:
”Ulla gav en kostym till sin man som hon köpt på loppmarknad.”
http://www.nada.kth.se/kurser/kth/2D5381/rapporter/pd.pdf
På engelska talar man nog om "ambiguous reference" i sådana här sammanhang. Det svenska "-fel" motsvaras då av engelskans "ambiguous" och det skulle därför vanligen vara redundant att lägga till ett "error" ("ambiguous reference error"); såvida man inte vill _betona_ att det betraktas just som ett fel.
Jag tror också att den engelska frasen beter sig annorlunda än den svenska. På svenska kan vi ju utan vidare säga att en person "gjorde ett syftningsspel". På engelska skulle man nog vara tvungen att omformulera sig, typ "His words were ambiguous.", "It was not clear what he meant.", etc.
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Note added at 15 hrs (2010-02-21 05:25:08 GMT)
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I NOW THINK MY ANSWER HERE IS WRONG, SEE MY ENTRY IN THE DISCUSSION AREA.
Exempel:
”Ulla gav en kostym till sin man som hon köpt på loppmarknad.”
http://www.nada.kth.se/kurser/kth/2D5381/rapporter/pd.pdf
På engelska talar man nog om "ambiguous reference" i sådana här sammanhang. Det svenska "-fel" motsvaras då av engelskans "ambiguous" och det skulle därför vanligen vara redundant att lägga till ett "error" ("ambiguous reference error"); såvida man inte vill _betona_ att det betraktas just som ett fel.
Jag tror också att den engelska frasen beter sig annorlunda än den svenska. På svenska kan vi ju utan vidare säga att en person "gjorde ett syftningsspel". På engelska skulle man nog vara tvungen att omformulera sig, typ "His words were ambiguous.", "It was not clear what he meant.", etc.
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Note added at 15 hrs (2010-02-21 05:25:08 GMT)
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I NOW THINK MY ANSWER HERE IS WRONG, SEE MY ENTRY IN THE DISCUSSION AREA.
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Sven Petersson
: A "syftningsfel" is not ambiguous; it's something that's dead wrong. - So why do you proffer the translation "ambiguous reference"???
2 hrs
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There is no ambiguity in ”Ulla gav en kostym till sin man som hon köpt på loppmarknad.” ???
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Discussion
Demonstratives:
"Einstein was a brilliant mathematician. This is how he was able to explain the workings of the universe."
http://mendota.english.wisc.edu/~WAC/page.jsp?id=132&c_type=...
Participles:
"He gazed at her across the room, dressed in black from top to toe." (Who is in black, he or she?)
http://www.englishforums.com/English/UnclearReference/ddmcn/...
(But what would we call the same sort of error if it happens in a language that doesn't have pronouns as a special class of words? Some languages don't use pronouns but instead handle pronominal references through pronominal affixes appended to or integrated into other words, usually verbs.)