Det var ”est koner, alle omhyggelig oppyntet i svart – hatter, kåper, salopper, kalosjer, fløyelsbånd, silkebendler, alt i svart, et gufs av loftmørke og oppbevarte kisteklær.
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It was mostly women, all carefully adorned in black – hats, coats, salopettes, galoshes, velvet ribbons, silk sashes, all in black, a breath of attic darkness and stored coffin clothes.
Translated by markvanroode 366 2 weeks, 4 days ago
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Most of them were women, all meticulously dressed in black hats, coats, hoods, galoshes, velvet ribbons, silk sashes, everything in black.
Translated by markvanroode 366 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Discussion

Thanks for the comment, David.

by markvanroode 2 weeks, 4 days ago

I apologize for having missed the missing 'fl' in "flest koner" when I was cleaning up the text.
The word "salopper", evidently borrowed from french "salopettes", could be translated as "dungarees". In french they refer to ski pants, but "salopettes" may be found in British English as dungarees or overalls. They weren't all women so I suppose that could work but I like the image of hoods, though I doubt that was the fashion in 1928. I wonder if Elvestad was referring to the french fashion in ski pants. Could we just use the french "salopettes" in the English translation? Sure, why not.
The translation above is missing the last part of the sentence, "et gufs av loftmørke og oppbevarte kisteklær." I suggest the following:
"It was mostly women, all carefully adorned in black – hats, coats, salopettes, galoshes, velvet ribbons, silk sashes, all in black, a breath of attic darkness and stored coffin clothes."

by DavidKenstad 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Det var flest koner?

by markvanroode 2 weeks, 5 days ago