Recurrent word-combinations in contrast 187
When going from English to Norwegian
- at least corresponds to i alle fall, i hvert fall and i det minste
- at all corresponds to i det hele tatt, slett ikke, Ø, overhodet, noe som helst
A preliminary conclusion, and a starting point for further research, can be that
Norwegian combinations of the type PREP det ADJ are translated by, and corre-
spond to, syntactically comparable, but not structurally equivalent combinations
in English. Furthermore, in the material investigated i det ADJ corresponds to at
ADJ. This finding can act as a working hypothesis for a broader study into combi-
nations of the kind investigated. Finally, it can be noted that i det hele tatt has an
unexpectedly high proportion of zero correspondences in the corpus. Why should
this be the case? Could it be that adverbials modifying a clause are more easily left
out than other clause elements, or is this specific combination difficult to translate
and/or incorporate into English texts? Further research on combinations of the
form PREP det ADJ is obviously needed, and not only in relation to English or
the language of fiction.
- Case study no. 2 – all the way and all the same
The three-word combinations including ‘all the’ – all the way and all the same –
are similar in that they both have (semi-)literal and (semi-)opaque meanings, as
illustrated in the following examples. In the case of all the way, Examples (13)
and (14) show that the semi-literal sense (or as Sinclair says, its “locational use”
(1999: 167)) of ‘the whole distance’ is present in both, but perhaps more so in (13).
In Example (14), all the way can be replaced by ‘completely’. This is supported by
the Norwegian correspondences, where all the way in (13) has a congruent transla-
tion hele veien ‘the whole way’, while all the way in (14) has the single-word adverb
helt ‘completely’ as its source.
(13) Edward galloped ahead of him all the way across the parking lot. (AT1)
Edward galopperte foran ham hele veien over parkeringsplassen. (AT1T)
(14) I lifted my suitcase, and finally the door was opened all the way. (LSC2T)
Hodet fortsatte å se på meg, jeg løftet kofferten, og endelig ble døren åpnet
helt. (LSC2)
Examples (15) and (16) may be said to reveal a similar pattern for all the same.
However, the two examples show that the literal and opaque uses do not seem to
overlap in the way they do with all the way, as all the same in Example (15) only
can be said to have only a literal meaning and in Example (16) only an opaque