Lande vi normalt sammenligner os med

English translation: countries we like to compare ourselves with

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Danish term or phrase:Lande vi normalt sammenligner os med
English translation:countries we like to compare ourselves with

17:43 Feb 3, 2011
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2011-02-07 17:54:12 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


Danish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Government / Politics
Danish term or phrase: Lande vi normalt sammenligner os med
Is there an equivalent phrase in English? For instance in connection with OECD-reports and so on. In particular I am looking for a phrase that can be inverted to the phrase "Lande vi normalt ikke sammenligner os med" for a humourous effect.

It is for the English translation of this page: http://www.nihilistisk-folkeparti.dk/index.php?r=page/view&i...
Vassify
countries we like to compare ourselves with
Explanation:
It's a long shot, I know, and very bad style to end a sentence with 'with' (!), but at least there are a couple of thousand Google hits for this.

The other sentence would then be: Countries we do NOT like to compare ourselves with.

Maybe there aren't thousands of hits or any 'obvious' translation because other countries don't feel the need to compare themselves as much as we do?? Just a thought.
Selected response from:

Gitte Hovedskov Hansen (X)
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Summary of answers provided
4Countries that we (don't) normally compare ourselves with (or: with whom we (don't) normally...)
Pernille Kienle
4The kind of countries with which we tend not to compare ourselves
Nikolaj Widenmann
3countries with which we normally contrast ourselves
Diarmuid Kennan
2countries we like to compare ourselves with
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Lande vi normalt (ikke) sammenligner os med
Countries that we (don't) normally compare ourselves with (or: with whom we (don't) normally...)


Explanation:
This is pretty straight forward - if you google country/nation and comparison. As for the humour - I find it a bit challenging to give it that twist - unless we are talking about funny cultural differences and such, a country comparison would normally be about living conditions, income, etc. wouldn't it? But, perhaps the site tries to make fun of the Danes being so fortunate to live in that country and yet, at times, finding their problems big compared to those of other countries?

Example sentence(s):

    Reference: http://northstreetschool.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/latest-eot...
    Reference: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Curb-c...
Pernille Kienle
Canada
Local time: 01:52
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 2
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you. But what I'm looking for shouldn't be a word for word translation. Maybe I wasn't clear: I'm looking for the phrase that politicians will always use when referring to OECD report. "Lande vi normalt sammenligner os med" gives 48.000 hits on Google. I'm looking for a standard phrase that people will recognize in the same way. Turning that around I suppose will give it the same funny twist as in the original sentence. It doesn't have to be the exact translation. And by the way; yes the last sentence is the right way to understand who the joke is on.

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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Lande vi normalt ikke sammenligner os med
The kind of countries with which we tend not to compare ourselves


Explanation:
I think the term "the kind of countries" would serve the intended purpose. Good luck. Another option might be "The kind of countries with which we typically prefer not to compare ourselves". The use of "prefer" might further underline the intended purpose.

Nikolaj Widenmann
United States
Local time: 02:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish, Native in EnglishEnglish
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
countries with which we normally contrast ourselves


Explanation:
my suggestion

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Note added at 3 hrs (2011-02-03 21:34:26 GMT)
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or perhaps "countries to whom we normally contrast ourselves" is better?


Diarmuid Kennan
Ireland
Local time: 08:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
countries we like to compare ourselves with


Explanation:
It's a long shot, I know, and very bad style to end a sentence with 'with' (!), but at least there are a couple of thousand Google hits for this.

The other sentence would then be: Countries we do NOT like to compare ourselves with.

Maybe there aren't thousands of hits or any 'obvious' translation because other countries don't feel the need to compare themselves as much as we do?? Just a thought.

Gitte Hovedskov Hansen (X)
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
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