Glossary entry

Norwegian term or phrase:

naturfolk

English translation:

hunter gatherers

Added to glossary by Charles Ek
Dec 17, 2010 20:33
13 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Norwegian term

naturfolk

Norwegian to English Social Sciences Anthropology
"I vårt moderne samfunn øker ofte blodtrykket med alderen, men det gjør det ikke hos naturfolk med en naturlig livsstil."

Does anyone have a less pejorative alternative to my dictionaries' consensus choice of "primitive people" for "naturfolk"? Yes, I know, the word "primitive" has no actual negative connotation from its Latin origin. But it has acquired that over the years for many people.

Some use "indigenous people" for this situation, including many who live a subsistence lifestyle and consider themselves members of indigenous populations. My problem with "indigenous" is that it doesn't necessarily mean the sort of lifestyle at issue here among "naturfolk". For example, the Celts could be said to be indigenous to Britain when the Romans arrived (even though the former were themselves invaders of Britain at one time.) But the Celts would not be described as "naturfolk" as I understand that term.

Maybe my answer is simply to use ". . . among people who live a subsistence lifestyle"?

Hva sier dere? TPF!

Discussion

Lars Erik Hauklien Dec 20, 2010:
Naturfolk The term "naturfolk" (people of the nature) is not used very often in Norwegian. The term should be translated "Indigenous people". It points to people who has a technological development making them dependent on the nature in a more direct way than the so called civilized people who simply go the store and buy what they need.
lingo_montreal Dec 17, 2010:
On the fence here... What about using Bill's suggestion, but simply dropping the "tribal" reference? I think "subsistence societies" could sound right, without being too political. Don't like the term "primitive people" - might seem arrogant? However, could call their LIFESTYLE primitive without necessarily being insulting. Another possibility might be to translate the entire phrase as follows: "but this is not the case with societies/people who live a more natural/primitive lifestyle" - or something like that? I don't think the term naturfolk has a quick match in English...
lingo_montreal Dec 17, 2010:
On the fence here... What about using Bill's suggestion, but simply dropping the "tribal" reference? I think "subsistence societies" could sound right, without being too political. Don't like the term "primitive people" - might seem arrogant? However, could call their LIFESTYLE primitive without necessarily being insulting. Another possibility might be to translate the entire phrase as follows: "but this is not the case with societies/people who live a more natural/primitive lifestyle" - or something like that? I don't think the term naturfolk has a quick match in English...

Proposed translations

+4
4 hrs
Selected

hunter gatherers

:o)
Peer comment(s):

agree Vedis Bjørndal : I think this one fits well. Norsk ill.ordb.: naturfolk: folk hvis levesett er sterkt knyttet til naturen (t.forskjell fra "kulturfolk")
8 hrs
Thank you very much!
agree Diarmuid Kennan : hunter gatherer societies
1 day 14 hrs
Thank you very much!
agree Michele Fauble
1 day 19 hrs
Thank you very much!
agree Hege Jakobsen Lepri
2 days 14 hrs
Thank you very much!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to Sven and to all the others who contributed suggestions and comments. I like "hunter gatherers" better than "people who live a subsistence lifestyle". (My time in Alaska has undoubtedly influenced my otherwise frequent use of "subsistence" in this context, as it is a widely used and accepted term there.)"
37 mins

subsistence tribal societies

Just a suggestion, late at night; I'm tired and I wanna go to bed; don't feel broke-up yet, but sympathetic to a translator who is not getting much response. Maybe this can help, Charles, to trigger other ideas of your own, or prompt others to react against my suggestion with something better! The "tribal" bit might cause some reaction, although I don't think it should. The phrase gets a few Google hits, for what that is worth. Cheers!
Note from asker:
Thanks, I'll mull it. The last time I heard the phrase "I'm tired and I wanna go to bed", there was a very large fish involved: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Me_the_Way_to_Go_Home
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-1
1 hr

primitive people

"Primitive people" acc. to Norstedts Ord Swedish to English among other refs.

Acc. to a couple of German to English dictionaries (Leo and dict.cc), "Naturvolk" is also translated to "primitive people"

(I wish I had some Norwegian references..)

See the refs below as well, especially the second one.

OT: I think "naturfolk" sounds a LOT better than "primitive people"!

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Note added at 1 hr (2010-12-17 21:52:44 GMT)
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Sorry, I have to admit I didn´t read the whole text in your question. I might not have posted this if I had read it 'til the end... Well, anyway...
Peer comment(s):

disagree lingo_montreal : The phrase can apply, but there's often such a negative connotation to it. "Oh what primitive people you are" can sound condescending, even if the dictionary allows it in its pure form.
53 mins
I totally agree. As I mentioned above, I didn't finish reading Charles´question. If I would have read it properly, I wouldn´t have posted this answer... :)
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1 day 15 hrs

so-called natural peoples

-

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Note added at 1 day15 hrs (2010-12-19 12:06:44 GMT)
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or so-called nature-peoples
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2 days 3 hrs

Peoples close to nature

This may be an alternative, and should not offend anyone!
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