Back and forth igen

Peggy Sjöström He’s already asked me, but he wants to hear other americans’ opinions!

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Sara Lee Johnson Hmmmmmmmmm……..It is odd..

Sara Lee Johnson I just looked at an inadequate web source, but all I know is it was used by author Stephen Crane, so puts it back to our Civil War era.

Karl-Gustav Sjöström Ok, Sara, you found a kind of source, but still even he should have had to go ”forth” before he could go ”back”.

Sara Lee Johnson Maybe we assume we already were ’forth’, counting from the beginning of the phrase… so now we can go back and then forth again….We’re a step ahead of you:)

Gayle Hamilton Franklin back and forth – moving from one place to another and back again; ”he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New York”; ”the treetops whipped back and forth in a frightening manner”; ”the old man just sat on the porch and rocked back and forth all day” I agree with Sara, the forth has already occurred and you are about to repeat the trip..again. (Source.. Free dictionary online.)

Karl-Gustav Sjöström Thank you, Sara and Gayle, but I still don’t think that you fully underststand my point – or I don’t understand you. For me it IS odd to start to go back from the place you haven’t reached yet! I cannot go back from it before I am there. Perhaps it is …Visa mer

Peggy Sjöström But I think it’s odd BECAUSE I’m fluent in Swedish and can therefore ”see outside the box”. Thinking outside the language box is hard for people who only speak one language. If I had never known the Swedish version of the expression, I would never have questioned the English version.

Sara Lee Johnson I agree. I think it is strange, so I am half joking…his logic is impeccable!

 

Karl-Gustav Sjöström Thank you Sara Lee, you tought me a new word (impeccable)!

Gayle Hamilton Franklin it’s these strange idioms that make English so hard. Kalle, if you sit in a swing or rocker what is the first motion you make. Do you push back or forwards? What’s that motion called in Swedish?

Gayle Hamilton Franklin Only in English, do you assume you have been forth (go to) and then you can return back and forth. Now I’m confused.

Karl-Gustav Sjöström We have those idioms too. ”Back an forth” when you sit a a rocking chair sounds OK in my Swedish ears. I don’t think that we have a special way to say what we are doing in a rocker – just we just ”gungar” (”gungstol” is the Swedish word for rocking chair)

June Kucks Maybe some of us like to get a running start, so we back up to build momentum.

Karl-Gustav Sjöström You are SO smart, June! 🙂

Gayle Hamilton Franklin So, Kalle, what was Peggy’s definition of back and forth.

Karl-Gustav Sjöström Peggy’s definition is the same as yours, but she like me thinks that the English way is an odd way to phrase it. The Swedish way is more logical (”forth and back”).

Gayle Hamilton Franklin It is an odd phrase, no question about it.