[Mot]

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From: Davies (mark@mark-my-words.org.uk) (www.mark-my-words.org.uk)
Date: 22/08/2006-15:27

Dear all,

Can 'mot' mean 'near' in English. This word appears in the following sentence:

Bakgrunnen for angrepet var sovjetiske krav som blant annet gikk ut på at
finnene måtte trekke seg tilbake fra grensen 'mot' Leningrad, et krav finnene
avslo.

Many thanks

Davies

I think the best word to use is "to" in the meaning "against".
..the border to Leningrad,...

...I am sure 'to' is not workable. It is unnatural in this context.

What about 'with'?

Hi again.

I am not fluent in English, but the clue here is that "mot" is telling which
side of the border the Finns are. "Near" or "with" may be a bit ambiguous?

"withdraw/pull away from the border 'by' Leningrad" is a little more precise to
the original meaning, perhaps?

The word 'mot' in itself can never mean 'near', but you are not translating
word-by-word, but rewriting the text in another language... 'mot' means
'against'. The expression 'grensen mot ...' means 'the border facing ...'

But you will always lose _some_ information when translating, and "the border
near Leningrad" does capture most of the meaning.

Thanks Steinar,

I've gone for 'facing Leningrad', as this seems to keep the target language
natural. 

Bye for now