Donnerstag, 6. Dezember 2007

"In any case", the Icelandic point of view

In any case, here’s what I’ve gathered about in any case:

“... in any case is an idiom and a cliché, but it nonetheless is a handy substitute for other idiomatic clichés such as in any event or after all or nonetheless.” (source lost)

But, at least in Icelandic official translations, the meaning changes a little bit when you surround the cliché with commas:

1. the term shall in any case include apples and oranges; - here used to indicate that something in a previous statement is true, or explain a previous statement.
2. the term shall, in any case, include apples and oranges; - here used to make an additional point.

The difference in meaning can i.e. be seen in this DTA between Iceland and Canada: http://brunnur.stjr.is/servlet/stjrtid/C/1997/24.pdf (both with commas and without), where the corresponding Icelandic terms can be directly translated to English as:

  1. in all instances (i. „í öllum tilvikum“, d. i alle tilfælder)
  2. however other things go (i. “hvað sem öðru líður”, d. hvad (hvorledes) som (alt) andet går).


Perhaps similar to this explanation is this distinction:

1. in any event, at any rate; (Anyhow, he is dead now …)
2. besides; (like, what’s your problem anyway, dude? Whateva!)

http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/INANYCASE

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/in+any+case

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