Help translating the imperative

[alezon]

Hi,
I was wondering if the correct translation of "storm the gates" in the imperative form in english would be "storm portene" in the imperative form in norwegian.
Thanks a lot,
Alex

[Remis]

Well, it's technically correct, but it doesn't sound very good. The problem is that you're translating directly from English, so it sounds wrong in an idiomatic context. I'm not sure how to remedy it, however, as "storm the gates" isn't really a much used expression in Norwegian. The sentence "storm portene" looks like you were trying to say "stormportene" (the storm[y] gates) but forgot the rules for how to make compound words. "Portene" doesn't sound particularly, uhm, epic, either, which I assume is the feeling you're going for. It sounds more like the kind of gate you'd have outside of your garden, hahaha.

I just asked a few Norwegian natives about this, and all of them think it sounds weird to use both the verb "å storme" and the word "portene," especially together. One of them came with the suggestion "riv ned portene" (demolish the gates), I dunno if you might be interested in that? Or "riv ned murene," which would be "demolish the walls" (as in city walls for instance). "Port" just sounds weird!

Also, I should mention that translation requests are supposed to be posted in this sticky thread so as not to clutter up the forum.