Ordrupgaard Sample 3
Institution: Ordrupgaard
Exhibition: Permanent collection
Wall text for two paintings
L.A. Ring, as written:
The Painter Lundbye’s Bench on the Shore of Lake Arresø
Better:
The Painter Lundbye’s Bench on the Shore of the Lake Arresø
Why is this better?
Since the word sø means lake, Danish lake names are typically translated into English with the name of the lake and the word “lake” separated (for example, Furesø is referred to as Lake Fure in many English texts, e.g. this one). However, some Danish lake names come from such old words and prefixes (in this case the prefix arr-, an old word for dark, referring to the lake’s dark water) that it simply looks and sounds weird to break it out this way. In these cases, English allows for the foreign-language proper name for the lake to remain intact by simply making it clear that we’re talking about a specific lake—by adding a the just before lake.
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Hammershøi, as written:
Sunbeams or Sunlight
Better:
Sunbeams or Sunshine
Why is this better?
The English word for solskin is sunshine, not sunlight. The Danish word would have to have been sollys, not solskin, for sunlight to be correct.