English translations
of common terms at NTNU

A group of staff in the Division of Student and Academic Affairs has agreed on the following English translations for some central terms connected with teaching and examinations. We hope this list will be useful.

aktuelle emner Selected course units

emner Course units

emneeksamen (10 vt.) Course examination (10 credits)

grunnemne Basic course unit

grunnfag
(fageksamen 20 vt.) Foundation course (20 credits)

mellomfagstillegg
(emneeksamen 10 vt.) Intermediate course supplement
(10 credits)

mellomfag
(fageksamen 30 vt.) Intermediate course (30 credits)

påbygning til 40 vt. Further intermediate course
supplement (to 40 credits)

hovedfagsemne Advanced course unit

hovedfag Graduate study / Graduate subject

hovedfagsgrad Graduate degree

hovedfagsoppgave Thesis / Graduate thesis

hovedfag, fordypning Specialization at graduate level

avsluttende delprøve Final examination

muntlig prøve (hovedfag) Oral examination (graduate level)

hjemmeeksamen Written home examination

semesteroppgave Term paper

øving Practical course / laboratory exercise

prosjektoppgave Project work

valgfrie emner Elective subjects

valgfrie vekttall Elective subjects

allmenn del Compulsory subjects

obligatorisk del Compulsory subjects

spesialpensum Individually selected syllabus

fri emnekrets Individually selected subjects

selvvalgt pensum Syllabus selected by student

examen philosophicum examen philosophicum

lavere grad Undergraduate degree

høyere grad Graduate degree

profesjonsgrad Professional degree

magistergrad Magister degree

doktorgrad Doctoral degree

Praktisk-pedagogisk Practical Pedagogical Education /
utdanning Teachers' training (in informal use)

Tricky words

liqueur, liquor

Liqueur (Norw. likør) means a strong, sweet alcoholic drink: «We have cognac and several liqueurs». In British English, the second syllable rhymes with «cure». In American English, it rhymes with «cur». Liqueur originates from the French «liquor».

Liquor (Norw. brennevin) means distilled spirits in a non-technical sense. Occasionally, liquor may refer to any alcoholic drink. This is prounced «licker».

facies, faces, faeces

These words sound fairly
similar and are sometimes confused, especially in spoken English.

Facies (Norw. facies) in
geology means the character of a rock in terms of formation, composition and fossil content: «The lateral facies was identified by this seismic plot». In medicine, facies refers to the appearance or facial expression of a patient that is related to a particular illness. This use is close to the origin of the word. Facies is pronounced «fay-sheeze». The plural is also facies.

Faces (Norw. ansikt, flate, side) is the plural of face and means the front of a person's head or the surface of a thing such as the face of the Earth or the climb up the north face of the Eiger. Faces can also be aspects, as in the two faces of capitalism (twin effects). Faces is pronounced «fay-sis».

Faeces (Norw. avføring) means excrement. This is
normally a medical term and excrement is the common term. The word is
pronounced «fee-seas». This is a plural noun. The normal AE spelling is feces.

Enlightening English

A researcher in petroleum engineering wrote a paper which a first sight was all about «liquid entertainment». It turned out that he had written «liquid entrainment», but Word's automatic correction was on and in a party mood.

The Municipality of Trondheim introduced
rubbish recycling a few years ago and sent a list to households about what to put in each bin. In the English
version, what is normally termed «pet litter» or excrement from household pets is translated as «animal faces».