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Post by grävling on Nov 27, 2014 7:44:11 GMT -5
And I am not doing a very good job.
It's a culturally significant word 'fika'. If you stick it into google translate, you get 'refreshments' out as the noun and 'to have coffee' out as a verb. It is the verb that is of more interest here.
'to have coffee' is particularly misleading, because the important thing about 'fika' is that it generally involves food. A coffee break can be a 'fika' -- but if there is only a beverage involved, especially if the beverage is coffee then it is a 'kaffepaus'. Sandwiches are common,
as are pastries, cakes, cookies -- you name it. And a fika is part of how you do everything around here. If you hold a meeting with external stakeholders, you have a fika. If you train in the gym with your friends, you have a fika afterwards. If you meet somebody in the street
you haven't seen for a while, you head for a cafe and have a fika. Fikas do not have to be indoors. You can, and dso fika on boats, in
nature, at the top of a hill you have climbed (so you can fika with a nice view) etc.
It's not an adult thing, either. Children fika all the time.
I don't think there is an English word that fits at all. But my brain is drawing a blank when it comes to a phrase as well. Does something
pop in somebody else's mind?
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AA
Templar
Torps away!
Posts: 1,382 
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Post by AA on Nov 27, 2014 7:59:14 GMT -5
Eat?
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Post by En1gma on Nov 27, 2014 8:28:39 GMT -5
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Post by grävling on Nov 27, 2014 8:45:50 GMT -5
That may be the best I can come up with, indeed. |
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Post by grävling on Nov 27, 2014 8:58:01 GMT -5
This article implies that for the older generation 'fika' implies coffee. I think that the generation fpr whom that was true have been dead for at least 40 years. I don't know anybody who thinks of it as a coffee thing, or a work thing, qnow, even if etymologically fika comes from kaffe, and that is what it meant to people in the past. But at any rate, that is not my problem. I don't need to understand what fika means -- I understand that perfectly well  It is just that in translating from Swedish to English I was zipping along merrily until I needed to translate 'expenses associated with fikar' - and expenses associated with eating and drinking doesn't quite cut it either. Right now I am left with 'snacks and beverages' ... which sort of ducks the social aspects, but seems a bit better. I just wondered if other people had better ideas. |
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Post by Officer Genious on Nov 27, 2014 11:30:58 GMT -5
Well, in American English all of the activities you listed are very different-- a soirée with board members is not like buying a lunch with your friends, unless you're going for a more casual get-together that involves some awkward people in suits pretending to be best friends.
A more general verb might be "to have lunch with" or the noun "luncheons" (which sound slightly formal and typically involve a decent-sized group meeting up to talk/socialize and eat). I've never heard of kids having luncheons, but I know at least American English kinda has its own subset of words for children activities (play date, snack time...).
Don't know if that really helped, but I wish you luck!
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Post by grävling on Nov 27, 2014 11:32:59 GMT -5
hmmm. fika isn't lunch, either. We've got 'lunch' for that. I think it just doesn't translate, grumble grumble. |
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Post by Cg on Nov 27, 2014 12:37:37 GMT -5
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Post by Officer Genious on Nov 27, 2014 13:01:24 GMT -5
hmmm. fika isn't lunch, either. We've got 'lunch' for that. I think it just doesn't translate, grumble grumble. Well, a luncheon is more like a get a together for lunch, like the difference between having a girl's night out and going to a club alone. Very different connotation. Same with lunch vs. luncheons and having lunch with someone. Getting refreshments? |
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Post by slayernz on Nov 27, 2014 16:28:08 GMT -5
It sounds like morning tea (or afternoon tea) ... or just "snack with a tasty beverage" The difference between Fika and Kaffepaus (which I love the wording of btw), is that fika is like a cat inviting his friends over to snack on some cat biscuits by the waterbowl, whereas Kaffepaus is just drinking from the waterbowl itself with no nibbles. You certainly go have fika after going to the gym or doing other healthy exercise - and it usually involves consuming cake  ... or pastries ... or in Australia, sausage rolls and savory pies (Mmmm meat pies) ... To drink alone is not Fika. Nor is drinking together. But drink + food is certainly Fika. So whaaaaaaaat is Fika? In Australia and New Zealand we often say refreshments, but you don't just get drink - you get food. You can also go get the munchies (again in verb context) Funnily enough, if you partake in certain recreational substances (Catnip anyone) ... you can also get the munchies, but I don't know if you drink anything at the time. |
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Post by qbspy on Nov 27, 2014 20:01:16 GMT -5
A sit down?
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Post by Cg on Nov 27, 2014 20:25:50 GMT -5
rendezvous? It will probably end up with "coffee break" as En1gma said. It's VERY culturally specific, I have a feeling. At work, it could be "coffee break", "Tea Break", or just "break". In other places, it could be called a "recess". (business or court). Hmmmmmm.  |
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Post by Cg on Nov 27, 2014 20:45:39 GMT -5
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Post by qbspy on Nov 29, 2014 2:30:59 GMT -5
Brunch has some of the connnotations.
It tends to deal with a subset of foods though. Principally breakfast and fresh produce. Sandwiches, appetizers, virtually any drink. Can be done spontaneously, or for professional purposes, not time dependent if you're an active individual.
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Post by grävling on Dec 2, 2014 11:48:21 GMT -5
What about 'nosh'?
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It is just that
... or pastries ... or in Australia, sausage rolls and savory pies (Mmmm meat pies) ...
