15 Comments
I don't understand the English sentence. Shouldn't it be 'goalpost' instead of 'goal'?
2097
In English, "goal" is the collective name for all types of goals. The "goalposts" are just goal markers.
Not all goals are posts - for example, soccer uses goals rather than goal posts that you see used in American football. Hockey is another game that uses a goal rather than goal posts.
Shouldn't it be "goalmouth"? A goal is what you score; a goalmouth is what you score it in (isn't it?!) (Edited 14.06.16: No, I'm wrong. Please read below for more details.)
Native US English speaker, and I've never heard anyone say "goalmouth" -- a goal is what you score in, when you score a goal. In soccer, the goalie (aka goalkeeper) protects the goal.
I'm from Britain, and it's what I've always used. I had a quick look in Merriam Webster, which I gather is an American dictionary: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goalmouth
On the other hand I've thought about it and looked at lots of examples, and I think the original sentence is right after all. Because strictly speaking if the goalmouth is immediately in front (and I must admit I'd always assumed it meant the space framed by the posts) I suppose you'd have to get the ball past the goalmouth to score. A bit like the famous (well at least in England) goal in the 1966 World Cup Final, which bounced on the line, and caused a bit of controversy.
This makes sense to me! The goalmouth is the area immediately in front of the goal. I wonder if there is a Danish term for this -- målmund does not appear to be a word.
Maybe a Danish person could help us? I tried to look it up in online dictionaries, but they only gave the word "mal" (with the accent over the "a") which just means "goal". I even looked for translations in lots of other languages, but some of them gave the word for goal (eg "meta" in Spanish") or other phrases which translated back into "goal area".
I love learning Danish, and really appreciate Duolingo, and I'm also finding that it's helping me to learn about my own language too!
- 2097
Siobhan009: In answer to your question about the Danish word for "goal" (as the event and the object), it is "mål", pronounced as the English "maul". In Danish, one can either write "å" or "aa". they are synonymous. Other translations of the word "mål" are: Aim, objective, target, and also to measure, and a measure/measurement.
- 2097
Not really. The English translation of the Danish "Vil" and "Skal" is respectivly "Will" and "Must/Shall", so the English translation is "In which goal must/shall I score?", which is different to "In which goal will I score?". But have a look at this link. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/shall-or-will https://www.dictionary.com/browse/must
- 252
Im 80 and never before heard the word or concept goalmouth and I love words. Meanings and origins. I will research this one.
