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German to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Government / Politics / Name for a historical building used for local administration
German term or phrase:Ratsgebäude
"Die Infovinothek in Sommerach wurde 1661-1664 als Rats- und Gerichtsgebäude errichtet. 1822 wurde das Gebäude als Schul-und Rathaus nach Plänen von Leo von Klenze im klassizistischen Stil umgebaut." My problem is that I would unthinkingly refer to this building as the "Town Hall", however this is not correct as Sommerach has never been more than a "Gemeinde" and not a town. What else could I use that would be correct and still easily understood by international tourists? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommerach#Geschichte
The discussion was really useful because it made us think about why the building was called a Ratsgebäude in the first place. I found in the six-volume Duden for Ratshaus: "öffentliches Gebäude, das Sitz der Gemeindeverwaltung und der städtischen Ämter ist." For "Rat" there are 5 different meanings , the main one (1) is the common one (Ratschlag), but 3b is what we need here : "Gremium mit administrativen od. legislativen Aufgaben auf kommunaler Ebene", hence Rathaus. Michael's suggestion has the advantage of keeping the idea of "Rat = Council" but "Town Hall" seems to be more readily understandable in my context even though the "Gemeinde" here is only a village.
But I have a sense that over many years everybody got so used to the concept that it was soon applied indiscriminately no matter the size of the community
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Hi Diana
17:48 May 14, 2019
I wouldn't worry about the population/zoning term 'town' or 'village', as those terms are dependent on country regulations. In Calverton, Virginia, a village according to German terms, also had/has a town hall. And I would use the same term for the modern building so as not to confuse readers - simply qualified as 'modern' or 'present day'. Happy translating!
So "Town Hall" seems to be winning. Has anyone a comment to make about my misgivings because the "town" is definitely now and has never been anything other than a village? Someone not on ProZ suggested "Council office" or "Mayor's office" , but I think I would only use them - if at all - for the present-day "Rathaus" which is mentioned further on in the text. Any comments on this…?
It may be true in Germany that "The court house in small towns is also the town hall". So far as I know, this isn't necessarily the case in the UK and I doubt that one can make such a generalisation for the whole world. I would therefore stick more closely to the German text ("Rats- und Gerichtsgebäude"), i.e. "town hall and court house".
...friendly banter, Michael. After all, they're the original Village People.
No, seriously, I googled for village council building and it sent me to Alaska, where the council meets in a shed next to an airstrip (not kidding). Not my idea of a Ratsgebäude.
I think "town hall" is okay, given the audience/readership. An alternative would be "district council office", but that doesn't sound quite right for a historical building. I'd probably be inclined to go with "town hall and court house".
And that's why they i.e. use Moultrie City "Municipal Building" (http://www.moultriega.com/?s=municipal building) which also houses the "Municipal Court". I reckon if you go up North or else whereabouts, you'll run into many different usages. But as Diana's audience seem to be tourists, I'd go with Town Hall. About everyone has an idea what a Town Hall is. Doubt a tourist will go into so much detail as we do.
Yes, it's not a community center; with the post below, I was trying to say that what the British call village hall seems much closer to your "gathering place."
Though a lot of US politicians and news reporters prefer to speak of (local) communities in almost any kind of context. Guess that's easier.
Best
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Americans
09:20 May 13, 2019
are linguisitcally LAZY. It's a historical context for modern readers. In the rural Virginia village I lived in as a child, called every single administrative building in every single town was called town hall - the term village was rarely used in the U.S. Funny enough, local called their towns 'burgs'. Community Center is definitely not the term to use as it implies more of a gathering place and is not used for administrative purposes.
Curious too: So you don't draw any distinction here?
Village hall seems quite popular in the US: "The Kirtland Hills Village Hall is home to the Village Council, Police Department, Service Department, the Clerk/Treasurer's Office, and the Village Law Department." https://www.lakecountyohio.gov/kirtlandhills/Village-Hall
Though a British village hall seems to be more like a community center. Bit of a headscratcher.
Thanks
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
@Mack Tillman
09:08 May 13, 2019
The town hall IS the courthouse, also housing any other administrative offices, including the sheriff's, often the post office and a room at the back for the local rowdies to dry out.