Jun 3, 2010 15:52
14 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Norwegian term
United States
Medical, Pharmaceutical & Chemical
Native in: Norwegian 
Works in: Norwegian (Bokmal) to English, English to Norwegian
dugnad
Norwegian to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Looking for a good English (US) word for the Norwegian all-descriptive "dugnad".
Sentence: "XXX plikter å være med på to dugnader i året"
My sources propose "voluntary community work" or just "volunteer work", but I don't think these properly cover the term. It is also a bit comical to state that a person "is obliged to do volunteer work".
Any suggestions?
Sentence: "XXX plikter å være med på to dugnader i året"
My sources propose "voluntary community work" or just "volunteer work", but I don't think these properly cover the term. It is also a bit comical to state that a person "is obliged to do volunteer work".
Any suggestions?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 -1 | Maintenance Day; Community Day |
Jennifer Andersen (X)
|
| 4 +1 | "working bee" |
jeffrey engberg
|
| 4 +1 | volunteer work or charity sevice |
Andrew Alix
|
| 4 | voluntary communal effort |
Charles Ek
|
| 4 -1 | neighbourhood clean-up days |
Dawn Nixon
|
| 2 -1 | Community service |
eodd
|
Change log
Jun 3, 2010 15:53: Karin Berling changed "Language pair" from "English to Norwegian" to "Norwegian to English" , "Field" from "Medical" to "Other" , "Field (specific)" from "Medical: Instruments" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Proposed translations
-1
42 mins
Selected
Maintenance Day; Community Day
This is one of those terms highly dependent on context. Here in America, I've seen "maintenance days" for daycare clean-up duties, mulching, etc, and "community days" for other organizations. You're right, saying "obliged" to do volunteer work is an oxymoron!
Note from asker:
| I used a combination of your and Charles' suggestions - Communal Maintenance Event. I think it is descriptive, and I think it fits with "in obliged to participate in a certain number of". However, I am sure the debate is not over ;-) |
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Erik Matson
: Nope, gotta disagree with you there, b/c both your definitions are too specific. Indeed, these are examples of "dugnad", but "dugnad" can be so much more than that...anything from cleaning a neighborhood park for a day, to rebuilding a house that burned..
3 days 21 hrs
|
|
I agree with you that "dugnad" can be for almost anything involving pitching in and getting something done. The original context here is for being a paid member of a sports organization. She also didn't want "voluntary" because it's not.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I used a combination of your and Charles' suggestions. My final conclusion was "Communal Maintenance Event", which is both descriptive and fits with "is obliged to participate in". However, I am sure the debate is not over ;-)"
+1
33 mins
jeffrey engberg
Norway
Norway
Native in English
Norway
Fast, accurate & efficient translations
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK)
Works in: Norwegian to English, Swedish to English, Danish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
35
"working bee"
This is another English metaphor for a neighborhood clean-up action.
and remember, in America "neighbour" is spelled "neighbor", without the "u"...
although I personally prefer the old-english variant with our...
and remember, in America "neighbour" is spelled "neighbor", without the "u"...
although I personally prefer the old-english variant with our...
Note from asker:
| I really like this suggestion, but I have never heard it before... |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jennifer Andersen (X)
: That could work too. I don't recall seeing it much but we definitely have "quilting bees" in America so folks should get it.
10 mins
|
| disagree |
lingo_montreal
: Sounds too much like something between a "worker bee", and a "spelling bee"... Have never heard of this usage. Why not stick with something a bit less euphamistic, as in Dawn Nixon's suggestion?
6 hrs
|
| agree |
William [Bill] Gray
: This was an extremely common term where I come from, New Zealand. The only difference was that it was usually a church or club, not the characteristic Norwegian neighbourhood actiity, which we now love! Better than "Why doesn't the council DO something!
21 hrs
|
| neutral |
Erik Matson
: I see it in the Clue dictionary, but after 25 years in the United States (divided over East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and South) I have never heard this prior to here.
3 days 21 hrs
|
|
It's as American as apple pie! See the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_(gathering)
|
-1
1 hr
Community service
While I understand "dugnad" to be community volunteering, I wonder if community service is what is meant here, as XXX is being compelled to do this.
From the reference below: "some people who provide community service are not doing it of their own free will; they are compelled to do so by:
their government as a part of citizenship requirements, in lieu of military service (such as the practice of Zivildienst in Germany);
the courts, in lieu of, or in addition to, other criminal justice sanctions;
their school, to meet the requirements of a class, such as in the case of service learning or to meet the requirements of graduation, or, in the case of parents, required to provide a certain number of hours of service in order for their child to be enrolled in a school or sports team.
There are also people providing community service who receive some form of compensation in return for their year of commitment to public service, such as AmeriCorps in the USA (who are called members rather than volunteers)."
From the reference below: "some people who provide community service are not doing it of their own free will; they are compelled to do so by:
their government as a part of citizenship requirements, in lieu of military service (such as the practice of Zivildienst in Germany);
the courts, in lieu of, or in addition to, other criminal justice sanctions;
their school, to meet the requirements of a class, such as in the case of service learning or to meet the requirements of graduation, or, in the case of parents, required to provide a certain number of hours of service in order for their child to be enrolled in a school or sports team.
There are also people providing community service who receive some form of compensation in return for their year of commitment to public service, such as AmeriCorps in the USA (who are called members rather than volunteers)."
Note from asker:
| I think this term, while valid, sounds a bit too punitive...? |
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
lingo_montreal
: This choice has too punitive a connotation in N. America, whereas the "dugnad"s I participated in (when I lived in a borrettslag arrangement) had to do with cleaning up around our property and neighbourhood, various gardening activities, and similar.
5 hrs
|
2 hrs
Charles Ek
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Your meaning, from your words and mine
Native in: English
Works in: Norwegian to English, Danish to English, Swedish to English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
voluntary communal effort
See the link for Google results for "voluntary communal effort". A pairing with "dugnad" is at the second link.
http://apps.husbanken.no/boligbasen/filbase/stig.pdf
http://apps.husbanken.no/boligbasen/filbase/stig.pdf
Note from asker:
| I like the term, except the "voluntary" part doesn't really fit since the member is obliged to participate in this event. I ended up using part of yours and Jennifer's answer. |
+1
23 hrs
Andrew Alix
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Engineering - electrical, instrumentatio
Native in: English (Variants: UK, US) 
Works in: Norwegian to English, Danish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
volunteer work or charity sevice
Did a lot of this when I was in Norway for 20 years. We always called it 'dugnad'. When applied in general, it was volunteer work for anything done, whether community service or private.
Note from asker:
| Again, I like the suggestions, except that they involve "volunteer" and "charity", which sounds odd when paired with "is obliged to participate in" |
-1
22 mins
Dawn Nixon
Norway
Norway
Native in English
Specializes in field
Norway
Sworn Translator
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Norwegian to English, Danish to English
neighbourhood clean-up days
Or 'neighborhood' for a US term.
Many examples on the internet
E.g. two neighborhood clean-up days.
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Note added at 4 days (2010-06-08 08:54:50 GMT) Post-grading
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Just to add that I posted this term before I knew it was a sports centre, thank you for your feedback Karin :)
Many examples on the internet
E.g. two neighborhood clean-up days.
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Note added at 4 days (2010-06-08 08:54:50 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Just to add that I posted this term before I knew it was a sports centre, thank you for your feedback Karin :)
Reference:
http://www.rustletheleaf.com/0806_Lesson.pdf
http://www.communitygroup.co.uk/cleaning-up-your-neighbourhood.html
Note from asker:
| I like this term, but the neighborhood part does not apply to the sports team in question :-) |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
lingo_montreal
: This a readily understandable and well-used concept in Canadian communities. You get my vote.
6 hrs
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Thank you :)
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|
| disagree |
Ingrid Thorbjørnsrud
: In the context of the sports club membership, dugnad can mean other activities than clean-up.
15 hrs
|
| disagree |
Erik Matson
: Indeed...that is too specific for a general term.
3 days 21 hrs
|
Discussion