kommunal trommeslager

English translation: town drummer

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Danish term or phrase:kommunal trommeslager
English translation:town drummer
Entered by: Marianne Ajana

00:11 Mar 10, 2011
Danish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History
Danish term or phrase: kommunal trommeslager
In a 1901 census record from Odense, Denmark, an individual's occupation is recorded as "kommunal trommeslager." Ten years later, the same man is called simply "trommeslager" and his employer is recorded as "magistratet." In all the Danish dictionaries I've checked, "trommeslager" is literally "drummer" but can also mean "town crier." Would the use of the word "kommunal" before the word suggest the latter as the best choice here? The individual involved was originally a "patrouillebetjent" (patrolman) in Odense as a younger man, later became the "kommunal trommeslager" as a middle-aged man, and finally as an old man is listed as "desinfektør" employed by the "sundhedskommission." I know of no musical talent, so doubt the literal translation of "drummer." Any suggestions?
Timoshka
Local time: 06:42
town drummer
Explanation:
More than 9,000 hits on Google. The town drummer was often accompanied by the town piper.
Selected response from:

Marianne Ajana
Denmark
Local time: 12:42
Grading comment
Mange tak!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1town drummer
Marianne Ajana
3drum-beating town crier
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen (X)
1town crier
andres-larsen


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
town crier


Explanation:
town crier = bytrommeslager

source:

engelsk ordbog [bytrommeslager] # oversætte [bytrommeslager]
Betydningen af bytrommeslager. Udtalen af bytrommeslager. ... (en -e) drummer ***(bytrommeslager) town crier***. [da/170354/da
en/dictionary/m5r9-132821608] ...
da.w3dictionary.org/index.php%3Fq%3Db... -

engelsk ordbog [drummer] # oversætte [drummer]
trommeslager. (en -e) drummer ***(bytrommeslager) town crier***. [da/170354/da-en ...
da.w3dictionary.org/index.php%3Fq%3Dd... -

andres-larsen
Venezuela
Local time: 07:42
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
drum-beating town crier


Explanation:
Town crier alone doesn't cover the concept, as the English equivalent did not walk around beating a drum but carried a handbell to draw attention to himself and only announced official business (as I understand it), so maybe you need to expand it a little? 'Town crier' on its own could also be 'udråber', and in some towns, you would have both 'udråber' and 'trommeslager' working together.

Try looking for 'byens trommeslager' and you will get many hits to websites about local/family history that make reference to 'trommeslagere'. Seems that they could be paid by businesses to shout out advertising messages or by the town/municipality to announce important messages to the community.

Example sentence(s):
  • Som voksen blev Magnus Nyborg ”byens trommeslager” og var som sådan hyret til at gå rundt i byens gader for at udråbe de handlendes annonceringer eller bekendtgøre forskellige arrangementer og begivenheder.

    Reference: http://www.nonags.org/members/jamesbond/Egns_Historie/Byens_...
    Reference: http://byarkivet.langelandkommune.dk/Dengodehistorie/Kyb_ban...
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen (X)
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
town drummer


Explanation:
More than 9,000 hits on Google. The town drummer was often accompanied by the town piper.

Example sentence(s):
  • Cameron at once pressed the town drummer and the town piper into his service, taking them with him when he went to the Town Cross to proclaim King James II and his son Charles as Prince Regent.

    Reference: http://www.gaspee.org/1829SaturdayEveningPost.htm
    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Riding
Marianne Ajana
Denmark
Local time: 12:42
Native speaker of: Native in DanishDanish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Mange tak!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bente_F: Eksempel fra Danmark: http://www.denmark-getaway.com/aarhus.html
55 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search