Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Deutsch term or phrase:
eine Hundertschaft
Englisch translation:
around a hundred police officers / a police squad
Added to glossary by
Craig Meulen
May 21, 2007 08:36
17 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Deutsch term
Vereinigtes Königreich
:: Sachtexte mit Stil :: Facts & Flow ::
Native in: Englisch 
Works in: Deutsch > Englisch
eine Hundertschaft
Deutsch > Englisch
Rechts- und Patentwesen
Militär/Verteidigung
police
... hatten einige Fans nach der Partie einen Bierstand gestürmt, daraufhin sei die Situation eskaliert. ... Eine Hundertschaft der Polizei verhinderte jedoch Schlimmeres.
It's from a newspaper report and the translation is for an international (predominantly European) audience.
What's an equivalent term in English please?
It's from a newspaper report and the translation is for an international (predominantly European) audience.
What's an equivalent term in English please?
Proposed translations
(Englisch)
| 3 +5 | around a hundred police officers |
ace2912
|
| 3 +1 | a posse (of police) |
Lancashireman
|
| 2 +1 | a large police presence |
rangepost
|
Change log
May 21, 2007 10:24: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Sonstige" to "Rechts- und Patentwesen"
Proposed translations
+5
10 Min.
Selected
around a hundred police officers
I don't think there is a direct translation, Hundertschaft is a German term to denote a military or police group of around one hundred members.
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Note added at 23 hrs (2007-05-22 08:26:03 GMT)
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I do believe that a native speaker of German understands a "Hundertschaft" to mean a police presence of at least one hundred officers, so I think "around a hundred officers" is an accurate translation of the term.
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Note added at 23 hrs (2007-05-22 08:26:03 GMT)
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I do believe that a native speaker of German understands a "Hundertschaft" to mean a police presence of at least one hundred officers, so I think "around a hundred officers" is an accurate translation of the term.
Reference:
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Yes, I think too that a normal German knows what this is. Since there is no direct equivalent in English, your suggestion is a good solution."
+1
16 Stunden
a large police presence
my 2cents
Note from asker:
| Also a very good solution. However, I awarded the points to the other answerer since I was looking for a translation of this specific term. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Lancashireman
: Absolutely. It would be naive to assume that a head count had been performed by the reporter.
11 Stunden
|
+1
55 Min.
Lancashireman
Vereinigtes Königreich
Vereinigtes Königreich
Native in Englisch
Vereinigtes Königreich
Related KudoZ points
:
90
a posse (of police)
Quiz question (collective nouns)
See: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm
Another possibility; a squad
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-05-21 09:46:05 GMT)
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Results 1 - 10 of about 4,920 for "a posse of police"
Results 1 - 10 of about 9,360 for "a squad of police"
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-05-21 10:12:23 GMT)
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I have the same problem. In this list you will indeed also find a 'posse of sheriffs'. Nonetheless, I understand that this is a serious and established form.
However, in an English newspaper, I would expect to find 'squad'. This is what the Google hits quoted above indicate, many of them taken from modern news reports.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-05-21 10:58:39 GMT)
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Also, I suspect the 'hundert' in 'Hundertschaft' is not to be taken too literally. Did the reporter actually count the number of police officers? Rather than committing a figure to page, it might be safer to write 'a large number of...'
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Note added at 12 hrs (2007-05-21 21:26:58 GMT)
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Inspired by Antonia's response to my 'neutral', I did a google search for 'vansful/vanfuls' and found this:
Members of Why-War also attended a rally at Times Square that had not been given a permit by the city where they confronted several vanfuls of police.
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/archive/spring_2003...
So perhaps the collective noun for police is 'vanful' and, as we have seen, this has the added benefit of being susceptible to pluralisation.
At least we both agree that the 'hundert' in 'Hundertschaft' need not be taken literally.
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Note added at 13 hrs (2007-05-21 21:45:50 GMT)
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P.S. I think you probably already realised that 'Hundertschaft' had something to do with the number 'hundert'? Still, nice to have that confirmed by five or six other peers...
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Note added at 14 hrs (2007-05-21 23:21:38 GMT)
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The Flying Squad is a branch of London's Metropolitan Police force. It was formed in 1919 as the "Mobile Patrol Experiment", a branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in response to a crime wave that followed the end of World War I. Its officers were originally nicknamed the "thief takers". It consists of police officers trained in high-speed driving, whose task is to detect and prevent armed robbery and similar crimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Squad
i.e. more than just 'one van of 4 officers'.
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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2007-05-22 10:18:03 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for your closing feedback, Craig. I am sorry that in my attempt to find an 'equivalent term' I appear to have 'missed the point'. I am glad that ‘the most helpful answer’ was selected.
See: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm
Another possibility; a squad
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-05-21 09:46:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Results 1 - 10 of about 4,920 for "a posse of police"
Results 1 - 10 of about 9,360 for "a squad of police"
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Note added at 1 hr (2007-05-21 10:12:23 GMT)
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I have the same problem. In this list you will indeed also find a 'posse of sheriffs'. Nonetheless, I understand that this is a serious and established form.
However, in an English newspaper, I would expect to find 'squad'. This is what the Google hits quoted above indicate, many of them taken from modern news reports.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-05-21 10:58:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Also, I suspect the 'hundert' in 'Hundertschaft' is not to be taken too literally. Did the reporter actually count the number of police officers? Rather than committing a figure to page, it might be safer to write 'a large number of...'
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2007-05-21 21:26:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Inspired by Antonia's response to my 'neutral', I did a google search for 'vansful/vanfuls' and found this:
Members of Why-War also attended a rally at Times Square that had not been given a permit by the city where they confronted several vanfuls of police.
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/daily/archive/spring_2003...
So perhaps the collective noun for police is 'vanful' and, as we have seen, this has the added benefit of being susceptible to pluralisation.
At least we both agree that the 'hundert' in 'Hundertschaft' need not be taken literally.
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Note added at 13 hrs (2007-05-21 21:45:50 GMT)
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P.S. I think you probably already realised that 'Hundertschaft' had something to do with the number 'hundert'? Still, nice to have that confirmed by five or six other peers...
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Note added at 14 hrs (2007-05-21 23:21:38 GMT)
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The Flying Squad is a branch of London's Metropolitan Police force. It was formed in 1919 as the "Mobile Patrol Experiment", a branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in response to a crime wave that followed the end of World War I. Its officers were originally nicknamed the "thief takers". It consists of police officers trained in high-speed driving, whose task is to detect and prevent armed robbery and similar crimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Squad
i.e. more than just 'one van of 4 officers'.
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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2007-05-22 10:18:03 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for your closing feedback, Craig. I am sorry that in my attempt to find an 'equivalent term' I appear to have 'missed the point'. I am glad that ‘the most helpful answer’ was selected.
Note from asker:
| When I see the word "posse" I think of John Wayne - is there any evidence that this is really an official word in this context - would you find it in an English newspaper? |
| Thanks for your research and suggestions. However, I think you're missing the point that a "Hundertschaft" is common parlance when talking about the Bereitschaftpolizei - normal people also use this word in normal speech, it's more specific than just "as many as they could round up at the time". And probably more than a squad, although I think that would be a possible solution here. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
casper (X)
: 'a large number of...'
5 Stunden
|
|
Indeed. As many as they could round up at the time.
|
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