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German: volunteer/be volunteered | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4622 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 1 of 9 02 January 2014 at 9:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
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As far as I can tell, "sich erbötig machen" is to be prepared to do or offer to do something. Perhaps it is a bit old-
fashioned? Example sentence: Er machte sich erbötig, zum Ufer zu schwimmen und Hilfe zu holen. And the related "sich erbieten" would be to offer to do something, like "sich freiwillig anmelden" (volunteer oneself), I think. My question is what would be the correct way to say that one person volunteered the help of another and not of him/herself? Perhaps something with "zur Verfügung stellen"? Or some passive construction? In English to volunteer used to only be used when one made oneself available or offered one's own help, but now I hear it also being used when describing the offering of someone else to do something, particularly in the workplace. "You were volunteered to work on this project" (by someone else). Vielen Dank im Voraus... 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Mareike Senior Member Germany Joined 6224 days ago 267 posts - 323 votes Speaks: German* Studies: English, Swedish | Message 2 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have never heard of "sich erbötig machen". Maybe I'm too young.
I would say something "freiwillig seine Hilfe anbieten", in German we have also the word "ehrenamtlich" that offers possibilities like "sich ehrenamtlich engagieren". The sentence "You were volunteered to work on this project" would I translate into "Sie waren ehrenamtlicher Mitarbeiter in diesem Projekt". If you read current job description, you will find also the word "Volontär". The German word "Voluntär" is very close to "Praktikum" or internship. It has nothing to do with offering help. You work to complete your training. volontieren = als Volontär arbeiten Volontär = ohne oder gegen geringe Vergütung zur beruflichen Ausbildung Arbeitender Edited by Mareike on 02 January 2014 at 11:05pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5130 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 3 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:03pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Sich erbötig machen? I've never heard or read it, must be either quite old-fashioned or I'm just not educated enough...
Here are some suggestions for "You were volunteered to work on this project": - Du wurdest für dieses Projekt nominiert (von XY). - XY hat Dich für dieses Projekt nominiert. - Du wurdest für dieses Projekt / zur Mitarbeit an diesem Projekt vorgeschlagen. - XY hat Deine Mitarbeit an diesem Projekt angeboten. - Man hat Dich volunteert für dieses Projekt. / Du wurdest für dieses Projekt volunteert. I'm not sure if the last option can be used everywhere in the German speaking world, but it's quite common to use volunteeren as a German verb where I work, also in the meaning that somebody offers the help of a third person. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| daegga Tetraglot Senior Member Austria lang-8.com/553301 Joined 4521 days ago 1076 posts - 1792 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Swedish, Norwegian Studies: Danish, French, Finnish, Icelandic | Message 4 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
I wouldn't use any of these, it sounds really old-fashioned/bookish. The modern version of the first one would be 'sich anbieten', of the the second one 'sich freiwillig melden'.
'Du wurdest vorgeschlagen, an diesem Projekt mitzuarbeiten.' might be most appropriate, but it implies that it is still possible for you to refuse. It's used when someone thinks you would be a good candidate for the position, and it is meant in a positive sense. Something in the line of 'du wurdest jemandem zur Verfügung gestellt' could be used when you are ordered to do work for somebody, but there is no kind of volunteering implied (an offer you can't refuse). 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5130 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 5 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
I wouldn't translate it like this. To be volunteered to work on a project doesn't necessarily mean that you work for free. Let's assume my line manager discusses with his colleagues a new project. Then he can volunteer me to work on this project. It doesn't mean that I work for free or as a Volontär. It just means that my line manager put up his hand and suggested me when they were discussing staffing of the project team. At least that's the use I observe in my company (which operates in English). 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5320 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 6 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:17pm | IP Logged | |||||
I've never heard or seen "sich erbötig machen" and saw "sich erbieten" only occasionally in older books; according to Google books NGram Viewer, "erbot sich" peeked in 1820 and steadily declined ever since and "sich erbötig" last peaked in 1940. Both expressions sound very archaic. Most Germans would probably paraphrase your example sentence, using synonyms of "of one's own accord/volition/free will" etc. For example: Er bot von sich aus/freiwillig an, zum Ufer zu schwimmen und Hilfe zu holen.
IMHO, you cannot use German synonyms of "to volunteer" to volunteer someone else in German. You can only paraphrase the idea. The specific translation depends on the context. For example, you might say that you registered someone (without his knowledge) for task the he otherwise wouldn't volunteer for by adding his name to a list. Or you might mention to someone that you promised a third party that he'd do something for them (without asking him first) etc. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4622 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 7 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks for the different perspectives and ideas on this topic. The source for "sich erbötig machen" was the novel
Die Vermessung der Welt (written in 2005, but referring to events in the early 19th century). No direct definition was available on the German-English dictionary sites I tried, but of course it was on the Duden site (monolingual German), implying willingness/readiness to do something. It does indeed seem to be archaic, so it's probably not something I will encounter again soon, but it started me thinking about the modern usage of "to volunteer someone". 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| lingoleng Senior Member Germany Joined 5298 days ago 605 posts - 1290 votes | Message 8 of 9 02 January 2014 at 10:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
That's quite terrible, actually. Reminds me of the first season of Big Brother in Germany; right at the beginning one of the participants said they had nothing to worry at all; after all, there was a friendly person out there who was watching them all the time and would prevent any evil that might lie ahead ... Sladko would certainly have felt very happy about being volunteered to do something. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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