Thread: Hall town

Hola: en algunos textos aparece el término "town hall" o "town hall meeting" para referirse a una reunión entre personalidades de diferentes países. ¿Cuál les parece la mejor traducción?

A town hall meeting was originally a meeting of local citizens to discuss matters of interest to the community and was held in the town hall or community gathering place of a small town.

In today's context it is used to describe gatherings of local citizens of a town or city, usually organized by and for a political purpose, such as the President of the U.S. coming to town to speak directly with the people on a local level. You hear the term a lot during political campaigns during election time. It is characterized by the "small town" atmosphere in which citizens are allowed to address the speaker(s) and ask questions, usually in an effort to understand the speaker's position on matters of interest to the people.

En el texto que estoy traduciendo se utiliza en contexto del G-20 y con representantes de todo el mundo, por eso lo aclaré. Es muy raro poner "reunión de ayuntamiento" cuando se celebra en París y asisten presidentes y ministros de toda Europa

Salvadorm is correct. "Town hall meeting" is not normally applied to international meetings. In the G-20 context it is apparently referring to "a town hall-style meeting" in which attendees participate in discussions as opposed to only listening to speeches. I think that is something of a mis-use of the term, which is why I explained the meaning of a town hall meeting.

I agree with Salvadorm. A summit, or cumbre, meeting is a better description of a G-20 gathering.

It's always a good idea to provide some context when asking for assistance.

I did provide context. In my original post, I said it was an international meeting

Obviously, I read your original post clegnazzi. If you had made the "unusual situation" "perfectly clear" then neither I nor Salvadorm would have wasted our time explaining what a town hall meeting actually is and I would not have suggested that context is important in an original request. You gave us the G-20 clarification in your third post. That would have been helpful at the beginning.

More importantly, I tried to help you and the sarcasm is unwarranted.

I am so sorry you considered my answer sarcastic. I am indeed very grateful for your help and your option proved useful. Thank very much for your collaboration!