Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Finnish term or phrase:
kirkkosali
English translation:
worship space, worship hall
Added to glossary by
Outi Pollari
May 30, 2021 18:42
3 yrs ago
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Finnish term
kirkkosali
Finnish to English
Other
Architecture
I've been asked to translate a short text from Finnish to English about church buildings and their use (intended for a UK-English church-going readership). Words that occur frequently are "seurakuntatalo" and "kirkkosali", as for instance with: "Monissa seurakuntataloissa on kirkkosaliksi kutsuttu tilan". The problem is that at least colloquially in UK English the "church hall" is equivalent to the Finnish "seurakuntatalo" or "seurakuntasali". I noticed that Finnish architecture magazines, with texts in both Finnish and English, seem to skirt around the issue, by translating "kirkkosali" as "church interior" or even just "church". I checked a UK-English book "The Churches of England" and it refers to the inside space of the church as the "nave" (which could be problematic for describing a largish room in a parish hall) and not once used the term "church hall" to describe what Finns call "kirkkosali". Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 2 | worship space, worship hall |
Outi Pollari
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Change log
May 31, 2021 20:05: Outi Pollari Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
11 hrs
Outi Pollari
Finland
Finland
Native in Finnish
Finland
Quality translations are my aspiration
Native in: Finnish 
Works in: Russian to Finnish, Finnish to Russian
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worship space, worship hall
As you said, "the nave" is problematic, as it normally translates as "kirkkolaiva", referring especially to the architecture of a typical, prolonged main hall of churces. To my understanding, the nave is more of an architectural than a functional term, whereas "kirkkosali" does not contain strong connotations to its form, but to its function as the place of worshipping ceremonies, i.e. the service or the Mass. This is why I suggest "worship space" (of a parish hall/building), although I did not check, whether such a concept is used in U.K English.
Note from asker:
| Thank you for your suggestions! It seems that in practical religious activities, the churches tend not so much to use the architectural-historical terminology, such as "nave" and "chancel". I found church announcements from the UK that read "The main church space is for hire!" Also numerous Methodist websites seem to prefer "worship hall" rather than "church". |
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you Outi for your suggestion. In the end we went with 'worship hall'. While waiting, I came across a book titled "Basics Architecture 02: Construction & Materiality" by Lorraine Farrelly; there is an entire section on a famous Christian church in Japan by architect Tadao Ando, and in just describing the movement through the building, they refer to the main space as the "worship hall" rather than, say, nave. Thanks again!"
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