Björn Vrooman Aug 29, 2016:

[continued...] The question here was: Which option is it? My bet: Number 3, which means it specifies the more abstract "at the level of the household" - i.e., members of the household.

And if you want to mention Weber here:
http://www.textlog.de/8184.html

Weber talks about "Haushaltsgemeinschaft" as being the opposite of "Geschäftsgemeinschaft."
"und wohl ebenso alt, als die Loslösung der Geschäftsgemeinschaft von der Haushaltsgemeinschaft, ist der Gedanke, daß nur die auf das gemeinsame Geschäft bezüglichen Obligationen ohne weiteres alle socii angehen."

Thus, this is not "sociology speak," in my view (and I don't think "community" is accurate, considering the context). It's just another way of saying "häusliche Gemeinschaft" or "Haushalt" - similar to "Tannenbaum" and "Tanne," where the former designates one tree, whereas the latter can serve the same purpose or be used as a specific biological label (Pflanzengattung).

In short: It's just another one of these German compound nouns without much interpretation needed. If there is no specific "label" or theory attached to it, it's safe to assume that Germans just put two words together, as they often do.

Best

Björn Vrooman Aug 29, 2016:

@Susan Too late to the party - oh well, haven't been here the past couple of days.

Just to clear up this misunderstanding:
"No native speaker of English would translate [...]"
- I know. And whatever I wrote in parentheses was not directed at you. It just reminded me of a sociology book I once read, in which the author had done exactly what you described: "I do see it often though, used wrongly, in English written by non-natives."

The point I was trying to make:
"bzw." can be used in different ways - it is a very elusive word, to say the least.

"Könntest du die Küche bzw. das Bad putzen?"
Clean kitchen and/or bathroom.
"Könntest du mir das vorlesen bzw. zum Lesen geben?"
- Read it to me or just hand (the magazine) to me.
"Könntest du mir das Messer aus der Küche bzw. aus dem Schrank links in der Küche geben?"
- Get me the knife from the kitchen - or more precisely, out of the cupboard on the left.

"Wir konnten 2015 und 2016 die Zahl der Einbrüche auf 120 bzw. 90 reduzieren."
- Reduced the number of burglaries in 2015 and 2016 to 120 and 90, respectively.

Ramey Rieger (X) Aug 27, 2016:

Two different ideas, one term Haushaltebene COULD be financial situation
Haushaltgemeinschaft - those living together
...on a financial level and the corresponding household members

Wendy Streitparth Aug 27, 2016:

As I see it, at least two meanings are possible. Firstly, communal household and secondly in the sense of "household coherence (unity)" - can't think of a better word at the moment.

Susan Welsh (asker) Aug 26, 2016:

bzw. No native speaker of English would translate bzw. as "respectively," since it is simply not used that way in English. I do see it often though, used wrongly, in English written by non-natives. (My question was not on bzw., however, which I know how to translate, but about Haushalt / Haushaltgemainschaft!)

Susan Welsh (asker) Aug 26, 2016:

Thanks! That's a very useful site, Björn. I also like the cartoon on the home page: http://prosoziales.de/ I'm still thinking about the translation.

Björn Vrooman Aug 26, 2016:

However, I think this is overcomplicating things here.

Haushaltsgemeinschaft = häusliche Gemeinschaft = Gruppe, die in einem Haushalt zusammenlebt

Unless your document reads "Bedarfsgemeinschaft" somewhere, I'm not sure the original meaning applies here. Your other example doesn't convince me, really. Actually, it corroborates what I said above:
"individuelle und haushaltsgemeinschaftliche"
Essentially: individual responsibility and responsibility for the entire household

"Kontext von individuellen Begebenheiten"
= research based on individual circumstances

"auf eine Haushaltsebene"
- what impact the one member's illness has on the entire household

"damit verbundenen Haushaltsgemeinschaft"
- or how it effects the other household members living with him or her

The German "bzw." (often mistranslated as "respectively") is best viewed as a somewhat typical English "or"/"or more specifically/precisely."

Björn Vrooman Aug 26, 2016:

Hello Susan Typically, the differences would be:
"Wenn mehrere Personen in einem Haushalt zusammenwohnen, kann es sich um eine

Bedarfsgemeinschaft
Haushaltsgemeinschaft zwischen Verwandten / Verschwägerten oder
Wohngemeinschaft
handeln. Wichtig ist die Zuordnung für die Berücksichtigung von Einkommen und Vermögen zwischen den einzelnen Personen und für die Höhe der Leistungen für den Lebensunterhalt."
http://prosoziales.de/cms/rechtliche-grundlagen-des-sgb-ii-h...

Goes on to explain:
"Um eine Bedarfsgemeinschaft handelt es sich, wenn mehrere Personen mit wenigstens einem Erwerbsfähigen zusammenleben und einen gemeinsamen Haushalt führen."
---
"Die Haushaltsgemeinschaft zwischen Verwandten / Verschwägerten

Wenn Verwandte oder Verschwägerte - also z.B. Oma und Enkel oder 2 Schwestern oder Onkel und Neffe - in einem Haushalt zusammenwohnen, geht die Behörde davon aus, dass sie zusammen wirtschaften und sich gegenseitig finanziell unterstützen, soweit es nach Einkommen und Vermögen erwartet werden kann."

Susan Welsh (asker) Aug 26, 2016:

another example from the same article Während die Erwerbsarbeit als zentrale Quelle der Sicherung des Lebensunterhaltes in einem Haushalt in Gesellschaften des Globalen Nordens gewertet werden kann, stellt das Erwerbseinkommen der einzelnen Haushaltsmitglieder die notwendigen Mittel für die individuelle und haushaltsgemeinschaftliche Lebensführung im Haushalt zur Verfügung.

Susan Welsh (asker) Aug 26, 2016:

Wikipedia Yes, that's the one I mentioned, which I couldn't make much sense of. (Maybe I need more coffee this afternoon.) How then would one translate the sentence that has both "Haushaltebene" and "damit verbundenen Haushaltsgemeinschaft"?

BrigitteHilgner Aug 26, 2016:

See for example: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haushaltsgemeinschaft
Don't ask me details - as far as I can see, one is a statistical term (Haushalt) and the other a legal one.