committee vs. commission

English translation: depends

16:26 Sep 15, 2006

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Linguistics / synonyms

English term or phrase: committee vs. commission

Would you please give me a hint on the difference between the meanings of these two? Thank you.

Ara Mkrtchyan (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 60 (none open) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 226 Armenia
Local time: 23:56

Selected answer:depends

Explanation:
The difference depends on the type of organization that creates them.

Committees are usually sub-groups of a larger organization while a commission (at least in the U.S.) implies a larger, more independent group.

Both of these are usually formed to complete a specific task. They may be temporary or permanent, large or small, having powers or just be advisory groups.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-09-15 19:19:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

National Olympic Committee Of Armenia
Armenian National Committee of America (Washington lobbying group)
Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission
Adoption Commission in Armenia
Securities Commissions of the Republic of Armenia
Armenian National Commission for UNESCO
American Committee on Armenian Atrocities
Armenian American Action Committee (ARAMAC)

Selected response from:

RHELLER
United States
Local time: 13:56

Grading comment

Thanks to all
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +8

depends

RHELLER

see

Maria Luisa Duarte

4 -1

an elected group vs. an appointed group

Julia Bogdan Rollo (X)

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

34 mins confidence:

see

Explanation:

commission= A group of people officially authorized to perform certain duties or functions:

committee= A group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering, reporting, or acting on a matter.

Reference: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Commission
Reference: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/committee

Maria Luisa Duarte
Spain
Local time: 21:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Portuguese

33 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

an elected group vs. an appointed group

Explanation:
A committee consists of members generally elected (or who have expressed an interest in serving), a commission is an appointed group (i.e. Federal Trade Commission members are appointed by the President of the US)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 mins (2006-09-15 17:03:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly. Committees often serve several different functions: Governance, Coordination, Research and Recommendations, Project Management (i.e. events)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-09-15 17:42:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That seems to be the case (i.e. the 9/11 Commission in the US). A Committee should be made up of elected officials who have in turn been elected by their peers within the main organization to be members of the Committee (i.e. Committee on Homeland Security). This is how things "technically" work in the US. I believe this also works in the UK.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2006-09-15 18:38:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I looked at the google site posted by Alexander - the elections to commission are mostly for the U.N., which apparently work by election. This is not the norm in most Commissions, at least in the US. It all comes down to the context in which you are looking at the words.

Reference: http://www.ftc.gov/bios/commissioners.htm
Reference: http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/c/c0511800.html

Julia Bogdan Rollo (X)
United States
Local time: 12:56
Native speaker of:

Romanian,

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Good point. So if there's an emergency, the prime minister has a special team created to handle that particular situation, then the team's likely to be called a commission, right? What about the UK Foreign Exchange Control Committee - does it mean they are elected as well?

54 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

depends

RHELLER
United States
Local time: 13:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 59

Grading comment

Thanks to all

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

committee vs. commission

English translation: depends

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

committee vs. commission

English translation: depends

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language