LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

I am reviewing a translation, ostensibly to root out possible mistakes or misunderstandings. Neither of the two translators is a professional. Apart from the usual faux pas, typos, and misspellings, I have detected a tendency to ad lib: to introduce remarks that do not appear in the original, to “clarify” passages that need no clarification, and even to append material that is simply uncalled for. Moreover, these translators handle syntax as they see fit, moving phrases to the end of a paragraph when they occur at the beginning in the original. We are dealing here with two languages that have much in common; this is not a translation from Urdu into Japanese. In the end, readers will be none the wiser, since they will have no opportunity to compare the translation with the original.

Spanish politics is common fare in talk shows, newspapers, and on everyone's lips these days. New scandals pop up daily, pointing the finger at government officials at all levels. Former ministers and aides are already in jail, and others are soon to follow. In case you wish to surf through this shameful state of affairs, let me jot down vocabulary that will be of help: Mordida - kickback Soborno - bribe Cloacas del estado - government plumbing, state's sewers  Fontanero - plumber Cantar - snitch, blow the whistle Tirar de la manta - blow the whistle Conseguidor - fixer, facilitator Testaferro - straw man, front man Imputado - indicted Maquillar las cuentas - cook the books Orden de registro - search and seize Orden de busca y captura - warrant for arrest Chivatazo . tip-off Chivo expiatorio - scapegoat Enchufismo - cronyism Prevaricación - official misconduct Dimitir - resign Caja B - off-the-books fund Malversación - embezzlement Tráfico de influencias - influence peddling Tr...

 Many writers glorify the art of writing and encourage others to put their thoughts on paper, to develop their ideas, plots, realities, traumas, fears, and fantasies, convinced that writing liberates the mind and brings a deep sense of satisfaction. For them, the act of writing can be a source of almost limitless pleasure and delight. My own experience has been rather different. My writing is nothing to write home about (pun intended), and I have so few readers that not even my relatives take a peek at my "literary" output. They invariably assure me of their keen interest, only to add that they simply have no time. Steven Pressfield's delightful little book Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t  fits me to a T. All this came to mind because I recently came across a remark by Tom Wolfe in Hooking Up , in the chapter "My Three Stooges." He writes: "I can tell you... to write one book is a killer financially, a blow to the base of the skull mentally and physically, h...

Por nada del mundo, decimos for all the tea in China. The Oxford English Dictionary tiene una citación que dice: “I’m not going to stand in my girl’s light for all the tea in China.” También decimos not for love or money. I wouldn’t kiss that man for love or money. Y hablando de té, cuando algo no nos gusta, empleamos la expresión: it/he/she is not my cup of tea. Por cierto que, como todo, cambia: el five-o’clock tea pasó a mejor vida en el Reino Unido, pero donde tea significa también cualquier comida, especialmente al final del día. At what time are we having tea? Significa a qué hora vamos a cenar.

  President Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook," and popularized the expression. The Spanish government is bringing back words and expressions that were dormant, like "tirar de la manta."  So many of the government´s members are either in jail, indicted, or investigated that the President fears one of them will finally blow the whistle on him, "tire de la manta" and expose all the dirt that might get him in the clink, behind bars. English has more idiomatic phrases to express this idea of telling on someone:  Take the lid off, pull the plug, blow the whistle, give the game away, let the cat out of the bag, and spill the beans. Mr. Pedro Sánchez, the present PM, might find it worthwhile to learn these English equivalents. If one of his colleagues ever decides to blow the whistle , spill the beans , or let the cat out of the bag , at least he will be familiar with the vocabulary of political scandals when he travels abroad.

 By now, all and sundry must know that I read with a pencil in hand to highlight passages, phrases, and words, both known and unknown.  or me, reading is an act of learning. I am well past halfway through Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead, and today I underlined the word midrift as odd-sounding. I underlined it and looked it up. Sure enough, the word should be spelt midriff , "the middle part of the body, between the chest and the waist." Ms. Kingsolver says at the end of her novel: "Every draft of this book was improved by advice from insightful readers..." and names a few of them. The author might reply and remind us that the narrator is, on page 302, only 15. The argument will not hold water because Demon uses ten-dollar words throughout,  far more difficult than midriff.  Unless the misspelling was deliberate—and I doubt it—it appears to have slipped past both the author and her readers.