 |
|
Title: Stories from Puerto Rico
ISBN: 0844204021
Author:
Robert L. Muckley
Adela Martinez-Santiago
Publicate Date: 1999-06-11
Publish: 1999-06-11
List Price: $11.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.83
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $3.36
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Books for Young Students with Puerto Rican Heritage
I bought this book for a student of mine with Puerto Rican heritage. He loved having Spanish on one side and English on the other. He was not an avid reader, but he loved this book so much that he read it in a week or so.
|
2: Translation is too loose
This is the second "Side-by-Side" book I have read.
I prefer the first, "Stories from Latin America,"
because the editors of that volume better understood
their purpose -- which is to present side-by-side versions
of the same story, such that a reader conversant in one
language but not the other, may learn new vocabulary, verify
verb tense, etc. If one looks at the back cover of "Stories
from Puerto Rico," one sees that it says there that "we've
placed the Spanish and English stories side by side -- lado a
lado -- so you can practice and improve your reading skills in your
new language while enjoying the support of your native language.
That way, you'll avoid the inconvenience of constantly having to
look up unfamiliar words and expressions in a dictionary."
Well, you had better have a dictionary handy if you plan to
learn from this book. I have been exasperated time and again by
English translations that are too loose to be useful. If one is
translating for the purpose of conveying the sense and spirit of
a story, then a precise word-for-word translation is unnecessary.
However, this book is designed for language students who are trying
to learn a foreign language. A precise translation is just what's
needed, and I think it's what was promised on that back cover. Yet,
this is not what the book delivers. Let me give an example. There
are many to choose from. This one appears on page 117. Here's the
Spanish version:
"No sabemos si existi??, ni d??nde, ni cu??ndo, pero sus desventuras
han hecho re??r a generaciones de puertoriquenos. A continuaci??n
encontrar?? una versi??n de una historia de Juan Bobo." [I've omitted
the diacritical mark on the "n" in puertoriquenos, but it's there in
the text.]
Now here's the English version of the same sentences:
"We don't know if he really existed, or where, or when, but his
misadventures have entertained generations of Puerto Ricans. The
following is one version of a story about Foolish Jack."
Here now is my problem with the English translation. First, the
word "entertained." The Spanish word translated is "re??r." The
Spanish word means "to laugh." Why didn't the translator give us
the precise translation? The clause should read, "his adventures have made generations of
Puerto Ricans laugh." What's wrong with this more precise translation?
Had I not recognized that the Spanish verb is similar to the French
for "laugh" (which I know already), then I might not have bothered
to look the word up. I might have assumed that "re??r" means "to
entertain." It does not. My second problem with the English translation
has to do with the last sentence. The Spanish verb "encontrar??" is
simply not translated. As though that weren't bad enough, the tense
has been changed from future to present. As a person trying to learn
Spanish (that's why I bought this book), I want to know the meaning and
tense of "encontrar??." The Spanish sentence should have been translated
as follows: "Following, you will find a version of one story about Juan
Bobo." Is that so hard? What did the translator think he was doing?
What did he think his purpose was?
This book still has value, and that's why I give it three stars. The
English translation helps convey the general sense of a sentence, and
that is usually enough to help the reader fill in the gaps. However,
a dictionary is still required -- especially since some of the Spanish
vocabulary in not included in the glossary.
A very sloppy job of editing. "Stories from Latin America" is better
done.
|
3: Thank you
This was a present for my friend whos is Puerto Rician he loved the book.
|
4: The Best Stories in the World
I recommend this book to all people, especially the Puerto Ricans, because it talks about our roots, our culture and our different ethnic origins. After you read this book you will understand our Spanish people more, know about our needs and be more understandable of Puerto Rican people.
My best regards to Robert L. Muckley and Adela Mart??nez-Santiago for their great job in this wonderful book.
|
5: Reviews from California : Repasos de California
I found this book to be very helpful in two important ways: widening my perspective of Latin culture, and bettering my Spanish reading comprehension. The 18 stories are each short enough to keep the reader interested in the story, but filled with enough vocabulary to keep him or her constantly learning. Plus, the reader that is a little shaky can use the opposite page in English as a crutch, and there is also an index of vocabulary in the back of the book if one would prefer that approach. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to further their vocabulary, while at the same time broaden their cultural perspective.
|
|
|
|
|
