botín de guerra: war trophy

this is a repeat post, because I saw this term mistranslated several different ways today (including war bounty!) in tweets honoring today as international day against violence against women.  (by the way, I also learned today that the reason we focus on this on Nov. 25th of all days is because it was the day that the Mirabel sisters were killed in the DR in 1960.  It was proclaimed as a day of action by activists in '81 and recognized by the UN in '99).

botín de guerra: war trophy

"El cuerpo de la mujer no es botín de guerra" is a slogan of the Ruta Pacifica de Mujeres in Colombia. This photo is from their mobilization in Nov. 07 where they shut down the border between Colombia and Ecuador to highlight how many women are being forced to flee their homes and cross that border, and how war particularly affects women.

When I first heard this slogan the term that came to me in the moment was war booty, which not only sounds like pirates, but makes you think of women's butts! Clearly one to avoid. So my next thought was spoils of war, but that is a much higher register in English and sounds ridiculous in a chant. Women's bodies are not war trophies, now that seems to do it.

plantón: protest camp (Mex), demonstration (Col)

In Mexico a plantón is a somewhat long term encampment, a protest camp occupy style. The Mexican teachers union (the largest union in the Americas) annually during contract negotiations does a plantón in the main plaza in Mexico city, and this year they were violently ousted by riot camps.

Thanks to my colleague Eric for pointing out to me that in Colombia the word is used quite differently, to refer simply to a short demonstration, often in front of a building.  Today a plantón in miniskirts is being held in front of the restaurant Andrés Carne de Res to protest rape culture and the comments by the owner that the young woman raped in his parking lot asked for it.  

sitdown strike: huelga de brazos cruzados (o brazos caidos)

according to wikipedia, "A sit-down strike is a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at a factory or other centralized location, take possession of the workplace by "sitting down" at their stations, effectively preventing their employers from replacing them with strikebreakers or, in some cases, moving production to other locations."

(thanks to Jorge Lawton for the cruzados version, not sure exactly how it varies by country but both should be understandable)

money belt: canguro invisible

a regular fanny pack is just a canguro, at least in Colombia

vias de hecho (Col): nonviolent direct action

Many thanks to my fab compas Kath and Fiona who have had extended conversations with me about this.  The term is often used to refer to blockades/barricades in particular, but is also more widely used to refer to reclaiming land, etc.. 

It seems to mean different things outside of Colombia, so I'd be curious to hear - does this term get used in this way much in movement circles outside of Colombia?

transversalizar: mainstream

As in, vamos a transversalizar género en esta conferencia - so as opposed to having break out sessions just on gender it's going to be discussed in all sessions (in theory).  In other contexts temas transversales I also render as croscutting themes. 

workshop at wayside on interpretation for social justice

Wayside (in Virginia) is doing another training led by fabulous colleagues of mine from October 25 - 27th.  It's aimed at bilingual activists who want to break into doing interpreting for the movement. Please please, if you know folks who would be a good fit, tell them about it.  Fee is on a sliding scale. 

bilingual social justice activists and workers who would like to learn more about interpreting and translating in a social justice context to empower immigrant communities and build alliances across communities. - See more at: http://www.waysidecenter.org/register-for-the-interpretation-for-social-justice-workshop/#sthash.BdI1otrJ.dpuf

bilingual social justice activists and workers who would like to learn more about interpreting and translating in a social justice context to empower immigrant communities and build alliances across communities. - See more at: http://www.waysidecenter.org/register-for-the-interpretation-for-social-justice-workshop/#sthash.BdI1otrJ.dpuf

volunteer terps needed to shut down the US army's School of the Americas!

I am yet again helping to organize the interpreting at the vigil to close the School of the Americas - a US army training camp for Latin American military officers. This protest is the longest ongoing protest against US empire happening in the United States.  It is also the longest ongoing act of civil disobedience.  But no CD required to participate! You can be an essential part of it all by helping us interpret.  It really is an amazing experience and a great way to be at the heart of a deeply inspiring weekend, where folks gather from across the US and the Americas and share experience and analysis. 

We're looking for volunteers with professional experience who are comfortable doing simul with equipment in a conference setting.  We cover the hotel and have a travel fund.  We pay you with boundless gratitude and appreciation from the crowd. 

The vigil is Nov 22 - 24 in Columbus Georgia - but you could come for just one or two of those days.  It's the 23rd that we most need folks.  If you can't come but know someone who might, please spread the word!  We're especially looking for folks who live in the South and don't have to travel so so far to get there.

If you're interested or have questions please be in touch.  I'm at sara (dot) koopman (at) gmail (dot) com

empresa fachada: front company

These are widely used by both paramilitaries and mining companies in Colombia.  Pacific Rubiales, for example, has responded to outrage and organizing against its mining practices by setting up a wide range of these, as I learned at the political and ethical trial against dispossession. 

papas (Col): petard

well, actually petard would work fine with a British audience, but in the US you might do better with the unwieldy term "small homemade explosives known as "potato bombs"" that the AP used in describing Thursday's protests (see for photos) in Bogotá, and after that just use the term potato bomb.  But if you just used the term 'potato bomb' alone from the get go, my guess is that most US listeners would think a potato was involved in making the bomb.  Instead they look like a US style baked potato wrapped in tinfoil, but have gunpowder inside instead of a potato. Personally I think they are truly tragic strategy at protests, since they are used as an excuse for a brutal response from the police, as can be seen in this video of the papa throwing, and response, on August 21st at the Universidad Nacional.  I went in the other entrance trying to meet a prof in the Sociology department, and about half way across campus a stream of people came towards me with their eyes watering.  It was astounding how much of the campus they managed to fill with tear gas without being able to come in (cops are not allowed on campus).  Classes were cancelled.  Not exactly useful for building a broad based movement for justice and equality in my book.   

really California?!

Having gotten my medical interpreter certification from the state of Washington way back in 1994, I'm stunned to have learned that California is only just now getting around to considering certifying medical interpreters.  Really? California of all states?

I dream of a day when medical interpreters are not only required, widely used, and federally certified - but there are also fabulous federally subsidized training programs to prepare people to be great interps!

ordenamiento territorial: territorial zoning

Yes, it is something like land-use planning, but it is different enough that I like this rendition that sounds slightly odd in English, alerting the reader to something different at work. 

This is the translation used by Ojeda and Asher, two friends and fabulous geographers, in their great article:

Producing nature and making the state: Ordenamiento territorial in the Pacific lowlands of Colombia

(if you don't have academic access and would like a copy let me know)

looking to improve your conference interp skills?

There is a new resource book out: Conference Interpreting: A Student’s Practice Book (Routledge, 2013) by Andrew Gillies.  

Check out this *glowing* review of it, which I was pointed to by the fabulous intersect newsletter.

batidas (Col): arbitrary military street round-ups

In Colombia young men are required to do military service.  Batidas are military raids in poor neighborhoods that target youth who have avoided doing that service.   They look for young men without the card that proves that they have done, or somehow gotten out of, their military service.  Those who do not have a card on them are whisked away, not to be seen again my family or friends for months.  The city government of Bogota recently signed an agreement with the local batallion that they would stop doing these in the city - but it turns out that batallions from other areas have been coming in to the city to do this sort of forced recruitment. 

I'm not sure about this rendition in English for the term, but it's the one used by Emily Schmitz in this great article about batidas and the conscientious objectors who struggle against them.

The article begins:

Villavicencio, Colombia — Juan Carlos waits anxiously outside the army base, gazing beyond the chaos of the newly recruited soldiers surrounding him. In black jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt, he stands quietly apart from them; he is one of the few without military fatigues. Recruited in an illegal street round-up and held for 45 days without seeing his family, today he will finally go home.
Dusk settles slowly, covering the soldiers in a soft purple light as they get in formation, lining up together side-by-side. Tomorrow they will leave the training base to begin their two-year military service. Conscription is mandatory in Colombia, with the exception of a few cases: victims of displacement, sole children and heads of households, physically or mentally disabled, indigenous people. And sometimes, even people like Juan Carlos – self-declared conscientious objectors – are released.

Colombian conscientious objectors uphold the right to refuse mandatory conscription through a constitutional provision (pdf) that details freedom of conscience, guaranteeing that: no one will be importuned on account of his or her convictions or beliefs […] or obligated to act against his or her conscience. But without legal parameters to regulate the law, cases of conscientious objection are confusing and time consuming. With the exception of one officially recognized case, the majority remains unrecognized. There are instead far easier, albeit illegal, ways out of military service: under the guise of mental instability, physical limitations, or simply by paying their way out, defiant youth successfully avoid conscription. But conscientious objectors, fighting to pave a legal path toward military exemption, see the difficulties of navigating the legal system as a means of silencing a public criticism of a practice that has helped perpetuate more than half a century of civil war.

read more ...

Basta Ya!: Enough Already!

Yesterday the Colombian National Centre of Historical Memory issued a major report on the Colombian conflict, entitled in Spanish, Basta Ya! This Guardian article in English about the report rendered it as Enough Already.  Not sure if the Center offered that as the official English translation, but I like it more than the more literal Stop now.  

(photo is from the report of the cover, taken by the fabulous Jesus Abad Colorado)

amparo: amparo

I have blogged before about the term tutela, which is the Colombian version of what is more often
throughout Latin America called amparo.  I have been rendering tutela as writ for protection of constitutional rights, but I was surprised to see that the author chose to keep the term in Spanish in the book

Constitutional Protection of Human Rights in Latin America: A Comparative Study of Amparo Proceedings

I suppose the logic is that 'amparo' proceedings as such don't exist in the US, UK, or Canada.  Ojo, amparo cases generally don't establish precedent.

finca variations

beware of the different connotations of words! 
in Guate this implies a plantation
in Col it can often mean a vacation home, with a little bit of ranch around it, or maybe just some gardens

Spanish camp for activists

if you're anywhere near Ithaca check this out! and if not, maybe you'll be inspired to set up something like this in your area next summer?

this one is sliding scale registration fee: $120-200.

Spanish for Activists Camp features Spanish and ESL English classes, workshops and panels on current social and political issues in U.S.-Latin American relations, as well as music, overnight camping and great food.

Learn songs in Spanish in a workshop with singer-songwriter Colleen Kattau on the "Nueva cancion" genre of social justice songs.

Panel on the Direction of Latin America Solidarity with:
Carol Delgado - Consul General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in New York
Michael Fox - Former Editor of "NACLA Report on the Americas"
Gregory Wilpert - Author and Editor of venezuelanalysis.com

Panel on U.S. Immigration Reform with: Kathleen Sexsmith - Ph.D. student at Cornell University
Gonzalo Martinez de Vedia - Worker Justice Center of New York

chanta

chanta (Argentina): bullshitter

no comment on my week.  really.  

el derecho a la vida

If you interpreted this as the right to life, would your listeners think you meant an anti-abortion movement?

If the context doesn´t make it super clear, one option is to render it as the right to not be killed - not exact, but avoids cultural confusion since the phrase right-to-life has been coopted in the US and Canada at least. 

ollas (Colombia): street drug market

there has been a lot of coverage of these in the media here lately because the government has been squeezing the water balloon and moving them around (see photos).

Insight Crime just put out an English language article about them that used the rendition "street level drug sale points".  as they put it "Drugs are mostly sold in ollas, which literally means saucepan. The olla, in this instance, can be a building, but also a locally known location such as a park or a street corner."

But the register of that English rendition is way higher than the Spanish, which is why I suggest street drug market. any other suggestions?

tax loopholes: lagunas legales de la norma tributaria

thanks to Siobhan Ring for asking this one.  

this is for outreach work in the States, so can anyone think of a simpler and easier to understand version for folks with lower literacy? or do you think even low literacy folks will understand norma tributaria? lagunas en la ley de impuestos might be more widely understood but the loopholes are usually in the codes, not the actual laws.  maybe that's putting too fine a point on it. 

commodities: productos basicos

as I've posted before, commodities are often rendered as mercancía, yet in some contexts productos basicos works much better.

I was reminded of it by this fabulous article about the state of coffee in Colombia and the reasons behind the recent coffee growers strike. 

Procurador General vs. Fiscal General (in Colombia)

procurador general: inspector general

There was recently a heated debate about the peace process between these two men, described here, and it reminded me of how tricky it can be to distinguish between the two in English.

(note, this entry is corrected, I had originally mistakenly posted it as solicitor general, but procurador is closest to the US position of Inspector General)

For written translations my friend Andrea Parra suggests a footnote, explaining that the procurador has plenary disciplinary power to sanction any public official and is mandated by the constitution to oversee implementation of judicial orders and the protection human rights. She also makes reference to art. 277 of the Colombian Constitution.

judicializacion: malicious prosecution on trumped up charges

I've posted about this one before, but I was moved to repost this because I saw the cognate (judicialization) used again and want to emphasize that I believe this a FALSE cognate to be avoided - as can be seen by the English definition here and by googling it in English and seeing how it is used.

I am sad to say that these are still rampant in Colombia, the latest victim being human rights defender Sofia Lopez.  WOLA writes:

On April 12, 2013 Corporación Justicia y Dignidad was informed that one of its staff, Sofia Lopez, is currently under investigation by the Attorney General’s office for rebellion along with sixty other persons It is concerning is included in a list that includes persons who have already been arrested and sentenced. It is disturbing that this revelation comes after Lopez was harassed and intimidated in April. On April 4, 2013 a woman approached her calling her a “guerilla lawyer” and saying that “guerilla lawyers die here, they kill them here, so be careful.” The presence of two suspicious men in front of the lawyer’s office is frequent. These men spend three to four hours in the vicinity. Ms. Lopez does highly sensitive work advocating for victims and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has granted her organization several injunctions and security measures.

The Colombian Attorney General’s office should explain and clarify the charges against Lopez. The Protection Unit must provide protection to Lopez and fully enforce the injunctions and security measures recommended by the IACHR.