pasar la voz: give the floor
As in when a speaker is done and wants to name the next person who gets to speak and says, "ahora paso la voz a Amalia" or "I give the floor to Amalia". This is another one of those that sounds really funny with the false cognate in English. Pass the voice? But then regalar el piso sounds pretty weird in Spanish. Ah, the beauty of idiomatic expressions.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
progressive
progressive: progresista
Progresivo is one of the funnier false cognates that I keep running in to. In Spanish it's widely understood as a type of rock music. Apparently the term progressive rock exists in English too, it's just not the first thing we think of when we use the term progressive!
Progresivo is one of the funnier false cognates that I keep running in to. In Spanish it's widely understood as a type of rock music. Apparently the term progressive rock exists in English too, it's just not the first thing we think of when we use the term progressive!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
invierno
invierno: rainy, or rainy season
You might have thought that invierno meant winter and verano meant summer, but really, in my experience in Colombia and El Salvador this is another one of those "the dictionary is lying" words. Ok, ok, a word where the connotation is quite different than the denotation. In El Salvador it really only meant rainy season. Here in Colombia it often means this (and not just the one rainy season mind you, there are several in a year) - but people also use it to mean just rainy, as in "hizo mucho invierno ayer". Verano generally means not just dry but hot and sunny, as in, "por las tardes hace verano". We have had a lot of invierno around here lately, and far too much of it has been making its way inside our apartment.
You might have thought that invierno meant winter and verano meant summer, but really, in my experience in Colombia and El Salvador this is another one of those "the dictionary is lying" words. Ok, ok, a word where the connotation is quite different than the denotation. In El Salvador it really only meant rainy season. Here in Colombia it often means this (and not just the one rainy season mind you, there are several in a year) - but people also use it to mean just rainy, as in "hizo mucho invierno ayer". Verano generally means not just dry but hot and sunny, as in, "por las tardes hace verano". We have had a lot of invierno around here lately, and far too much of it has been making its way inside our apartment.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
so-called
so-called: mal llamado
As in, the so-called Justice and Peace law in Colombia, es decir, el mal llamado ley de Justicia y Paz. More and more Colombian human rights activists are insisting on just calling it Law 975, since even saying "mal llamado" you still end up associating it with justice and peace.
But there is all sorts of brave work being done for real peace here. There was a truly inspiring march in Bogota (and others around the world) on March 6th called by the Movimiento de victimas de crimenes de estado. I went a little crazy taking pics. Here is one of my faves.
As in, the so-called Justice and Peace law in Colombia, es decir, el mal llamado ley de Justicia y Paz. More and more Colombian human rights activists are insisting on just calling it Law 975, since even saying "mal llamado" you still end up associating it with justice and peace.
But there is all sorts of brave work being done for real peace here. There was a truly inspiring march in Bogota (and others around the world) on March 6th called by the Movimiento de victimas de crimenes de estado. I went a little crazy taking pics. Here is one of my faves.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
vereda (Colombia)
vereda: township (Col)
Of course it's not really the same thing since even the most rural place in North America is nowhere near as rural as most veredas, but it's the closest equivalent I could come up with. A vereda is not really even a village, just scattered homes in the jungle in a general area, say, all within a 2 hour walk. If there are a few homes are close together in Colombia they are called a "caserío" (now that you could call village maybe, though it's often barely that). There can be a caserío in a vereda. Vereda in Spain means path, so maybe this originally meant all the homes along one path, but it is no longer that specific. It is, however, (along with corregimiento) a legal division of space inside a municipio - which I actually in Colombia usually render as 'county' since they function more like a US county than a municipality. Of course, Canadians and Brits probably won't get the term county. Ah, the joys of context. (Thanks to Kath for additions on this one)
Anyways, my recent walk with the peace community up to the vereda of Mulatos was amazing.
It turned out that this trip was not only a commemoration of the massacre of the leader of the peace community of San Jose, Luis Eduardo Guerra, and his family and another family, as I had explained in my last letter. It was even more powerful than that.
When Luis Eduardo was killed he was up in the area of Mulatos. For me Mulatos is a long painful 9 hour hike straight up the very end of the Andes, right before it ends at the sea. And really, I mean straight up – not a single switchback, just very steep muddy rocky trails. Somehow the community members do this hike in 5 hours. Mulatos is one of the veredas that many of the peace community members had to flee 15 years ago when they were attacked and bombed by the army.
When Luis Eduardo was killed three years ago he was up in Mulatos working his crops on his old land, helping to prepare the way so that community members could return to live there. Obviously after he was killed that dream was put on hold, but it did not die with him.
Amazingly, though slow judicial investigations confirm that the massacre three years ago was committed by the army, and though the army continues to harass them (just last December they killed another community member), seven brave families moved back to Mulatos on this march! They have declared Mulatos a humanitarian zone, in association with the peace community, and are likewise declaring that they will not participate with any of the armed actors in any way, and asking all actors to stay out of the area.
We hiked by a lot of bombed out houses that people had fled years ago and are now being taken over by the jungle. But these brave folks are moving back into some of them, fixing them up and building new ones. They are even working to clean up the old school, now covered with wasp nests and creepy army graffiti, where a 3 year old girl was killed during an air raid. Of course they are too far away for kids to go to school down the mountain, and getting classes going is one of their first priorities.
The land was gorgeous and crazy fertile. We ate bananas that were growing along the path – much more fun than my standard hiking salmon berries! And I ate my first raw cacao, which has big white fuzzy seed pods inside a big yellow fruit. Tastes absolutely nothing like chocolate. Folks (and dogs) from the community caught huge river shrimp, a wild boar, and an armadillo. There were heliconia flowers growing all over, and trees full of those wacky hanging oropendula bird nests.
I thought that I was going on a pilgrimage to sites of death, and indeed, we did hold very moving ceremonies at the two massacre sites, at each of which the community has built beautiful simple little chapels. But this was not a trip focused on death - it was very much a trip full of life, of carrying on the dream, of building and rebuilding community. There was a lot of laughing and singing, and fun with kids on the trip. The youngest was Luis Eduardo's 7 year old son. He was so proud of going the whole way.
There were about 30 internationals on the trip, who were key to making it safer for them to move back. There were folks from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Argentina and the States. Most were there only for this trip, but the folks from the Fellowship of Reconciliation (that I am doing my dissertation research with) are there year round. They live in the area full time, offering accompaniment to this peace-making process. Peace Brigades comes up to the community once a week. Of course, this accompaniment only works if there are folks around the world that care and are watching along from a distance.
The community is providing such an important example and model for us all of how to resist nonviolently, engage in collective civil disobedience in the middle of a war, and make space for peace and life. I was honored to be with them on their return, and hope to return to visit them again.
ps: We watched the lunar eclipse from Mulatos and it was magical. There is a far less beautiful eclipse of information about what is happening in Colombia, and in general of peaceful resistance to war. Here is a great article with more background about San Jose and the return, written beforehand by a NACLA journalist who was on the trip.
Of course it's not really the same thing since even the most rural place in North America is nowhere near as rural as most veredas, but it's the closest equivalent I could come up with. A vereda is not really even a village, just scattered homes in the jungle in a general area, say, all within a 2 hour walk. If there are a few homes are close together in Colombia they are called a "caserío" (now that you could call village maybe, though it's often barely that). There can be a caserío in a vereda. Vereda in Spain means path, so maybe this originally meant all the homes along one path, but it is no longer that specific. It is, however, (along with corregimiento) a legal division of space inside a municipio - which I actually in Colombia usually render as 'county' since they function more like a US county than a municipality. Of course, Canadians and Brits probably won't get the term county. Ah, the joys of context. (Thanks to Kath for additions on this one)
Anyways, my recent walk with the peace community up to the vereda of Mulatos was amazing.
It turned out that this trip was not only a commemoration of the massacre of the leader of the peace community of San Jose, Luis Eduardo Guerra, and his family and another family, as I had explained in my last letter. It was even more powerful than that.
When Luis Eduardo was killed he was up in the area of Mulatos. For me Mulatos is a long painful 9 hour hike straight up the very end of the Andes, right before it ends at the sea. And really, I mean straight up – not a single switchback, just very steep muddy rocky trails. Somehow the community members do this hike in 5 hours. Mulatos is one of the veredas that many of the peace community members had to flee 15 years ago when they were attacked and bombed by the army.
When Luis Eduardo was killed three years ago he was up in Mulatos working his crops on his old land, helping to prepare the way so that community members could return to live there. Obviously after he was killed that dream was put on hold, but it did not die with him.
Amazingly, though slow judicial investigations confirm that the massacre three years ago was committed by the army, and though the army continues to harass them (just last December they killed another community member), seven brave families moved back to Mulatos on this march! They have declared Mulatos a humanitarian zone, in association with the peace community, and are likewise declaring that they will not participate with any of the armed actors in any way, and asking all actors to stay out of the area.
We hiked by a lot of bombed out houses that people had fled years ago and are now being taken over by the jungle. But these brave folks are moving back into some of them, fixing them up and building new ones. They are even working to clean up the old school, now covered with wasp nests and creepy army graffiti, where a 3 year old girl was killed during an air raid. Of course they are too far away for kids to go to school down the mountain, and getting classes going is one of their first priorities.
The land was gorgeous and crazy fertile. We ate bananas that were growing along the path – much more fun than my standard hiking salmon berries! And I ate my first raw cacao, which has big white fuzzy seed pods inside a big yellow fruit. Tastes absolutely nothing like chocolate. Folks (and dogs) from the community caught huge river shrimp, a wild boar, and an armadillo. There were heliconia flowers growing all over, and trees full of those wacky hanging oropendula bird nests.
I thought that I was going on a pilgrimage to sites of death, and indeed, we did hold very moving ceremonies at the two massacre sites, at each of which the community has built beautiful simple little chapels. But this was not a trip focused on death - it was very much a trip full of life, of carrying on the dream, of building and rebuilding community. There was a lot of laughing and singing, and fun with kids on the trip. The youngest was Luis Eduardo's 7 year old son. He was so proud of going the whole way.
There were about 30 internationals on the trip, who were key to making it safer for them to move back. There were folks from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Argentina and the States. Most were there only for this trip, but the folks from the Fellowship of Reconciliation (that I am doing my dissertation research with) are there year round. They live in the area full time, offering accompaniment to this peace-making process. Peace Brigades comes up to the community once a week. Of course, this accompaniment only works if there are folks around the world that care and are watching along from a distance.
The community is providing such an important example and model for us all of how to resist nonviolently, engage in collective civil disobedience in the middle of a war, and make space for peace and life. I was honored to be with them on their return, and hope to return to visit them again.
ps: We watched the lunar eclipse from Mulatos and it was magical. There is a far less beautiful eclipse of information about what is happening in Colombia, and in general of peaceful resistance to war. Here is a great article with more background about San Jose and the return, written beforehand by a NACLA journalist who was on the trip.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
comunidad de base
comunidad de base: organized community
in the last post I argued that base is usually grassroots, but here is another example that occurred to me where, in context, it can refer to organizing
You may have heard of the term christian base communities - a key part of liberation theology. sometimes when people say comunidad de base they mean these, but often they are simply referring to an organized community, be it that they have a strong community council, work groups, or that they are part of some larger campesino organization of what have you.
I am posting today from Turbo, and leave soon for the peace community of San Jose, an organized community if ever there was one.
What is a peace community? In this case it is a group of campesinos who have chosen not to participate in the war in any way, and have asked all of the armed actors (paramilitaries, guerillas and the military) to stay out of their community. As a result they have been attacked by all sides. In their eleven years they have suffered over 160 violent deaths. Three years ago one of their leaders was killed in a horrific massacre with his family and another family. Luis Eduardo Guerra had only a few years earlier come to the School of the Americas vigil to denounce attacks on the peace community. (that link has more info on the massacre)
The brigade accused of killing him was led by an SOA graduate. Since his death the community has bravely continued sending community members to speak at the SOA vigil in the US about the attacks and to work in solidarity with us to end US military involvement in Colombia. I have been honored to interpret for them. Now it's my turn to go to the community in our joint struggle against militarism.
February 21st will be the third anniversary of the massacre, and I am going with the community on their "return" – a three day hike up to where Luis Eduardo and the others were killed. This is territory that is seriously disputed between the guerillas and the military and the paramilitaries. There will be a big group of folks from the community and a significant number of international accompaniers on this hike, which helps with safety, but there are no guarantees. Please send us all lots of safety wishes. I'll send a report on how it goes when I get back at the end of the month.
in the last post I argued that base is usually grassroots, but here is another example that occurred to me where, in context, it can refer to organizing
You may have heard of the term christian base communities - a key part of liberation theology. sometimes when people say comunidad de base they mean these, but often they are simply referring to an organized community, be it that they have a strong community council, work groups, or that they are part of some larger campesino organization of what have you.
I am posting today from Turbo, and leave soon for the peace community of San Jose, an organized community if ever there was one.
What is a peace community? In this case it is a group of campesinos who have chosen not to participate in the war in any way, and have asked all of the armed actors (paramilitaries, guerillas and the military) to stay out of their community. As a result they have been attacked by all sides. In their eleven years they have suffered over 160 violent deaths. Three years ago one of their leaders was killed in a horrific massacre with his family and another family. Luis Eduardo Guerra had only a few years earlier come to the School of the Americas vigil to denounce attacks on the peace community. (that link has more info on the massacre)
The brigade accused of killing him was led by an SOA graduate. Since his death the community has bravely continued sending community members to speak at the SOA vigil in the US about the attacks and to work in solidarity with us to end US military involvement in Colombia. I have been honored to interpret for them. Now it's my turn to go to the community in our joint struggle against militarism.
February 21st will be the third anniversary of the massacre, and I am going with the community on their "return" – a three day hike up to where Luis Eduardo and the others were killed. This is territory that is seriously disputed between the guerillas and the military and the paramilitaries. There will be a big group of folks from the community and a significant number of international accompaniers on this hike, which helps with safety, but there are no guarantees. Please send us all lots of safety wishes. I'll send a report on how it goes when I get back at the end of the month.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
trabajo de base
trabajo de base: grassroots organizing
I heard this rendered as "base work" - which has got to be one of the all time most dangerous false cognates.
in other news I found fabulous affordable housing in the funky neighborhood of la Macarena. yay!
I've (reasonably) been asked to explain why it bugs me so much that base gets mistranslated with its cognate. To me the first connotation that comes to mind with "base" is low, and in some contexts it could even be misunderstood as degrading. yikes! The next definition that would come to me for "base" would be military base - which might actually seem to make sense depending on the context, and again would be a total misunderstanding. Base is commonly mistranslated with its cognate, not just as part of this term. bad news! avoid it!
Of course "work" means something very different than organizing - but usually in movement contexts speakers are really referring specifically to organizing with this phrase, which is understood in Spanish, but needs to be specified in English.
I heard this rendered as "base work" - which has got to be one of the all time most dangerous false cognates.
in other news I found fabulous affordable housing in the funky neighborhood of la Macarena. yay!
I've (reasonably) been asked to explain why it bugs me so much that base gets mistranslated with its cognate. To me the first connotation that comes to mind with "base" is low, and in some contexts it could even be misunderstood as degrading. yikes! The next definition that would come to me for "base" would be military base - which might actually seem to make sense depending on the context, and again would be a total misunderstanding. Base is commonly mistranslated with its cognate, not just as part of this term. bad news! avoid it!
Of course "work" means something very different than organizing - but usually in movement contexts speakers are really referring specifically to organizing with this phrase, which is understood in Spanish, but needs to be specified in English.
Friday, February 1, 2008
affordable housing
affordable housing: vivienda asequible, vivienda al alcance economico, vivienda economicamente accesible
The first if the standard, and the easier and quicker term, but sometimes I wonder if low literacy listeners get it - which is when I would turn to either of the latter two, or if in a real pinch while doing simultaneous, just 'vivienda al alcance'.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines "affordable" as housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household's monthly income. That includes the cost of utilities. Other public agencies sometimes define affordable housing as those units that are subsidized such that renters or owners do not pay more than that 30%. The number of units with those kinds of subsidies has been cut drastically in recent years. Sadly way way too many people, in the US and around the world, pay far more than 30%.
Right now I'm looking hard for some housing that's affordable, sunny, and in the Macarena neighborhood of Bogotá. Wish me luck!
The first if the standard, and the easier and quicker term, but sometimes I wonder if low literacy listeners get it - which is when I would turn to either of the latter two, or if in a real pinch while doing simultaneous, just 'vivienda al alcance'.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines "affordable" as housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household's monthly income. That includes the cost of utilities. Other public agencies sometimes define affordable housing as those units that are subsidized such that renters or owners do not pay more than that 30%. The number of units with those kinds of subsidies has been cut drastically in recent years. Sadly way way too many people, in the US and around the world, pay far more than 30%.
Right now I'm looking hard for some housing that's affordable, sunny, and in the Macarena neighborhood of Bogotá. Wish me luck!
Friday, January 25, 2008
town hall meeting
town hall meeting: cabildo abierto
Sometimes, though less so, also called 'cabildo general'. I also recently heard "evento de opinion publica" (gracias Juan). That may be more easily understood, especially by those with lower literacy, but I like the historical referent of cabildo abierto, especially given that town hall meetings also have historical roots.
Sometimes, though less so, also called 'cabildo general'. I also recently heard "evento de opinion publica" (gracias Juan). That may be more easily understood, especially by those with lower literacy, but I like the historical referent of cabildo abierto, especially given that town hall meetings also have historical roots.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
to ground
ground: poner polo a tierra
In both English and Spanish this term comes from the electrical meaning, but is used metaphorically to mean to bring a discussion back to earth, to the concrete, or it can refer to bringing your body energy and spirit back down to earth, in a chi gong kind of way. We could all probably use more of this too.
In both English and Spanish this term comes from the electrical meaning, but is used metaphorically to mean to bring a discussion back to earth, to the concrete, or it can refer to bringing your body energy and spirit back down to earth, in a chi gong kind of way. We could all probably use more of this too.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Veeduria
veeduria: oversight
We could certainty use more of it, in government institutions, NGO's, and in movements. I am a big fan of the Quaker 'oversight committee' model. On a similar note, seguimiento can be follow-through, but when it's a comisión I would render it as a Monitoring Commission.
We could certainty use more of it, in government institutions, NGO's, and in movements. I am a big fan of the Quaker 'oversight committee' model. On a similar note, seguimiento can be follow-through, but when it's a comisión I would render it as a Monitoring Commission.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
shopdrop
shopdrop: deja-compras
Ready to engage in some anti-capitalist monkey wrenching after that commodity fest? Try shopdropping. Thanks to Jonathan Luna for this creative rendition in Spanish.
Ready to engage in some anti-capitalist monkey wrenching after that commodity fest? Try shopdropping. Thanks to Jonathan Luna for this creative rendition in Spanish.
Monday, December 24, 2007
commodity fetishism
commodity fetishism: fetichismo de la mercancía
commodity is widely rendered as mercancía in academic literature (and in lefty rags, actually ran into this term in the newspaper of the National University here : ) Though I've seen commodity translated differently, this seems the safest bet. Seemed like a good term for this commodity-fest.
commodity is widely rendered as mercancía in academic literature (and in lefty rags, actually ran into this term in the newspaper of the National University here : ) Though I've seen commodity translated differently, this seems the safest bet. Seemed like a good term for this commodity-fest.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
people of color
people of color: gente no blanca
This is a term in English that points to the politics of the person using the term, in particular to a recognition that certain people are racialized and the importance of coalition, that is, of making connections between the ways different 'people of color' are racialized The very mainstream variant would be 'ethnic minorities'. It is similar to the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino, in the sense that you can peg someone's politics by what term they use. The literal translation in Spanish, gente de color, might make sense to Latinos in the US that know the term in English, or might even use it in Spanish language anti-racist organizing or coalition work, but it is total non-sense in Latin America. One option that was suggested to me was gente de comunidades etnicas, but again, this does not point to racialization. No, I don't think "race" exists, but racialization is a daily reality, that we have to make visible to be able to change. Terminology is important for this work. (Yes, white folks have a "race" too, but they are not racialized in the same way). (note that the term person of color is rarely used in Canada, where the widely used term, in both government and social justice contexts, is "visible minority").
Thanks to Roberto from Highlander for help on this one. I also asked for help on proz and found that most of the answers were really clueless about the politics of this term and the social justice context, so ojo when using proz for politically charged terms.
addendum:
My friend Jonathan Luna, who is active in people of color organizing in the States, as well as inter-racial organizing in Colombia, argues for trying to teach/introduce the term gente de color in Latin America, given that it makes more sense to define by what people are than what they are not. I get that logic, and if you were going to try to do that I would suggest putting (todas las personas no blancas) after the first use of the term. I doubt 'gente de color' will ever catch on, but hey, you could try.
This is a term in English that points to the politics of the person using the term, in particular to a recognition that certain people are racialized and the importance of coalition, that is, of making connections between the ways different 'people of color' are racialized The very mainstream variant would be 'ethnic minorities'. It is similar to the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino, in the sense that you can peg someone's politics by what term they use. The literal translation in Spanish, gente de color, might make sense to Latinos in the US that know the term in English, or might even use it in Spanish language anti-racist organizing or coalition work, but it is total non-sense in Latin America. One option that was suggested to me was gente de comunidades etnicas, but again, this does not point to racialization. No, I don't think "race" exists, but racialization is a daily reality, that we have to make visible to be able to change. Terminology is important for this work. (Yes, white folks have a "race" too, but they are not racialized in the same way). (note that the term person of color is rarely used in Canada, where the widely used term, in both government and social justice contexts, is "visible minority").
Thanks to Roberto from Highlander for help on this one. I also asked for help on proz and found that most of the answers were really clueless about the politics of this term and the social justice context, so ojo when using proz for politically charged terms.
addendum:
My friend Jonathan Luna, who is active in people of color organizing in the States, as well as inter-racial organizing in Colombia, argues for trying to teach/introduce the term gente de color in Latin America, given that it makes more sense to define by what people are than what they are not. I get that logic, and if you were going to try to do that I would suggest putting (todas las personas no blancas) after the first use of the term. I doubt 'gente de color' will ever catch on, but hey, you could try.
Friday, November 30, 2007
sororidad
sororidad: sisterhood
Certainly not sorority! Maybe there are some feminist sororities out there, but they tend not to be. This term seems to be more and more frequently used by feminists across Latin America, including the Ruta Pacifica that I went on the amazing mobilization with last week. Over 5,000 women shut down the Colombian-Ecuadoran border for an hour and a half! Very thankfully, there was no repression after all. My pictures of it are here.
(hermandad of course could mean both brotherhood and sisterhood, but tends to mean brotherhood, thus the turn to the term sororidad).
Certainly not sorority! Maybe there are some feminist sororities out there, but they tend not to be. This term seems to be more and more frequently used by feminists across Latin America, including the Ruta Pacifica that I went on the amazing mobilization with last week. Over 5,000 women shut down the Colombian-Ecuadoran border for an hour and a half! Very thankfully, there was no repression after all. My pictures of it are here.
(hermandad of course could mean both brotherhood and sisterhood, but tends to mean brotherhood, thus the turn to the term sororidad).
Sunday, November 18, 2007
hit the streets
hit the streets: quemar pavimento
This is the first year in many many that I'm not hitting the streets on this weekend to close the School of the Americas. Many thanks and saludos to my fantastic interpreter compas who are there in my place. News, photos and videos of the vigil are up at a the SOA Watch site. This is the largest ongoing protest against U.S. imperialism happening inside the U.S., and the largest ongoing act of civil disobedience in the United States. As far as I know we are the only large outdoor protest in the US to have the entire event interpreted simultaneously into Spanish. I'm very proud to be part of organizing the vigil with the interpretation and translation working group.
I am missing the SOA vigil this year because I'm going to be quemando pavimento in a few days with the Ruta Pacifica de Mujeres, who are caravaning from all across Colombia to the border with Ecuador. Some buses are leaving today, we'll leave Bogota on Wed the 21st, and we'll all meet for a march to the border on Friday the 23rd. Ecuadoran women are marching from the other side to meet us. The march is timed around the international day against violence against women, the 25th. The violence in the border region has gone from bad to worse and streams of Colombians have been displaced into Ecuador. The mobilization is focusing on violence against women on both sides of the border, and how militarism leads to various forms of violence (including hunger, rape, displacement, forced prostitution, domestic violence, child abuse, etc). The Ruta has always emphasized that women are the most affected by war, and the best placed to make peace. They reworks the dynamics of war with poetry, and their peace rituals are beautifully symbolic, visual and theatrical. They will march as women in black, woven together with orange ties of resistance. Photos to come. There is some real chance, ironically, that the march will face a violent response, so please hold us in the light next Friday.
This is the first year in many many that I'm not hitting the streets on this weekend to close the School of the Americas. Many thanks and saludos to my fantastic interpreter compas who are there in my place. News, photos and videos of the vigil are up at a the SOA Watch site. This is the largest ongoing protest against U.S. imperialism happening inside the U.S., and the largest ongoing act of civil disobedience in the United States. As far as I know we are the only large outdoor protest in the US to have the entire event interpreted simultaneously into Spanish. I'm very proud to be part of organizing the vigil with the interpretation and translation working group.
I am missing the SOA vigil this year because I'm going to be quemando pavimento in a few days with the Ruta Pacifica de Mujeres, who are caravaning from all across Colombia to the border with Ecuador. Some buses are leaving today, we'll leave Bogota on Wed the 21st, and we'll all meet for a march to the border on Friday the 23rd. Ecuadoran women are marching from the other side to meet us. The march is timed around the international day against violence against women, the 25th. The violence in the border region has gone from bad to worse and streams of Colombians have been displaced into Ecuador. The mobilization is focusing on violence against women on both sides of the border, and how militarism leads to various forms of violence (including hunger, rape, displacement, forced prostitution, domestic violence, child abuse, etc). The Ruta has always emphasized that women are the most affected by war, and the best placed to make peace. They reworks the dynamics of war with poetry, and their peace rituals are beautifully symbolic, visual and theatrical. They will march as women in black, woven together with orange ties of resistance. Photos to come. There is some real chance, ironically, that the march will face a violent response, so please hold us in the light next Friday.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Spanglish
Spanglish: Inglañol
Why do we always just leave it as Spanglish? English hegemony just maybe? The googlage difference between these two terms is stunning.
Why do we always just leave it as Spanglish? English hegemony just maybe? The googlage difference between these two terms is stunning.
Friday, November 9, 2007
campesino (redux)
campesino: family farmer (campesino)
In my previous entry for campesino I argued for importing, and keeping it as campesino. I still think that in a lot of movement contexts this is best, but in the recent Witness for Peace newsletter (not yet online) I noticed that they used "family farmer". I like this much better than the "small farmer" I gave as the other option to campesino. Obviously "family farmer" has different emotional weight in the U.S. than campesino, and I think it's a wise move for drawing connections and making a political impact. Of course the life of a family farmer in the US is quite different than that of a Colombian campesino, but both are being squeezed out by corporate agribusiness and "free" trade agreements.
In my previous entry for campesino I argued for importing, and keeping it as campesino. I still think that in a lot of movement contexts this is best, but in the recent Witness for Peace newsletter (not yet online) I noticed that they used "family farmer". I like this much better than the "small farmer" I gave as the other option to campesino. Obviously "family farmer" has different emotional weight in the U.S. than campesino, and I think it's a wise move for drawing connections and making a political impact. Of course the life of a family farmer in the US is quite different than that of a Colombian campesino, but both are being squeezed out by corporate agribusiness and "free" trade agreements.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
observatorio
observatorio: watch
Observatorio de racismo, observatorio de genero y justicia, observatorio de inmigracion ... there are tons of them here in Colombia, and all over Latin America and Spain. I've seen this translated into English as observatory, but it seems like a false cognate to me. We don't normally use that term for anything like that in English. We do however have several similar organizations that use the term watch, most notably the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) and Amazon Watch (both of which I interpret or translate for). I think the connotation in Spanish is a bit more academic, that is to say that a lot of the observatorios are associated with universities - but observatorios certainly do plenty of lobbying as well, based on the documentation work at the heart of these organizations, both North and South.
Thanks to Andrea for helping me think this through, and my compas on the SOAW interpretation working group. Ojo que some SOA activists have used observadores, but I've been lobbying for observatorio. Not only is it the closer equivalent, but observadores y observadoras de la escuela de las americas is a mouthful.
Observatorio de racismo, observatorio de genero y justicia, observatorio de inmigracion ... there are tons of them here in Colombia, and all over Latin America and Spain. I've seen this translated into English as observatory, but it seems like a false cognate to me. We don't normally use that term for anything like that in English. We do however have several similar organizations that use the term watch, most notably the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) and Amazon Watch (both of which I interpret or translate for). I think the connotation in Spanish is a bit more academic, that is to say that a lot of the observatorios are associated with universities - but observatorios certainly do plenty of lobbying as well, based on the documentation work at the heart of these organizations, both North and South.
Thanks to Andrea for helping me think this through, and my compas on the SOAW interpretation working group. Ojo que some SOA activists have used observadores, but I've been lobbying for observatorio. Not only is it the closer equivalent, but observadores y observadoras de la escuela de las americas is a mouthful.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
cartoneros
cartoneros: urban salvagers
I recently saw a great documentary called Cartoneros, a short version of which is below. They used scavenger for cartonero, but I think salvager has much more dignity to it. Just saw Bryan on subtopia use the term urban salvager, and like that specificity. In Vancouver the term is binner, but that seems very Vancouver specific - other English speakers don't seem to get it. There's actually also a movie about the Vancity binners, called Traplines in Vancouver, made by a French Geographer. The Vancouver binners association has one of my favorite organization names: United We Can. The other term is dumpster diver - which some folks use with great pride, but I don't think is as widely well regarded as salvager.
(ojo que en español Colombiano es reciclador, y, como dice Raul en los comentarios, en Mexicano pepenador, que viene del nahuatl)
I recently saw a great documentary called Cartoneros, a short version of which is below. They used scavenger for cartonero, but I think salvager has much more dignity to it. Just saw Bryan on subtopia use the term urban salvager, and like that specificity. In Vancouver the term is binner, but that seems very Vancouver specific - other English speakers don't seem to get it. There's actually also a movie about the Vancity binners, called Traplines in Vancouver, made by a French Geographer. The Vancouver binners association has one of my favorite organization names: United We Can. The other term is dumpster diver - which some folks use with great pride, but I don't think is as widely well regarded as salvager.
(ojo que en español Colombiano es reciclador, y, como dice Raul en los comentarios, en Mexicano pepenador, que viene del nahuatl)
Monday, October 22, 2007
organización de base
organización de base: grassroots organization
I've heard the false cognate, base organization, more than once. It's a particularly unfortunate one, again because of the different connotation of the cognate. Base could easily be understood to mean unethical, immoral, or low class.
I've heard the false cognate, base organization, more than once. It's a particularly unfortunate one, again because of the different connotation of the cognate. Base could easily be understood to mean unethical, immoral, or low class.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
militante
militante: activist; fighter
On Friday Democracy Now! covered President Carter calling Cheney a militant. Webster's has a militant listed first as someone who engages in warfare, and second as someone who is combative for their cause. I assume Carter meant the first, and I think it's far and away the stronger association for that term in English, so I often flinch when I hear interps going into En render militante with its cognate - because usually in our contexts the Sp speakers are not talking about being guerilla fighters, and in fact very much do not want to be seen that way (no joke in Colombia where you can be killed for a rumor like that). Usually it seems to me that "activist" is the more appropriate cultural equivalent. And then there are those times when your speaker will say "yo era militante con el Frente" (though really, they'd usually say "yo militaba") and there you go by context. I still wouldn't use militant though. I'd say "I was a fighter with" or "I fought with".
On Friday Democracy Now! covered President Carter calling Cheney a militant. Webster's has a militant listed first as someone who engages in warfare, and second as someone who is combative for their cause. I assume Carter meant the first, and I think it's far and away the stronger association for that term in English, so I often flinch when I hear interps going into En render militante with its cognate - because usually in our contexts the Sp speakers are not talking about being guerilla fighters, and in fact very much do not want to be seen that way (no joke in Colombia where you can be killed for a rumor like that). Usually it seems to me that "activist" is the more appropriate cultural equivalent. And then there are those times when your speaker will say "yo era militante con el Frente" (though really, they'd usually say "yo militaba") and there you go by context. I still wouldn't use militant though. I'd say "I was a fighter with" or "I fought with".
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
walkout
walkout: huelga escolar
I like that in Spanish this tactic is more clearly related to a worker's strike - in English it makes it sound like you just leave school, but of course they usually involve a march or a picket. Really, student strike is a better term for it than walkout. The We all live in Jena walkouts a few weeks ago got me thinking about this one. Kudos to Amy Goodman for fantastic coverage of this case on Democracy Now! (you can listen/watch here - the video documentary bits are great descriptions of the case, or you can read the basics of it here. If you haven't signed the petition yet, please do. This case is turning into an important way to highlight how deeply flawed the so-called "justice" system is in the U.S.
I like that in Spanish this tactic is more clearly related to a worker's strike - in English it makes it sound like you just leave school, but of course they usually involve a march or a picket. Really, student strike is a better term for it than walkout. The We all live in Jena walkouts a few weeks ago got me thinking about this one. Kudos to Amy Goodman for fantastic coverage of this case on Democracy Now! (you can listen/watch here - the video documentary bits are great descriptions of the case, or you can read the basics of it here. If you haven't signed the petition yet, please do. This case is turning into an important way to highlight how deeply flawed the so-called "justice" system is in the U.S.
Friday, October 5, 2007
even more Evo on the daily show
the day after Evo was on the daily show Jon Stewart made a joke about the interpreting! I can't quite decide if he's saying it was impressive or ... ?! Turns out that it was NOT the same interp he had on Democracy Now. I learned from Adam Isaacson's fantastic Plan Colombia blog that it was Charlie Roberts of the Washington-based Colombia Human Rights Committee. Ok, what other president would use a social justice organizer-interp? Usually presidential interps are, um ... well, not in the trenches of the struggle shall we say.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
animador(a)
animador(a): organizer
This is often mis-translated with the false cognate, and somehow when I hear it I think of that woman on the Love Boat who was trying to get everyone to be happy and social. She was an animator. In the U.S. I render organizer (as in community, or political) as organizador(a), in Colombia I would probably use animadora. Proz and wordref will tell you that animadora means cheerleader, but it will usually be obvious in our contexts that the role is equivalent to organizer. Of course, part of being a good organizer is to cheerlead.
This is often mis-translated with the false cognate, and somehow when I hear it I think of that woman on the Love Boat who was trying to get everyone to be happy and social. She was an animator. In the U.S. I render organizer (as in community, or political) as organizador(a), in Colombia I would probably use animadora. Proz and wordref will tell you that animadora means cheerleader, but it will usually be obvious in our contexts that the role is equivalent to organizer. Of course, part of being a good organizer is to cheerlead.
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