¡Ay de mí!
¡Aw nuts!
Qué te pasa, cariño? ¿Qué tienes?
What´s happening dear? What's the matter with you?
No puedo dormir.
I can't sleep.
Yo tampoco.
Me neither.
El pinche perro del vecino ladra mucho.
The #@*&%$ neighbor's dog is barking so much.
¿Por qué ladra tanto el perro?
Why does the dog bark so much?
No se. Quizás tiene hambre.
I don't know. Maybe he is hungry.
Yo tengo hambre también. ¡Oye! ¿Quieres un pedacito de pastel?
I'm hungry too. Hey, do you want a piece of cake?
Sí, mi amor, y un vaso de leche por favor.
Yes my love, and a glass of milk please.
Bueno. Lo traigo. Prende la tele y vamos a ver que hay.
Okay, I'll bring it. Turn on the TV and let's see what's on.
¡Oh mira! Hay una película de Jorge Negrete.
Oh, look! There's a Jorge Negrete movie.
Si, es mi favorita. Vamos a verla. Que padre que mañana es Domingo y no necesitamos levantar temprano.
Yes, it is my favorite. Let's watch it. It's a good thing that tomorrow is Sunday and we don't have to get up early.
¡Tienes razón mi amor! Ahora shhh...ya comienza la película.
You got THAT right! Now shhh...the movie is already starting.
Note: I have some additional comments:
This lesson features the contrast between “tampoco” and “también” which are words that I feel are important to learn in the beginning so as not to get them mixed up.
¡Ay de mí!- I translated tyhis as “¡Aw nuts!” but it could be translated into any number of suitable mild expletives that signify frustration.
El pinche perro del vecino ladra mucho. The word “pinche” (PEEN-chay) is pretty strong. Use it carefully and sparingly. A good rule to follow is: If in doubt, leave it out.
¿Quieres un pedacito de pastel? - In actuality means "Do you want a "little" piece of cake. If he is anything like me he probably wants a big peice so I didn't include little in the translatiosn. Words like "pedecito" and "cafecito" are meant to be endearing and "homey" but are not always taken literally.
Hay una pelicula de Jorge Negrete. Singer and actors Jorge Negrete is one of the most popular Mexican performers of all time. His recording of the song "México Lindo y Querido" (Mexico Pretty and Dear) is the best known recording of this song which is loved by Mexicans like Americans love “America the Beautiful”.
Que padre que mañana es Domingo – In Mexico, exclamations with the word “padre” in them mean “great” or “good” and exclamations with the word “madre” in them generally mean bad. Go figure...
7 comments:
That was definitely a good doggie post. I always thouht pastel meant pie? I'll go with your version though. I haven't heard from YaYa lately. I sent her an email to be sure she is okay. I love dogs.
Take my word for it, Gloria. Here where I live in Irapuato "pastel" means "cake" (with frosting). "Apple pie" is "pay de manzana".
I think sometimes words mean different things depending on the region. I know California hispanics probably use a few words differently than those in Texas. The language is the same, it's just a few words here and there that are different. Here we call cake 'pastel' in Spanish, and pie is just called 'pay', like Bob says it's used where he lives. I guess since pie is more of an American creation, it never developed a Spanish translation (I'm just guessing here).
One observation I'd like to make if I may, is how when an Anglo person mispronounces a Spanish word, or has a 'gringo' accent, we as Hispanics find it charming and funny (funny in a good way, not comical). At least I do. On the other hand, if a Mexican for example, speaks English with a heavy marked accent, most Americans, both Anglo and Hispanic, seem to find it annoying. I've never understood that. I would never feel annoyed at hearing words being pronounced with an accent. But that's just me. I figure what counts is that the person invested time and effort to learn a foreign language. And after all, perfection comes with practice, as we can very well see with Bob. I hope I don't sound like I'm on a soapbox or something. I just thought it worth mentioning.
Bob, I just think your command of Spanish is awesome!!
Yaya,
You art so right. Spanish is spoken in 23 countries and every country has its own variation and there are slight variations even within the same country. I always point out that I am reporting on the Spanish as it is is spoken here in Irapuato in Central Mexico. As far as criticizing accents is concerned...I find that here in Mexico where I live the Mexican people criticize fellow Mexicans who try to speak English. That is why I find it hard to get people to speak in English when I am giving English classes. They are afraid of criticism by their peers. Now, as far as my own expertise (or lack thereof) in Spanish...I will tell you a secret. I am nowhere near as fluent as I would like to be and preparing these dialogs has reinforced that. I am learning new things every day.
i'm finally getting around to recognizing slang, and i noticed recently the frequent use of "que padre". and, of course, i looked it up on your blog and you refer to it. do you happen to know its origin? why is padre positive and madre negative--I would logically think it was the other way around with the veneration of mary.
Alice,
The "madre - padre" thing is just one of the idiosyncrasies of Mexican life. Mexicans themselves remark on the irony of it but I don't think they completely understand it either. In the Catholic Church Mary is indeed venerated as the epitome of womanhood but I think that the superiority of the male figure or "machismo" probably goes back to pre-Hispanic times.
Bob, I finally got around to (begin) reading your dialogues. what a treat they are, thanks for putting them there. I love how organized you are about getting things like this up and on your blog.
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