[nabs-l] Spanish translation

Sat Nov 14 15:26:50 UTC 2009

Hello,

As to accessible phrase books, the simple answer is that I have never used one.  You will have good luck, however, if you google "Spanish phrases for travel," or "spanish+travel phrases, spanish phrases+staying in a hotel," etc.

Again, if you need any further help, please let me know.  Sorr yif I was late in replying, but I had almost forgotten about this post, to be perfectly honest.

Harry

--- On Sat, 11/14/09, Hope Paulos <hope.paulos at maine.edu> wrote:

> From: Hope Paulos <hope.paulos at maine.edu>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Spanish translation
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 7:51 AM
> Wow, Harry. Wonderful explanation!!!
> <smile> Also, the Spanish translators oftentimes don't
> properly consider noun/verb agreement or gender of words.
> Hope and Beignet
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "V Nork" <ginisd at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 11:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Spanish translation
> 
> 
> > Dear Harry, Thanks for your illuminating answer 
> to my earlier question re spanish translation
> programs.  My spanish needs to be refurbished, and I
> wanted to ask you if you could recommend some Spanish
> phrasebooks for me as a  good starting point.  In
> print, there are great  sounding phrase books I have
> seen like "just Enough Spanish" and "Street Spanish",
> "Spanish for housewives" and on and on.  When I went to
> find some phrasebooks  I could use as a visually
> impaired person , I seemed to have little luck.  My
> idea in getting some phrasebooks is that the verbs are
> already conjugated in a constructed phrase, and the grammar
> and syntax can be modeled, so it is a good memory
> jogger.  Living in Southern California, I find my
> vocabulary for nouns and adjectives is still not bad, it is
> just the grammar I want to work on.  So if you know of
> any Spanish phrasebooks that are accessible, I would be very
> pleased.   I think I am  an intermediate
> to advanced level right now in Spanish. Take care, Ginnie
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Hogue"
> <harryhogue at yahoo.com>
> > To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing
> list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 8:33 PM
> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Spanish translation
> > 
> > 
> > Hello,
> > 
> > Without going into great complicated detail, the
> bottom line is this:
> > 
> > Dictionaries, online translators, and other
> translation software packages are used mainly to translate a
> short word or common phrase and are not designed to
> translate longer passages of texts such as plays, novels,
> essays, and the like.  No tool exists to meet this need
> for a very simple reason:  the human translator is
> always superior to a computer for the reason that a human
> can select the phrasing that works within a given context, a
> nonstandard but nevertheless appropriate phrasal verb
> construction in place of a more generalized and widely
> comprehended single two-partEnglish verb (i.e. to manage vs.
> to deal with), and, also, the less widely understood but
> equally important reason--culture.  Culture plays a
> vital role in foreign language text translation, literary
> interpretation, and sociological context.  A very
> simple example of this may be seen with idiomatic
> expressions:  it's raining cats and dogs, give me a
> break, take a load off, etc.  Each of
> > these expressions will have their own variations in a
> given foreign language, and this results from the way the
> people, who collectively form the culture, interpret their
> environment.  The environment, of course, is effected
> by geography, climate, livestock, varieties of foodstuffs,
> and so forth.
> > Now.  Was that sufficiently far more than you
> wanted to know?  <smile>
> > 
> > 
> > If you've any more questions, please do not hesitate
> to contact me either on or off list at harryhogue at yahoo.com.
> > 
> > Best,
> > 
> > Harry Hogue
> > 
> > --- On Fri, 10/9/09, V Nork <ginisd at sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
> > 
> >> From: V Nork <ginisd at sbcglobal.net>
> >> Subject: [nabs-l] Spanish translation
> >> To: "National Association of Blind Students
> mailing list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> >> Date: Friday, October 9, 2009, 9:22 PM
> >> Dear list, Does anyone have any
> >> advice on seeking Spanish to English translations
> on
> >> line? I am enrolled in a three unit college
> classin
> >> Chicano Literature here in San Diego, California.
> >> While most of the texts were written in English or
> are in
> >> translation to English, a couple of the texts
> have
> >> sizeable Spanish passages interspersed within the
> >> English text. For example, in the works of Luis
> >> Valdez, his acto or short play called Soldado Razo
> is mostly
> >> Spanish, and without knowing the language, you
> miss most of
> >> the characterization and plotline. I was lucky
> enough
> >> to find a bilingual student to translate the short
> playfor
> >> me, but I wonder if there is a way to translate
> spanish
> >> passages into English that is better than the
> google
> >> language tool I have tried on the main page of
> Google.
> >> I have taken a fair amount of Spanish, but it is a
> bit
> >> rusty. Most of the class is bilingual, so I
> >> am finding it interesting to experience, even in a
> minor
> >> way, the obstacles faced by many ESL students on a
> daily
> >> basis. Thanks for any thoughts on a translation
> >> program or utility, Ginnie
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> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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