El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

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Enrico333
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El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

Postby Enrico333 » Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:05 pm

Estoy leyendo El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo y estoy teniendo dificultades con esta oración:
"y a los muertos que les iban causando los años tenían que tirarlos en los acantilados"
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eido
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Re: El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

Postby eido » Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:54 pm

¿Qué parte de la frase es difícil?

Para mí como estudiante de español, diría esto: "And as for the dead they had accumulated, they had to be thrown off the cliffs" or "And the dead piled up on them, causing them to be thrown off the cliffs." Algo así. Pero no estoy segura.
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Jaleel10
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Re: El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

Postby Jaleel10 » Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:09 pm

I had to read it 10 times lol but it's one of those times where if you change the word order it's clearer

Original
La tierra era tan escasa, que las madres andaban siempre con el temor de que el viento se llevara a los niños, y a los muertos que les iban causando los años tenían que tirarlos en los acantilados


Rephrased ''tenían que tirarlos (a los muertos) en los acantilados que los años les iban causando ( a las madres)''

It happens to me a lot because I suck at reading but xD
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El Forastero
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Re: El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

Postby El Forastero » Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:40 am

Hello Everyone

The official translation is this:

and the few dead that the years had caused among them had to be thrown off the cliff


But I think it doesn't represent exactly the Idea in spanish:

1) The expression "ir + gerund" has a mixed mening between english Present continuous and "keep + gerund"

Las deudas iban creciendo: the debts were growing consistently/ [meanwhile something else was happening / happened]
Los invitados iban llegango: The guest were arriving (one by one) - The guest keep arriving (?) [meanhwile something else was happening / happened]
Yo iba tomando fotos: I was taking pictures meanwhile something else...

So, "that the years had caused among them" is understood as "que los años les habían causado" and not as "que les iban causando"


2) In this context, the expresion "Los años" means "the life, the destiny, over the years". It's a personification of the time, in which it causes aging, illness and death

[Los años] ya me han dejado el pelo blanco: [they] have already gotten my hair white. I don't know if in english it has the same connotation, but in spanish it's very common, and not necessarily poetic nor formal / fancy. And the verb "dejar" (to leave) is slightly different to "to cause". Because its use implies more "a conviction or a gift" than "a consequence". It collocates more natural with "the years"

3) In some cases, spanish uses impersonal in situations where english uses pasive voice. So:

[Los muertos] los tenían que tirar al acantilado: The dead bodies (corpses) had to be thrown down the cliff.

But in this case, english translation seems to speak about a finished action, but in spanish the imperfect "tenían" implies an unfinished action (Otherwise, GGB would have said "los tuvieron que tirar al acantilado"). That's why it could be closer if we say "The corpses used to be thrown down the cliff"

and:

y a los muertos que les iban causando los años: Subject
tenían que tirarlos en los acantilados: Predicate.

So, the final meaning according to my perception is :

And the dead that the years kept leaving (were living) among them used to be thrown down the cliff
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Re: El Ahogado Más Hermoso Del Mundo

Postby Lisa » Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:56 am

Gracias, El Forastero. Muy interestante; me gusta concocer las diferencias sutiles en palabras entre los idioms.
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