Four Reasons to Stop Learning Spanish Vocabulary

Learning Spanish can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to memorise long lists of vocabulary. However, simply learning individual words in isolation might not be the most effective way to learn the language. Here are four reasons why you should stop learning Spanish vocabulary in isolation and what to do instead.

Learning Individual Words can be futile

One of the biggest challenges with learning Spanish vocabulary by memorising individual words is that words can have multiple meanings. For example, the word “llama” can mean “llama” or “call” but also “flame.” Without context, it can be difficult to know the meaning of a word just sitting there. More to the point, no one is going to just say, or write “llama”.

Instead of trying to memorise individual words, try learning a couple of phrases like “Mi llama se llama José” (My llama is called José). How about “Esta llama llama mucho la atención” (This llama really stands out /calls attention). Ok, so these are some pretty weird examples, but we’re not in a formal class here, and the possibilities for meanings in context really are bordering on limitless, so try to unlearn this false notion that a word is a word. It’s not!

Learning individual words is learning out of context

When you learn individual words in isolation, you’re learning out of context. This makes it harder to remember them because your brain remembers patterns, not random lists of words. It’s like trying to remember a phone number by memorising the digits instead of grouping them into sets of three or four. Think about how you recall what you see in a book. If you read a page of a book, you should be able to explain to someone the nature of what you read fairly easily, but if you looked at a page full of words you knew, organised completely randomly, you would have very little chance of recalling the order they were written in.

Try to learn Spanish through immersion in real-life situations. Talk to native speakers or watch Spanish TV shows or movies to see how they use words in context. Start thinking of language in terms of meanings, rather than words. Words are multi-faceted, the combinations are vast and unlimited…a word is not a word… free yourself from this idea!

Learning individual words can be boring

Learning a language involves learning to communicate, not just memorising lists of words. Don’t make it a chore! When you learn individual words just floating around with no context, you run the risk of making language learning a real task, rather than what it’s supposed to be: a hobby.

Learning common phrases or idioms will not only will this help you communicate better and sound more natural, but your phrases will have more meaning, you’ll be more connected to them, and as a result, you’ll be able to remember them better. For example, instead of memorising the words “nada” (nothing), or “mente” (mind), go for the phrase “mmm, nada se me viene a la mente…” (mmm, nothing comes to mind). These words, can (as is to be expected) be combined with a number of other words to create a plethora of other meanings.

You’re learning someone else’s lists

Another problem with relying on individual word lists is that you’re learning someone else’s lists. Teachers or online resources might provide you with lists of vocabulary, but are these lists really relevant to you and your interests? I doubt it.

Make your own vocabulary lists. Choose words and phrases that interest you and relate to your life, so you’ll have more motivation to learn and remember them. For instance, if you enjoy cooking, learn food-related vocabulary. Or, if you’re planning a trip to Spain, learn travel-related vocabulary. You can write your own lists, or check out Anki or Quizlet, two online flashcard apps which can help you put your own lists of useful expressions together.

Of course, there are always going to be exceptions to these rules. You may need to learn specific vocabulary for a test or job interview. In cases such as these (which can be quite common!), it makes sense to memorise individual words. However, even in these situations, you can never really get away from the principal idea of learning phrases. Context is always key, and patterns are very important to the human brain for organising, processing and producing language.

It’s all about Communication

Learning lists of Spanish vocabulary in the form of decontextualised words usually has very little pay off. Remember, look for the patterns, the groups, and always seek context! Remember to immerse yourself and engage in a variety of activities where you are going to pick up common phrases and expressions. By making your own lists of phrases and sentences, you can make the process relevant to your interests and your personality. And yes, there are always going to be exceptions, but it’s important to remember that learning a language is about communication, not just memorisation. Ditch the idea of learning Spanish vocabulary and start focussing on acquiring your own Spanish meanings.

If you liked our blog post, be sure to check out the rest of the blog, or have a look at our online and in-person Spanish school, where we can provide you with many more language-learning tips!

“Centro guadalinfo, Pueblo Pitufo” by Manuelfloresv cc2.0

Welcome to another blog entry on the Spanish language. In the last entry, we looked at learning Spanish with Children’s books. In this one, we’re going to be looking at Spanish and popular culture, and more specifically, fairy tale, film and television characters and titles translated to Spanish from English.

Famous Characters and Titles in Popular Culture Translated into Spanish

We assume that beloved and famous characters and titles from popular fiction in the English speaking world are something that uniquely belongs to Anglophones. Daffy Duck is just that wacky animal on the TV that so many English speakers grew up with, and Snow White is that English Speaking brunette girl that more than anything has been shown in American cinemas, or broadcast on Australian televisions. Total Recall is that distinctly Hollywood film that so many Canadians, or English, or New Zealand teenagers grew up watching during the 90s.

Yet what many don’t realise is that many of these characters and titles from popular fiction have global reach, and are just as popular in places of non-English speaking backgrounds. There must be an enormous trove of examples in a myriad of countries and regions, but let’s focus on English titles and characters as they appear in the Hispanic world.

How were these titles and characters translated from English to Spanish using ideas common to both languages, such as word play? Were the translations successful, or maybe even better than the originals, or were they a complete catastrophe? And what are some of the perhaps lesser known reasons for the ways and circumstances in which they were translated?

Let’s start by listing the Spanish equivalents next to their English language counterparts:

Fairy Tales

Snow White translated faithfully to Spanish

Cartoon, Animal and other Characters

The Flintstones in Spanish – a clever translation.

Film and Television Titles

 Some More Straight Forward Translations

A couple of the above characters and films have actually been translated from another language to English previously (for instance, the Little Mermaid, from Danish –Den lille havfrue), but it’s worth pointing out that the ones mentioned in this article have been straightforward, faithful translations, and that the English language equivalents arguably form the basis for their worldwide recognition.

Some of them have been translated as literally as can be done with translation, retaining their meaning, because the title does not rely on alliteration (the repetition of sounds or letters, often resulting in a catchy or amusing rhythm, such as “Fred Flintstone”) or puns (giving double meaning to words through words with the same sound or similar sound), but rather the fact that the words mean more or less the same thing in both languages.

Good examples of these would be Juego de tronos (Word-for-word, “Game of Thrones”), el señor de los anillos (word-for word, The Lord of the Rings) and La guerra de las galaxias (Star Wars), the latter being “The War of the Galaxies”, but which could also be translated as “Galaxy Wars”. Pretty close hey? The slight difference in this last example arises because of the way names and descriptions of things are ordered or phrased depending on the language.

Retaining Puns and Particular Meanings in a Translation

Some titles have been translated with the retention of a pun or particular meaning in mind. A good example of this is the (bad) romantic comedy “Stuck on You”, which deals with two conjoined twins who take part in assorted rom-com antics. The title, which alludes to the idea of a romantic attachment as well as referencing the compromising position the protagonists find themselves in, is translated to Spanish as Pegado a ti, for the same reasons, as the word ‘stuck’ (pegado) has much the same meaning in both languages. To a lesser degree, films like “Face/Off” manage it as well. “Face/Off” refers to the film’s premise in which the protagonist’s face is removed in a military experiment, but also makes use of a pun by referencing his confrontation with the enemy. The Spanish language translation Cara a Cara (Face-to-Face) sort of manages it, but there are better translations around.

The Modifying of Puns and Meanings

The most interesting cases though, are where the translator or translators have been able to retain some kind of meaning, by way of completely altering the title, simply because a literal translation wouldn’t work. An example of this could be the translation of the film “Knocked up”, a rom-com about an unwanted pregnancy. “Knocked up” when translated literally would have little to no meaning in Spanish, so they’ve opted for something else, which is translated to Spanish as Lío embarasozo (embarrassing mess). Likewise, “Embarrassing Mess” would mean nothing as a film title in English, but embarasozo (embarrassing) plays with the idea of embarazo (pregnancy) to interesting effect.

Translating Alliteration and Unique Meanings

Other titles have been translated with alliteration in mind, and this is almost always done with a bit of ingenuity, owing to the different sounds of letters and words from language to language. Fred Flintstone is a mild form of alliteration, insofar as the letter F appears in quick succession. The name also works because it’s amusing that someone has such an archaic object for a last name. The general humour around the idea of a man with a rock in his last name is retained in the Spanish translation, but while the alliteration would be lost in the literal translation to Federico Sílex, it is interesting that the translators have changed his name to Pedro (Peter), and given him the surname of Picapiedra (a nonsense word combining picar – to burn, itch, nibble, among a thousand other meanings, and piedra – stone), thus also retaining a novel form of alliteration.

In an effort to maintain certain odd words, or those with a special or unique meaning, some character names have been translated quite well. Take the name “Daffy” for instance. Daffy Duck is amusing in that it combines alliteration as well as a sense of delirium in the name “Daffy”. The Spanish language equivalent el pato Lucas (literally “Lucas the Duck”) seems strange to an English speaker. It loses the alliteration, but does the sense of nuttiness get lost too? Well, “Lucas” sounds a little like locos (crazy), so perhaps not.

Losing One Thing, Gaining Another…

Whether it’s the use of alliteration, puns, or certain special words to create amusing or unique images in character names and film and television titles, sometimes the nature of the title cannot be retained during translation. Some characters have been translated in interesting ways to get around this. The character of Kermit the Frog relies on the novel and somewhat benign-sounding name Kermit to elicit an image of a sympathetic anthropomorphic frog, yet when translated into Spanish, la rana René (René the Frog), the translation arguably loses this feeling with the common name René (I mean, you can’t beat the name Kermit. Who is called Kermit in real life, anyway?), but arguably gains an amusing alliteration of the letter R in the process.

Better than the Original Translation?

Some of these titles and characters have ingeniously improved on the original translation. While rare, this is something special. An example can be seen in the translation of the college-humour film “Get Him to the Greek” – clearly referencing something internal to the film experience – to Todo sobre mi desmadre, which translates as “All About my Wild Party”, using the word desmadre (wild party) as a pun on todo sobre mi madre, (All About my Mother) the famous Spanish film by Pedro Almodóvar.

English to English?

In some cases, the original English name has been retained in the translation, as is seen with television series such as “Breaking Bad”. It’s worth noting that in certain circles of film fans, original titles are retained when speaking about well-known and loved series or films. For instance, many Star Wars and Game of Thrones fans simply refer to the ultra-famous movie and TV series as “Star Wars” and “Game of Thrones”.

Lost in Translation

In some cases, meanings have been slightly (or very) lost in translation. The animated film “An American Tail”, about an immigrant mouse in the U.S.A., is translated literally as un cuento Americano. Not a bad title, but as far as the pun goes, it is completely lost, as “tail” and “tale” are not homophones in Spanish. In the case of the 80s’ television series “Night Rider”, the title carries a mild rhyming sound, but also exudes an air of mystery and coolness. The translation to Spanish El auto fantastico (the fantastic car), while not a horrible translation, loses much of the original feeling and rhythm in the title, but arguably gains something else in its more 60s–sounding, perhaps slightly child-like and innocent tone.

Majorly Lost in Translation, AKA “Some of the Worst Atrocities Committed to Paper”

The Avenger From the Future!

And then there are the hopeless cases… The previously-mentioned El vengador del futuro (The Avenger From the Future), Tiburón (the Spanish language title of “Jaws”, which translates as “Shark”) and Sueños de libertad (the Mexican title of “the Shawshank Redemption”, which translates as the highly imaginative “Dreams of Freedom”) should win awards for terrible translations. Among the winners would have to be Mi pobre angelito (the Spanish language title of “Home Alone”, which translates as “My Poor Little Angel”) and finally…… Perdido en Tokio. Can you guess what that is? It’s the title for “Lost in Translation”, which translates as “Lost in Toyko”. Right….ok…

Translation and Regional Variations

La rana René? Or is it Gustavo? Credit: Gavin Galens Kermit The Frog Kermit at the Museum of American History Link via image

Regional differences also play a role in the translation of characters and titles. For instance, Kermit the Frog is known as La rana René in Latin America, but La rana Gustavo (Gustavo the Frog) in Spain. Total Recall is called Desafío total (Total Challenge) in Spain, contrasting with El vengador del futuro in Latin America. “The Terminator” was released under the same name in Spain, El ejecutor (The Executor) in Perú when the film was first promoted, and then as El exterminador (The Exterminator) for the Peruvian TV release.

Why These Types of translations?

I don’t profess to know all of the exact reasons, but aside from the obvious examples which translate well, puns and alliteration included, a lot of the decisions around the translation of slightly more (or very) difficult titles and characters can only be connected to the innumerable historical reasons, as well as marketing and distribution strategies over a range of time periods and varied geographical locations.

Age-Old Characters and Famous Translations

In the case of much loved fairy tale heroes and characters, well, they’re embedded in the imaginations of generations of story lovers. It’s no wonder that they’ve been translated so well. La sirenita (The little Mermaid) and El Enano Saltarín (Rumpelstiltskin) are good examples which capture the feeling of the characters, the first of which is a literal translation of the words “the little mermaid”, and the second of which evokes a quirky image of a small, prancing dwarf.

What about characters in long-running series such as the “Loony Tunes” and “Hanna-Barbara” cartoons, or newer series which rely on a strong, discerning fan base such as “Game of Thrones”? You would think that a bit of thought must have gone into the process. While some laugh at the translation of the imaginary land central to the plot of GOT from “Winterfell” to Invernalia, many think it a fitting reproduction of a word containing hints of the words “winter” and “land”, for a series that has a legion of dedicated followers.

An Absent Market?

As far as leaving the titles as they are in English, this absence of any translation whatsoever might be due to a lack of a market or relevance, and therefore a lack of major release in certain countries. Shows like “Breaking Bad”, exclusive to expensive cable networks would not have a large audience in many parts of Latin America.

A Discerning Market?

The reference by fans to certain titles in their original guises hints at a definite presence of aficionados and an educated fan following. I know of numerous popular culture-obsessed Hispanics who refer to a number of series and films with their original titles, and who absolutely REFUSE to watch anything that is not displayed in the original language with Spanish subtitles!

Or Perhaps an Undemanding One?

As far as the lesser translations go (and indeed the shocking ones), one can only imagine that a lot of it comes down to a lack of a serious and demanding market where these film releases are concerned. The absence of a strong market relevance must surely result in a lack of translation resources. Many of these horribly translated films are also dubbed in a hilariously cringeworthy way. It’s also worth noting however, that films such as “Friday the 13^th,” translated as Martes 13 (Tuesday the 13^th) have been translated with cultural differences taken into account – Tuesday the 13^th, and not Friday as is the case in the Anglophonic world, is considered to be an unlucky day in many Hispanic cultures.

Of course, some of these atrociously translated titles could just as easily be attributed to straight-out laziness. On this last point, and just because I can’t resist, I’ll leave you with another one: Dos hombres, un destino. That’s “Two Men, One Destiny”, AKA “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

Of Course, That’s Just One Perspective…

Of course, all of the above works in the exactly the same way when translating from Spanish to English. The Spanish film “¡Átame!” (literally, “Tie me Up!”) is translated as “Tie me up, Tie Me Down!”. I’ll leave it to you to reflect on the effectiveness of that translation, and there are undoubtedly hundreds and thousands more out there, but that’s an article for another time!

Our next blog entry jumps back to the matter of studying Spanish. We cover the pros and cons of private tuition vs. group classes.

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