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Show me a sign
April 2, 2008
Where would we be without cartographers and sign painters?
In the same places we sit right now, maybe, but without a clue where those are. Seeing a map or a helpful directional sign makes you grateful that someone who knows the terrain made an effort to save someone like you, who doesn’t, a whole lot of time and embarrassment.
Yesterday a reader asked about translating a sign for his school library: "Folklore and fairytales"--Any suggestion that would make sense to the average and real Spanish speaker? What would click for them if there is not a real use word for these?
Our answer is at the end, in case you’re wondering, but first I want to point the way toward a couple places where you too can find good help with Spanish-language signage. Follow me.
The Texas State Library has a sign bank that can’t be beat for sheer presentation. You’ll want to pay a visit to the Main Library as well as the smaller Children’s Room. Another nice thing about this resource is that it offers alternative translations for several of its messages.
The PLUS site has a page showing 26 common library signs, most of them seen in libraries in Mexico and elsewhere.
By the way, you don't want your sign sending the wrong message, as in a rather chilling anecdote on page 44 of Susannah Mississippi Byrd’s 2005 book ¡Bienvenidos! ¡Welcome!: A Handy Resource Guide for Marketing Your Library to Latinos. The story puts me in mind of our favorite taco place. It has a sign up at the kids’ playground that says in English that nobody over 48" tall can play there, and says in Spanish that nobody under 48" tall can play there.
(That section of Susannah’s book, which includes notes on publicity in general, is also on the Web in HTML thanks to the good folks at WebJunction.)
And what about "folklore and fairytales"?
Hi and thanks for asking. Part of that is pretty straightforward: for fairytales, most everybody likes cuentos de hadas.
You could probably get away just fine with Folklore y cuentos de hadas. Or Folclor y cuentos de hadas. They are both "correct."
Last night I took our kid to his baile folklórico dance class. But even around here I've also seen that spelled folclórico. I believe that the local "average and real Spanish speaker" hereabouts might prefer it with k rather than c but wouldn’t bristle one way or the other. The Royal Academy in Spain accepts it with k or c, and with or without an e. They say that folclor is common on this side of the ocean. The entry below from their dictionary of tricky/questionable usages gives official blessing to folclore, folclor, folklore, and folklor. All are fine. If you put your sign up and an opinionated visitor gets all uppity about your choice, you could just instantly replace it with his or her favorite and it wouldn't matter to most anyone else. Every form would be clearly understood.
Good wishes & thank you for writing
folclore
Adaptación gráfica de la voz inglesa folklore, ‘conjunto de costumbres, tradiciones y manifestaciones artísticas de un pueblo’: «La música de Pablo Guerrero [...] está enraizada en el folclore extremeño» (Vanguardia [Esp.] 16.6.95). Existe también la variante folclor, más usada en América que en España: «Es [...] un experto en folclor antioqueño» (Semana [Col.] 15-22.10.96). Esta voz ha dado derivados como folclórico y folclorista. Son también válidas las formas que conservan la -k- etimológica: folklor(e), folklórico y folklorista.Diccionario panhispánico de dudas ©2005
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
Posted by Bruce Jensen on April 2, 2008 | Comments (0)
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