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jerezano

Oct 6, 2006, 5:38 PM

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A different sort of joke this month

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Hola,

Tia Alma is the not-so-kind soul who responds to desperate letters for help in the "Rincón Sentimental" [Sentimental Corner] of Contenido magazine. Try translating this one into English. No more than one sentence for each daring poster.

We all know what Tia means don't we? But Alma? What does Alma mean?

Querido Tia Alma,

De chico tuve cortar mi carrera de contador porque mi padre se quedó en la miseria. Después entré a trabajar en un almacén de ropa, y a los dos meses de estar ahí, se quemó. Más tarde trabajé en una compañía constructora que quebró. Entonces me coloqué en un banco donde hubo reducción de personal y me liquidaron. Para colmo, mi novia acaba de fugarse con mi mejor amigo. ¿Cree Ud. que todavía podré destacar en la vida?

Malasuerte.
***********************

Querido Malasuerte,

Seguramente que sí. Como fracaso usted es todo un éxito.

Adiós. jerezano.

quevedo

Oct 6, 2006, 10:39 PM

Post #2 of 12 (2739 views)

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Re: [jerezano] A detail

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Querido Tia Alma should be Querida Tía Alma.

Saludos cordiales,

Quevedo

jerezano

Oct 7, 2006, 6:49 AM

Post #3 of 12 (2732 views)

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Re: [quevedo] A detail

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Hola,

¡Tan descuidoso soy!

Adiós. jerezano.

sfmacaws

Oct 7, 2006, 1:11 PM

Post #4 of 12 (2721 views)

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Re: [jerezano] A detail

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That first sentence is tough. I can read the rest of it and get the joke but can't quite figure out how it starts.

Oh, Alma means soul, so she's called Aunt Soul. Perhaps it has another meaning as well.

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De chico tuve cortar mi carrera de contador porque mi padre se quedó en la miseria.

so, give me some help here. "The boy cut my road of accounting because my father remained miserable." That's as close as I can get and it doesn't make sense.

Jonna - on the road, click here for our current location (#1013). Follow our travels on our blog Blah Blah Blah Ginger!

mariejosee

Oct 7, 2006, 2:20 PM

Post #5 of 12 (2719 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] A detail

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It should read "De chico tuve que cortar mi carrera de contador..."
and it means: When I was young I had to cut short my accounting career because my father was very poor.

************************************************************
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.
"Henry David Thoreau"

quevedo

Oct 7, 2006, 3:21 PM

Post #6 of 12 (2718 views)

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Re: [mariejosee] ¡Excelente!

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Gracias, amiga María José.

Saludos,

Quevedo

jerezano

Oct 7, 2006, 8:24 PM

Post #7 of 12 (2705 views)

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Re: [mariejosee] A detail

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Hello mariejosee,

Good translation and a good point about tuve que. I had to

However, to show that Mexicans can be just as economical with their Spanish as we with our English, the joke was quoted word for word [without the que] from the current issue of Contenido.

Without the que the sentence in English could also read with good sense : As a youth I ended my accounting studies.....etc.

Carrera in Spanish has many other meanings than our English word career. The most usual first two that come to mind concern racing, or running. The third is a degree course in a University which in my opinion is what this joke refers to.

From there we go to our English word career, to journeys, routes, and on to the expression: ¿De qué lado te haces la carrera? Which means to my astonishment: On which side do you part your hair?

Adiós. jerezano

Ed and Fran

Oct 8, 2006, 2:46 PM

Post #8 of 12 (2687 views)

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Re: [jerezano] A different sort of joke this month

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Continuing on....

Después entré a trabajar en un almacén de ropa, y a los dos meses de estar ahí, se quemó.

Later, I went to work in a clothing store, and after I was there two months it burned down.

Saludos

Ed

song_of_joy

Oct 8, 2006, 5:05 PM

Post #9 of 12 (2680 views)

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Re: [quevedo] A detail

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Hmmm. Maybe she has a moustache?

Georgia

Oct 16, 2006, 6:55 AM

Post #10 of 12 (2612 views)

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Re: [jerezano] A different sort of joke this month

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She's all heart (or soul, as the case may be) by advising this poor soul that he can define his life this way: he is a success at failure.

rainer

Oct 16, 2006, 10:28 AM

Post #11 of 12 (2604 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] A detail

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Alma means Soul, but it's also a very common first name in Spanish.
Smile

wendy devlin

Oct 16, 2006, 11:16 AM

Post #12 of 12 (2599 views)

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Re: [rainer] A detail

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Sigue...
>Más tarde trabajé en una compañía constructora que quebró.

Later I worked in a construction company that went broke.

alma translated as 'soul' or 'heart', reminds me of that beginner's piano duet:)

Heart and soul.
I love to be in love.
Lost control...and tumbled overboard....madlyyyyy....