Spanish Word of the Day

Quote: Wizard

You would have to ask the translator why she didn't choose codiciar. In the English I was going for the King James effect, using words like covet, thy, and shalt. However, I think she either didn't get the joke or felt it wouldn't translate well, so went with familiar words. I'll await Nareed's opinion on that before changing her translation.

Sometimes with the "King James effect" the words are so seldom used today that even in English people are not sure what they mean. For instance the word "covet" is usually taken as a negative emotion today. Most people only know the word from the 10 commandments. In the time of King James it was a neutral word meaning "strong focused passion". For instance covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. the word is used very positively.

It is possible that the word comes off negatively in Spanish as well, so she went with "desear" instead. A second question is why did she drop the "imperative mood" for just that one commandment? She uses the imperative for 9 out of 10 commandments. It seems funny to put that one command in simple indicative mood.

As for the letters in the table I would want to know what the word that is customary to use at a blackjack table where everyone is speaking in Spanish. Do they copy the english words or not? I would be tempted to simply spell out the English words with the correct letter highlighted, and use the Spanish phrases to define them.

As in
SURRENDER in a white box and "Rendirse" as the translation.
SPLIT in the green box and "Dividir" as the translation.
STAND in the yellow box and "No mas cartas" as the translation.

But a Spanish language website gives the following instructions:
Un jugador puede permanecer o extraer una nueva carta.
permanecer = "to stay"
extraer = "extract, pull out"

Without a lot of actual experience it is difficult to know what is customary. In English we say "hit and stand and surrencer" based on decades of custom instead of usings synonyms like "take and refuse and quit". They may very well use the English words.

I would favor spelling out the English words

Quote: Pacomartin

I will let Nareed answer. But it might be helpful to look at the Spanish 10 Commandments

It might at that. To save you some trouble, I've never read them in Spanish.

Quote: Nareed

It might at that. To save you some trouble, I've never read them in Spanish.

1) Debes desear las buenas reglas.
2) Deberás desear las buenas reglas.
3) Deberás codiciar las buenas reglas.
4) Deberás lujuriar para las buenas reglas.

Google translates "Debes desear las buenas reglas." as "You will need good rules."
My previous question was why use simple present indicative for this one commandment.

I think #2 is probably a better choice.

I am not sure how #3 or #4 sound to most people. In English we are used to saying someone has a "lust for life" or a "lust for work", but in Spanish it might be solely associated with "sexual lust".

As I said earlier "covet" in English means "focused passion", but most people think it means "greedy desire" thanks to the tenth commandment. But since that is what you are trying to convey in your gambling commandments, then it might be appropriate.

I hate to turn this into a religion thread, but the 10th commandment is “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” It has always bothered me when people shorten it to just "You shall not covet."

I was just chatting on Skype with a fluent Spanish speaker. Here is her advice.

Hit = Tomar una carta.
Stand = Quedarse
Split = Separar

The rest she agreed with my Doblar, and Rendirse. This way I have can use five different letters with my key. No problems as in English with stand, split, and surrender all starting with S.

Quote: Pacomartin

A second question is why did she drop the "imperative mood" for just that one commandment? She uses the imperative for 9 out of 10 commandments. It seems funny to put that one command in simple indicative mood.

If she wanted to use the imperative mood, wouldn't she have said deba o debe?

It would seem to me that deberás is the future tense.

Deber at SpanishDict.com.

Quote: Wizard

I hate to turn this into a religion thread, but the 10th commandment is ... It has always bothered me when people shorten it to just "You shall not covet."

It's not really a religious question, but one of word meaning. Since "covet" means to desire intensely without a positive or negative connotation, when you shorten the commandment you change the meaning of the word.

Quote: Wizard

It would seem to me that deberás is the future tense.

You are correct. The future tense in second person always sounds like a command to me. I have to admit that I only paid minor attention to the future tense, as it is relatively rare in Mexico. They prefer to use the less formal periphrastic future tense.

Los Diez Mandamientos de la Ley de Dios son:
1º Amarás a Dios sobre todas las cosas.
2º No tomarás el Nombre de Dios en vano.
3º Santificarás las fiestas.
4º Honrarás a tu padre y a tu madre.
5º No matarás.
6º No cometerás actos impuros.
7º No robarás.
8º No dirás falso testimonio ni mentirás.
9º No consentirás pensamientos ni deseos impuros.
10º No codiciarás los bienes ajenos.

I spoke to a girl from the Dominican Republic (DR) about the verb "codiciar". She said that she hears Mexicans use the verb more often than her friends from the DR. She said it was not a common verb like "desear" and she considered it an educated word.

Fecha: 6-5-13
Palabra: Marea

Today's SWD means tide.

The question for the advanced readers is whether there is a connection to the word marear, which means to be dizzy. Perhaps it is the tides that cause waves, which causes people to get dizzy with seasickness?

Ejemplo time.

Me gusta buscar por conchas a marea bajo. = I like to look for shells at low tide.

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/ff_wozniak?currentPage=all
This is related.