Fairy tales in Spanish

There is one shop in Arrecife that stands out for me: Librería España (Léon y Castillo 16).  With so many shops aimed at tourists, it can be quite hard to find a “normal” Spanish shop – in this case a book shop.

On my first visit to the island I stocked up on Spanish Harry Potter books and last year’s visit was no exception – I just had to go and browse the books in that shop.  Somehow, if you are looking for authentic Spanish literature (not just a translation), it’s much nicer to go to a proper book shop than search online.

Anyway, last year I found a book of children’s stories – and didn’t buy it, which I later regretted.

So it was nice to hear about a website offering just that: children’s stories in Spanish.  They may not be of Spanish origin, which would make them culturally interesting, but they are traditional stories and fairy tales from authors such as the Brothers Grimm and Hans-Christian Andersen which most people will be able to identify with.

In fact, from a language learning point of view I think that it is very interesting to listen to a story that you already know in your native language as it makes guessing any unknown vocabulary easier.

The stories are available as a podcast.  To listen, visit Cody’s Cuentos.

Two years on the toilet

When I first read this article, I couldn’t believe what I was reading – a woman Kansas spent two years sitting on a toilet.  Her boyfriend eventually got help and she was taken to hospital to have the seat removed.
Apparently he took her food and drink and repeatedly asked her to leave the bathroom.
But aside from the legal implications now being discussed, I have a few unanswered questions:
– did no-one miss her in all this time?  I mean, her boss, colleagues, family, etc.?
– where did her boyfriend go to the toilet for the last two years?
– what did they tell visitors to the house?
OK, perhaps that’s all none of my business, but it’s got me wondering, all the same…

Read this very carefully, I shall write it only once…

Yes, my interpreter mind is already wondering how phrases such as “Good Moaning” and “I was pissing by the door, and I thought I would drip in” could be reasonably translated into German.

Confused?  Both are phrases from the UK sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo which I used to watch and which finished its original run in 1992.

Not surprisingly perhaps, the show has never been shown in Germany.  Then, last week, the BBC News website announced that ProSevenSat1 were to broadcast it dubbed into German.

Now I am completely intrigued as to how much of the original show will make it into the German version, as certain parts of it (symbols, salutes, etc.) are illegal here.  Will these just be edited out or blurred?

Any what about the accents?  The show relied on its over-exaggerated accents for distinguish between the languages “spoken”.  Actually, I’ve heard German actors using overdone English and French accents before, so that wouldn’t be too difficult to arrange.

I just wonder what the German audience are going to make of it all!   Let’s hope that ProSevenSat1 don’t think in a year’s time that it was a bad “mistake-a to make-a”!

Please click on ACCEPT to give us permission to set cookies [more information]

This website uses cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the web browser on your computer. Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “Session cookies”. These are automatically deleted after your visit. The cookies do not damage your computer system or contain viruses. Please read our privacy information page for more details or to revoke permission.

Close