Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Grafitero bilítero

English translation:

two-letter mark

Added to glossary by broca
May 30, 2014 10:23
9 yrs ago
Spanish term

Grafitero bilítero

Spanish to English Social Sciences History
El conocido grafito bilítero del Cabezo de San Pedro (Huelva)

Author of two-lettered graphites?

http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/30/23/14zamora.pdf

Discussion

Charles Davis May 30, 2014:
Sorry again! I've not covered myself with glory here.

Given that you don't want to use "inscription", because you need that for "inscripción", I think "mark" would be the best option.
Charles Davis May 30, 2014:
Sorry! I hadn't paid sufficient attention to the context. I was thinking of modern street graffiti.

Well, in the context of an ancient monument like this I think you can call it a two-letter inscription. I've added a note to my answer.
broca (asker) May 30, 2014:
But see this, from the DRAE, Charles:
grafito2.
(Del it. graffito).
1. m. Escrito o dibujo hecho a mano por los antiguos en los monumentos.
Charles Davis May 30, 2014:
In that case it's straightforward: "two-letter tag" (there's really no satisfactory alternative).
broca (asker) May 30, 2014:
Sorry, Charles, my mistake. It's not "grafitero", but "grafito"
broca (asker) May 30, 2014:
Maybe "bi-lettered"? (though author speaks of 'signos')
broca (asker) May 30, 2014:
Sorry, "two-lettered graphite"? (without 'author of')

Proposed translations

35 mins
Selected

two-letter tag artist

"Grafitero" is someone who does graffiti, a graffiti artist. But "bilítero", which means "de dos letras", i.e. two-letter, refers to a "tagger", someone who's graffiti consists of their "tag" or graffiti signature. So although you could say "two-letter graffiti artist", I think this sounds a little strange, and "tag artist", which is a colloquial term for a graffiti artist and specifically for someone whose graffiti is confined to their tag (rather than pictures or "pieces"), would be suitable here.

"Main Entry: tag artist
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a graffiti artist
Etymology: tag 'graffito'
Usage: slang "
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tag artist

"TAG
The most basic form of graffiti, a writer's signature with marker or spray paint. It is the writer's logo, his/her stylized personal signature. If a tag is long it is sometimes abbreviated to the first two letters or the first and last letter of the tag. Also may be ended with the suffixes "one", "ski", "rock", "em" and "er". "
http://www.graffiti.org/faq/graffiti.glossary.html

"For those unfamiliar with RD, he’s a NYC bombing legend whose two letter tag quickly became a ubiquitous mark on the city streets during the 80s and 90s. "
http://animalnewyork.com/2013/meta-graffiti-rd-tag-on-banksy...

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Note added at 36 mins (2014-05-30 11:00:30 GMT)
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Sorry: I meant "whose graffiti", not "who's graffiti", in line 2!

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Note added at 56 mins (2014-05-30 11:20:07 GMT)
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If the term is actually "grafito bilítero", the translation is simply two-letter tag.

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-05-30 11:40:17 GMT)
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SORRY!

In my haste I didn't pay proper attention to the context. We're talking ancient monuments here, not modern graffiti.

In this context, I think two-letter inscription would do.

https://www.google.es/search?num=100&safe=active&q="two-lett...

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-05-30 11:57:17 GMT)
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Sorry, but "graphite" is impossible; its only meaning in English is the kind of "grafito" from which pencil leads are made, a soft black substance. It can't refer to a written "grafito".

I think "inscription" is what you would normally use, but I do see the problem about "inscripción" also occurring in the title. So you really need a different term. I think you could use "mark":

two-letter mark

"Mark" is used for letter inscriptions in certain contexts, particularly pottery, precious metals and jewellery, so I think you could well use in here.
Note from asker:
I was aiming at "graphite" to differentiate it from "inscription", which appears earlier in the title of the article.
Ok, thanks then.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks"
1 day 15 hrs

bi-alphabetic inscription

although, there are a number of refs relating 'bilitero', they are all scientific papers with a poorly translated English abstract.

There is disagreement among the experts as to what the symbols/letters are and whether they are from Remember, there was no standardization of letters or spelling, not even in English until Mr Johnson.

tseday.wordpress.com/2008/09/page/8
The modern Ethiopian calendar is tabulated with Ethiopic and Latin alphanumeric characters to make it bi-alphabetic ...
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