Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
plebeyismo
English translation:
crudeness
Added to glossary by
Wendy Gosselin
Jan 20, 2017 20:13
7 yrs ago
Spanish term
plebeyismo
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
class, sociodemographics
This phrase (plebeyismo) means "actividades asociadas con las clases bajas", my translation is about cumbia villera musicians and their celebration of drugs, weapons etc. in their lyrics:
[…] las expresiones de la cumbia y el sentido que les daban sus oyentes no pretendían ser una denuncia programática... Pero eso no quiere decir que se sumergieran en un plebeyismo autodegradante, o que se las debiera rechazar desde el punto de vista de un ciudadano de clase media alta (que comete otras ilegalidades pero repudia estas).
I know "plebianism" would be a literal translation but I was looking for a word a little more commonly used in English--?
[…] las expresiones de la cumbia y el sentido que les daban sus oyentes no pretendían ser una denuncia programática... Pero eso no quiere decir que se sumergieran en un plebeyismo autodegradante, o que se las debiera rechazar desde el punto de vista de un ciudadano de clase media alta (que comete otras ilegalidades pero repudia estas).
I know "plebianism" would be a literal translation but I was looking for a word a little more commonly used in English--?
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +1 | crudeness | Penny Lynch |
4 +1 | plebianism | Muriel Vasconcellos |
3 +1 | (self-degrading) proletarianism | Wendy Streitparth |
4 | ill-mannered style | Francois Boye |
3 | subculture | Marie Wilson |
Proposed translations
+1
3 days 14 hrs
Selected
crudeness
I agree with you that the concepts of plebian/ proletarian are seldom referred to in English and feel that using either of these terms actually takes you away from the original meaning and register as they wouldn't often be used in such texts in English. To me, crudeness is an equivalent term that would be more likely to be used by an English speaker.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks!"
+1
26 mins
(self-degrading) proletarianism
Suggestion
Peer comment(s):
agree |
neilmac
: This probably works better for a UK audience, to whom "chavism" is mainly Essex-based. I do like "plebeianism", though ...
15 hrs
|
Thanks, Neil. What have you got against Essex?!
|
31 mins
subculture
This has a similar meaning and might work.
+1
3 hrs
plebianism
I often find that the cognate is the best solution. Since you are translating a serious text, I think you would be safer sticking to the original meaning rather than trying to reinterpret it.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
JohnMcDove
: Yes. Or better yet, "plebeianism" https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plebeianism
6 hrs
|
Thanks, John!
|
1 day 6 hrs
ill-mannered style
my take
Discussion