Wednesday, June 16, 2010

La Calle Mango

I was at my bookstore recently, and saw the following book:
This is the Spanish-language version of the book The House on Mango Street (originally written in English, I'm fairly sure).

Now, you speakers of Espanolish out there might appreciate why I think this is funny. There is actually a word for "street" in Spanish. It's calle. (Not to be confused with caballo, Carlos Lee.) So here is my confusion (although I know the answer, it still seems silly): why is it La casa en Mango Street rather than La casa en la calle Mango?

I know, I know, "Mango Street" is a proper name. But it's not like, for example, "Mary." In that case, the lady's given name really is Mary, not Maria. So why call her Maria just because you speak Spanish?

But with "street," it's more like a descriptor, and there's a perfectly apt word in Spanish: calle. Streets in Mexico (and Spain) are often "calle el" or "calle de" or something to that effect. For example, check out this hotel, on Gate Street in Tenerife, Spain: Calle el Portillo. So why not use calle? Everyone knows what it means, and that's how streets are titled in the Spanish-speaking world. Presumably the people who are going to be reading this Spanish-language book are Spanish speakers, right? So much for catering to your audience.

2 comments:

  1. I have always wondered the same thing.

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  2. Did you look on the inside of this book? Maybe it is translated into Spanglish? Or Espanish? Just a thought...
    Mom

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