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Spanish to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Journalism / Article about a writer
Spanish term or phrase:y del chusma
Context:
El chimento, esa vocación de deleitarse con el detalle revelador, esa conversación interesada en las confidencias mundanas, logra en [writer's name] trascender la mediocridad del chisme —y del chusma— para convertirse en insumo imprescindible de sus prestidigitaciones intelectuales.
Apologies to everyone else because, as Charles has already said, this is off-topic!
Thank you, Charles, for confirming where your wife is from. I am from a small village in the mountains, in the Serranía Alta area of Cuenca; although I have travelled through the Manchuela area on many occasions, as in my teens I used to live in a town in the south of Valencia (I know you live in Valencia, as you have mentioned it before!), and we would travel back and forth whenever we got a chance. I understand what you mean about its local language; I obviously feel the same way, being from there. It is extremely rich in regionalisms. There is one particular term that I think could be categorised as "Golden-Age Spanish", which I only ever heard my grandmother say and, for that reason, I remember it with fondness; this one is in the dictionary, and it is a standard Spanish term; it is "adarme" ("dame un adarme de pan").
Cuenca is a beautiful place, which I would recommend everyone to visit!
Thanks for the sharing this different meaning of 'chusma', Adoración. And than you to all of you for your input. I wish I could split the points. Since this is not possible, I will choose the option I believe best suits the context and the Spanish variant.
I shouldn't really have introduced this, because it's off-topic, but I'm so pleased to have your confirmation and to hear you're from the same area! I feel attached to Cuenca because of my wife's family connection there (the Manchuela in our case), and I've always been fond of the local language, in which I sometimes hear things that sound like Golden-Age Spanish!
Sorry to join the discussion so late! I'm afraid this will not help Mónica with her translation of the term in this context, but I thought I should let you know that, like your "in-house consultant", I am also from a village in Cuenca, and, as a child, I remember my mother would sometimes say to me "¡qué chusma eres! or ¡eres muy chusma!. I'm not sure if I remember rightly, but I think she referred to me having a sweet tooth, or enjoying some "special" foods or treats (as I was never a good eater as a child).
I have also found this blog: http://www.mundorecetas.com/8/viewtopic.php?t=248955&start=1... "La explicacion que me da es que eres una chusma porque comes chusmerias! jajaj eso le decia a ella su madre... y cada vez que comiamos algo dulce estabamos con la bromita, que pasa chusma???"
The term in question IS used as a collective noun here. I though we had discussed this already. And the meaning is crystal clear. Monica just has to decide which term she'd like to use in English.
...for an adjective, such as chismoso, to be used as a noun: 'la mediocridad del chisme---y de los chismosos---...' que suena bastante natural, al menos en el Caribe, which begs the question: ¿De dónde es el autor? ---an important question if regional variation might be complicating matters (as Charles and others may have suggested)
Sorry, I missed your last question. "El chusma" is not someone, in this case, but "those who gossip". It is very common in Spanish to use a noun as a colective, i.e. "el mentiroso nunca cambia, sólo mejora su estrategia". I hope this is clear.
Yes, Robert, 'Who is this gossipmonger/gossiper?' and could he be part of la chusmería? ;-)
If one thing is clear, it's the author's intended meaning is not. Admittedy, I understood chusma as LA chusma (temporarily attributing the 'del' to variation). It would be interesting to know a little something, Mónica, about the author. It may not prove conclusive, of course, but it might shed some light on his or her intended meaning.
Hoy en día es común utilizar la palabra ‘chusma’ para referirse a un grupo de gente soez y vulgar.
Dicho término proviene del genovés antiguo ‘ciüsma’ que era como se denominaba antiguamente al conjunto de remeros (galeotes) que eran obligados a remar en las galeras.
Al tratarse de presos, en la mayoría de ocasiones éstos eran de clase baja y con escasa y/o nula educación, por lo que rápidamente pasó a utilizarse el término chusma para referirse, de una forma despectiva, a aquellas personas que carecen de modales y suelen tener una actitud soez, grosera o vulgar
My in-house consultant tells me that in her home village (in Cuenca), "un chusmo" is "un glotón". This is not in the DRAE or María Moliner and must be a regionalism.
It is not. And you are right about the DDA entry. Also, the countries where it is used according to them are more accurate I believe. I was surprised Uruguay was not listed in RAE... but then, that is why they fought to create the DDA ;-)
I was alerted to this by reading references in which it was clear that the meaning of a person who promotes (or relays) gossip, which is the sense of the word here, I believe, is not used in Central America, for example. And from my own experience it is not used in Spain either.
On the gender, I think the Diccionario de americanismos entry I quoted is more accurate: it says "sust/adj.", so its an invariable adjective that is also used as a noun (un/una chusma), and will therefore have the gender of the person concerned (masculine by default).
"Chusma" might have different regional meanings. However, the context here leaves no doubt in my view that they are talking about "those who promote gossip". I am puzzled by the "f" the academy gives to this meaning of chusma ... you can say "es un/una chusma"/"el chusma de Juan me contó tal cosa"....
Thanks for the clarification, Charles and Celia. The problem is that now the sense of the phrase seems very odd: to rise above the mediocrity of gossip -and the gossipmonger (singular?) What does that mean? Who is this gossipmonger/gossiper? What am I missing?
Yes, "la chusma" would be the collective noun in this case, had the article been f. Then it could be traslated as "rabble". In this case the meaning is "4. f. despect. Arg., Bol. y Ven. Persona chismosa y entrometida."
"I. 1. sust/adj. Bo, Py, Ar, Ur. Persona chismosa y entrometida. pop ^ desp. 2. f. Ni, Pa, Pe, Bo, Py; m. y f. Cu. Persona de modales groseros y comportamiento vulgar. pop + cult → espon ^ desp." RAE Diccionario de americanismos
I believe it means "gente sin educación ni civismo" in Mexico too.
And I think Cecilia's point was that this is not "la chusma", a collective noun; it refers to a person, where it has common gender, and almost certainly here in the Uruguayan/Argentine meaning (sense 1).
I don't understand your comment here with respect to your comment on Kim's answer, are you saying there's a different meaning if chusma has a masculine article?
peer agreement (net): -1
