Nov. 22, 2007 - ¡Féliz día de acción de gracias!
You may be wondering how Thanksgiving is celebrated in the Spanish speaking world. Actually, for the most part, it is not celebrated. An exception is the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Hispanics in the United States have also embraced the tradition, because what is better than a day off with great food and family togetherness? That translates to any language.
Translating Thanksgiving terminology is a little more problematic. Yes, the word for cranberry is el arándano, but you may be hard pressed to find a person in Central or South America who even knows what a cranberry is!
So I offer the following list of Thanksgiving vocabulary, and ask you to take it with a grain of salt, a ladle full of gravy, or a dollop of dulce de leche (whichever you prefer):
- el pavo - the turkey
- la salsa de arándanos - cranberry sauce
- la cazuela - casserole
- el pastel/la tarta de calabaza - pumpkin pie
- el noviembre - November
- la cena - dinner
- comer - to eat
- gluglú gluglú - gobble gobble (the turkey sound)
- el ñame - yam
- el otoño - autumn
- las sobras - leftovers
- los parientes - relatives
- el maíz - corn
- el puré de patatas - mashed potatoes
- la salsa de carne - gravy
- las verduras - vegetables
- el relleno - stuffing
Here is a lovely lesson idea that will work today or any day of the year - say what you are thankful for! Here is how to say "I am thankful for......."
- boys say: Estoy agradecido por __________
- girls say: Estoy agradecida por __________
I'll tell you what I'm agradecida por! Family, food, and sleeping in this week!
No field trip tomorrow due to the holiday. Stay home and eat las sobras!
Comments
Dec. 7, 2007 - Thank you for the word for Cranberry
Posted by Anonymous
I made the cranberry bread and no-one knew what they were! I even had an extra bag in the freezer to show (one that I brought from the states!), still nothing. Glad to know there is a word for it! :o)
molly in cr
Dec. 8, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by KathleenM
Darn! Why isn't the cluster map showing a red dot for you in Costa Rica?!?!
Relleno presents a similar linguistic problem, because while we use the words stuffing/dressing to mean one thing, a relleno can be any kind of filling in Spanish.
Good to hear from you Molly! =)
