Session 2, Activity 1 (Spanish)
Activity 1 Spanish – exploring idioms through reading
Follow the steps below.
Step 1
Read this Spanish short story created by AI using the prompt ‘Create a Spanish text with idioms’, which contains many idioms. You are not expected to understand everything. If you can understand the gist generally, you will be able to complete the rest of this activity.
El gran día de Pablo
Pablo había estado preparando una presentación importante durante semanas. Era el día de su gran presentación y se sentía nervioso. Tenía un nudo en la garganta, pero sabía que no podía echarse atrás. Entró en la sala de reuniones y comenzó a hablar. Sin embargo, a mitad de su presentación, el proyector dejó de funcionar. ¡Lo que faltaba! pensó Pablo.
Intentó mantener la calma, pero su jefe no parecía estar contento. Le echó un ojo al proyector y luego a Pablo, quien estaba sudando. Pablo decidió seguir hablando sin las diapositivas, pero su nerviosismo saltaba a la vista.
Al final, cuando parecía que todo estaba perdido, el proyector volvió a funcionar. Pablo terminó su presentación y todos lo aplaudieron. Su jefe se acercó y le dijo: “Pablo, estuviste genial. Romper una lanza por ti fue la mejor decisión que tomé."
Pablo, más feliz que una perdiz, salió de la sala y se dio cuenta de que, aunque el día empezó mal, había logrado lo que quería. No hay mal que por bien no venga.
Step 2
- Note down any possible Spanish idioms you may have found in the text.
- Can you understand the meaning of any of the expressions? By breaking them down and using the context of the whole story you may already be able to guess the meaning of some of the idioms.
Step 3
Now use your chosen OMT to translate the Spanish text into English and compare the translated text with either your own translation, or the example of a human-translated version in the reveal below.
- Are there any errors in meaning or unusual phrases in the OMT translation of the text, and specifically in the translation of the idioms?
- Can you explain the Spanish idiomatic expressions now that you’ve seen both a machine-translated version and a human translation in English? Does the idiom make sense in any other language(s) you speak?
Discussion
Model human translation:
Pablo had been prepping for his big presentation for weeks. When the day finally arrived, he was feeling the nerves. He had a lump in his throat, but he knew there was no backing out now. He walked into the meeting room and launched into his presentation. However, halfway through his presentation, the projector suddenly stopped working. Just what I needed, Pablo thought.
He tried to remain calm, but his boss’s expression said it all. His boss glanced at the dead projector, then at Pablo, who was visibly sweating. Deciding to push on without the slides, Pablo kept speaking, but his nerves were clearly showing.
Just when it seemed like everything was falling apart, the projector flickered back to life. Pablo managed to finish his presentation, and to his relief, everyone applauded. His boss came over and praised him, “Pablo, you did an excellent job. Supporting you was the best decision I made.”
Pablo, who was very pleased, left the room, realising that even though the day had started off badly at first, he had pulled it off. After all, every cloud really has a silver lining.
Activities of this kind may help you to identify differences in accuracy, nuance and idiomatic expressions. If you are working with other learners, you can discuss why certain phrases were translated in a specific way and learn about the limitations and strengths of machine translation.
By carefully checking the accuracy of the translation, activities like this also help you to improve your proofreading and editing skills.
Step 4
Back-translation: use your chosen OMT to translate the English version back into Spanish and then compare it with the original Spanish text above.
Comment
Does the back-translation differ from the original version? OMT can help you to see how meaning can shift through multiple translations and emphasises the importance of context and precision in translation. This and similar activities can encourage critical thinking and deeper engagement with both the language you are learning and your first language. It can also support understanding of idiomatic language and cultural nuances, as well as enhance vocabulary and translation skills.
Extension activity
If you found this activity useful, you can create a glossary of key terms and idiomatic expressions from the text, including their translations and explanations. You can either use the box below or, if you are a signed-in Google Translate user, you can create your own glossary or vocabulary database by clicking the star to the right of your translations.
In the reveal section below you will find some sample idioms and translations from the text. You may have found different idioms or different translations to those given.
Discussion
Sample idioms with their literal and their idiomatic translation into English:
- Tener un nudo en la garganta – to have a lump/knot in your throat (lit) / to be nervous
- ¡Lo que faltaba! – that’s what I was missing (lit) / Just what I/we needed!
- Echar un ojo – to throw an eye on (lit) / to keep an eye on
- Saltar a la vista – to jump to the sight (lit) / to be obvious
- Romper una lanza por alguien – to break a lance for someone (lit) / to defend or support someone
- Más feliz que una perdiz (very informal) – happier than a partridge (lit) / as happy as a lark
- No hay mal que por bien no venga – there is no bad from which good doesn’t come (lit) / every cloud has a silver lining.
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