Spanish book 2
Jul. 22nd, 2023 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickIt's trucking along nicely. With reading (and this is also true for people learning to read in their own native language), there is a tipping point where you as the reader can actually get meaning out of the text. Like, there's a story in there and you can winkle it out of its shell with a reasonable amount of effort.
Textual awareness helps. It helps A LOT, like shitbuckets of A Lot. I am scaffolded in my Spanish reading efforts by having an absolutely stellar grasp of how stories work, sort of a what to expect when you are reading. I know how dialogue works. I understand the way a coming-of-age epic swords-n-sorcery story should work. I can map riffs onto Harry Potter and other similar franchises. I am not at all going in blind.
But still, actual reading. (I am very excited about this.)
--Mi nombre es Marga y soy instructora de segundo año de la Maestría de Tiradores
My name is Marga, I'm the second-year instructor for Marksmanship (literally "Mastery of Shooting").
Lasgol la observó con detenimiento, no la conocián. Llevaba el cabello castańo en una cola de caballo y sus ojos pardos los miraban como analizándolos. Le llamó la atención que tenía infinidad de pecas por todo el rostro. Parecía que el sol hubiera estornudado sobre ella. De su hombro colgaban dos arcos. Cogió el primero y lo mostró para que todos pudíeron verlo.
Lasgol looked at her carefully but they didn't know her. She had brown hair in a ponytail and her brown eyes looked at them like she was taking their measure. (in an analyzing way, but that doesn't... sound right.) What called his attention was that she had millions of freckles all over her face. It seemed that the sun had... ?sneezed on her. On her shoulder she carried two bows. She took the first and showed it so that everyone could see it.
--¿Lo reconocéis, verdad?
You remember this, right?
Todos asintíeron, era el arco con el que habían aprendido a tirar el año anterior.
Everyone nodded, it was the bow that they had learned to shoot the previous year.
--Este arco que conocéis es lo que llamamaos un arco simple. Si estáis hoy aquí quiere decir que sabéis fabricar sus partes, montarlo y tirar con él.
This bow that you know is what we call a simple bow. Your presence here today indicates that you know how to make its parts, string it, and shoot with it.
Volvieron a asentir, orgullosos de haberlo logrado y de estar en el segundo año habiendo superado la instrucción de la Maestría de Tiro del año anterior.
?? proud of your accomplishments and being in the second year means you've passed the mastery of shooting for the prior year. (This is weak but not far off the mark.)
--Este no es el arco de un Guardabosques -- dijo Marga, lo cogió y lo partió en dos sobre su pierna. Luego lo tiró al suelo con desprecio.
This is not a bow of the Rangers, said Marga. She took it and broke it in two over her leg. Then she threw it to the ground with disgust.
De la sorpresa, Lasgol abrió los ojos como platos y se quedó con la boca abierta.
In surprise, Lasgol opened his eyes like plates and he froze, openmouthed. (se quedó is literally "stayed" or "remained" but we would not say that.)
--Ese es el arco de un cazador furtivo, de un malhechor, de un ladrón. Un arco sencillo y funcional. Práctico y resistente. Pero no es el arco de un Guardabosques. El Sendero enseña que los Guardabosques ques vivimos y morimos por nuestro arco. No lo olvidéis nunca. El cuchillo y el hacha corta son armas de apoyo, herramientes, pero el Guardabosques siempre se guía por su arco. ¿Entiendo?
This is the bow of a sneaky hunter, of a ?? bad guy, of a thief. A sensible and functional bow. It's practical and sturdy. But, it's not the bow of the Rangers. The Path teaches that Rangers live and die by their bow. Never forget that. The knife and the short axe are secondary arms, tools, but the Rangers always are guided by their bow. Understand?
Se escucharon síes aunque las caras de algunos incluidas la de Gerd y Nilsa mostraban que todavía no se habían recuperado de la ruptura del arco. Ingrid negaba con la cabeza con cara contrariada.
Various Yes's could be heard though the faces of some (including Gerd and Nilsa) showed that they weren't over the breaking of the bow. Ingrid shook her head no, with a contrary look on her face.
--Este-- continuó Marga mostrando el otro arco que llevaba -- este sí es el arco de un Guardabosques. Tomad. Examinadlo.
"This," continued Marga, showing the other bow that she'd brought, "This is the bow of a Ranger. Take it. Examine it."
El arco fue pasando de mano en mano. Cuando le llegó a Lasgol lo estudío con detenimiento. Era muy diferente al arco que habían estado manejando.
The bow was passed from hand to hand. When it got to Lasgol, he studied it thoroughly. It was very different from the bow that they'd been using.
--Este arco es un arco compuesto. Se llama así pues no está construido de unica pieza principal como lo está el arco simple. Eso hace que su fabricación montaje y uso resulte más complejo. Pero gracias a sus diferentes componentes se consigue un alcance muy mejorado y mayor estabilidad. Es decir, llega más lejos y se desvía menos, lo aclaro para los que me miráis con cara de no comprender.
This bow is a compound bow. It's called that because it's not made of a single big piece like the simple bow is. This was made by fabrication ?? (compound bows are laminated? but I don't know what montaje means.) and produces a more complex result. But thanks to its different components the consequence is a much improved range and better stability(?). That is to say, it can shoot further and miss less, which I clarify here because some of you are looking at me with confused faces.
--¿Cuál es el alcance del arco simple?--preguntó Marga.
What is the range of a simple bow? asked Marga.
--Unos 150-175 pasos-- dijo Ahart, el capitán de los Osos.
About 150-175 paces, said Ahart, captain of the Bears. (The teams are named after various animals. Our guys are the Snow Panthers. I do not know what a snow panther is but apparently it's a Very Cool Animal.)
--Correcto. Sin embargo, el alcance del arco compuesto es de 250-300 pasos.
Correct. However, the range of a compound bow is 250-300 paces.
Ingrid asintió varias veces. Aquello le gustaba.
Ingrid nodded several times. She liked that.
--¿Cuál es al alcance de un Mago o un Hechicero con sus conjuros?
Which is the range of a Mage or a Sorcery with their magics?
--Sobre 200-250 pasos-- dijo Jobas, el capitán de los Jabalíes.
About 200-250 paces, said Jobas, the captain of the Javalinas. (A sort of pig/peccary thing native to South America.)
--Decidme entonces, ¿Cuál de los dos arcos preferís usar?
Then tell me this... Which of the two bows do you want to use?
--¡El compuesto! dijo Nilsa. Lo dijo con tanto ímpetu que sonó como un grito.
The compound! said Nilsa. She said it with such enthusiasm that it sounded like a shout.
--Contra la magia el mejor amigo de un Guardabosques es su arco compuesto.
Against magic, the best friend of a Ranger is their compound bow.
Nilsa asentía emocionada.
Nilsa nodded excitedly.
--Adicionalmente, es mucho más potente: a misma distancia puede atravesar madera e incluso metal y es más ligero. El amigo perfecto del Guardabosques-- dijo Marga con una sonrisa.
Additionally, it's much more powerful: At the same distance it can go through wood and even metal and it's a lot lighter. The perfect friend of the Ranger, said Marga with a smile
Like, that's a page. That's a page of text that I can kinda read, there. Lookit me kinda-reading Spanish.
This book is going slightly slower because there's more political stuff. For example, the assorted dukes are sorta not all 100% behind the king against the Threat from the North. (The Threat of the North is an evil mage guy with Mind Control Powers.) Also, there's an entire historical succession crisis -- grandfather of the current king and great-grandfather of the clever little guy Egil in Lasgol's team both had pretty solid claims to the throne and what with the current political situation, Egil's dad is looking for an angle to press his claim to the throne. Egil's dad is a powerful duke and he has a fairly sizeable faction behind him. (Egil is in the Ranger school basically to be a hostage for his father's good behavior.)
Other plot threads -- Lasgol's mom, there's something weird AF about how she died, way back when, and there is not enough information being shared on that front. I expect it'll get untangled later, but right now it smells like past-its-prime fish. Lasgol got his ancestral home back (during the term break) since his dad wasn't a traitor anymore and he hired a young(ish) housekeeper who knew his mom pretty well. That's where we got the infodump on the what-happened-to-mom thing.
Oh, and we have a New Girl in the first years (Val Blohm) who is star struck by our man Lasgol. Astrid (el capitán de los Búhos) is not amused by Val all fangirling over Lasgol. (Astrid and Lasgol do not have a thing, per se, but he does think she's pretty and we're given to understand that she's not entirely opposed to him too. But there are no... shenanigans of a sexual nature. It is not that sort of book.)
Textual awareness helps. It helps A LOT, like shitbuckets of A Lot. I am scaffolded in my Spanish reading efforts by having an absolutely stellar grasp of how stories work, sort of a what to expect when you are reading. I know how dialogue works. I understand the way a coming-of-age epic swords-n-sorcery story should work. I can map riffs onto Harry Potter and other similar franchises. I am not at all going in blind.
But still, actual reading. (I am very excited about this.)
--Mi nombre es Marga y soy instructora de segundo año de la Maestría de Tiradores
My name is Marga, I'm the second-year instructor for Marksmanship (literally "Mastery of Shooting").
Lasgol la observó con detenimiento, no la conocián. Llevaba el cabello castańo en una cola de caballo y sus ojos pardos los miraban como analizándolos. Le llamó la atención que tenía infinidad de pecas por todo el rostro. Parecía que el sol hubiera estornudado sobre ella. De su hombro colgaban dos arcos. Cogió el primero y lo mostró para que todos pudíeron verlo.
Lasgol looked at her carefully but they didn't know her. She had brown hair in a ponytail and her brown eyes looked at them like she was taking their measure. (in an analyzing way, but that doesn't... sound right.) What called his attention was that she had millions of freckles all over her face. It seemed that the sun had... ?sneezed on her. On her shoulder she carried two bows. She took the first and showed it so that everyone could see it.
--¿Lo reconocéis, verdad?
You remember this, right?
Todos asintíeron, era el arco con el que habían aprendido a tirar el año anterior.
Everyone nodded, it was the bow that they had learned to shoot the previous year.
--Este arco que conocéis es lo que llamamaos un arco simple. Si estáis hoy aquí quiere decir que sabéis fabricar sus partes, montarlo y tirar con él.
This bow that you know is what we call a simple bow. Your presence here today indicates that you know how to make its parts, string it, and shoot with it.
Volvieron a asentir, orgullosos de haberlo logrado y de estar en el segundo año habiendo superado la instrucción de la Maestría de Tiro del año anterior.
?? proud of your accomplishments and being in the second year means you've passed the mastery of shooting for the prior year. (This is weak but not far off the mark.)
--Este no es el arco de un Guardabosques -- dijo Marga, lo cogió y lo partió en dos sobre su pierna. Luego lo tiró al suelo con desprecio.
This is not a bow of the Rangers, said Marga. She took it and broke it in two over her leg. Then she threw it to the ground with disgust.
De la sorpresa, Lasgol abrió los ojos como platos y se quedó con la boca abierta.
In surprise, Lasgol opened his eyes like plates and he froze, openmouthed. (se quedó is literally "stayed" or "remained" but we would not say that.)
--Ese es el arco de un cazador furtivo, de un malhechor, de un ladrón. Un arco sencillo y funcional. Práctico y resistente. Pero no es el arco de un Guardabosques. El Sendero enseña que los Guardabosques ques vivimos y morimos por nuestro arco. No lo olvidéis nunca. El cuchillo y el hacha corta son armas de apoyo, herramientes, pero el Guardabosques siempre se guía por su arco. ¿Entiendo?
This is the bow of a sneaky hunter, of a ?? bad guy, of a thief. A sensible and functional bow. It's practical and sturdy. But, it's not the bow of the Rangers. The Path teaches that Rangers live and die by their bow. Never forget that. The knife and the short axe are secondary arms, tools, but the Rangers always are guided by their bow. Understand?
Se escucharon síes aunque las caras de algunos incluidas la de Gerd y Nilsa mostraban que todavía no se habían recuperado de la ruptura del arco. Ingrid negaba con la cabeza con cara contrariada.
Various Yes's could be heard though the faces of some (including Gerd and Nilsa) showed that they weren't over the breaking of the bow. Ingrid shook her head no, with a contrary look on her face.
--Este-- continuó Marga mostrando el otro arco que llevaba -- este sí es el arco de un Guardabosques. Tomad. Examinadlo.
"This," continued Marga, showing the other bow that she'd brought, "This is the bow of a Ranger. Take it. Examine it."
El arco fue pasando de mano en mano. Cuando le llegó a Lasgol lo estudío con detenimiento. Era muy diferente al arco que habían estado manejando.
The bow was passed from hand to hand. When it got to Lasgol, he studied it thoroughly. It was very different from the bow that they'd been using.
--Este arco es un arco compuesto. Se llama así pues no está construido de unica pieza principal como lo está el arco simple. Eso hace que su fabricación montaje y uso resulte más complejo. Pero gracias a sus diferentes componentes se consigue un alcance muy mejorado y mayor estabilidad. Es decir, llega más lejos y se desvía menos, lo aclaro para los que me miráis con cara de no comprender.
This bow is a compound bow. It's called that because it's not made of a single big piece like the simple bow is. This was made by fabrication ?? (compound bows are laminated? but I don't know what montaje means.) and produces a more complex result. But thanks to its different components the consequence is a much improved range and better stability(?). That is to say, it can shoot further and miss less, which I clarify here because some of you are looking at me with confused faces.
--¿Cuál es el alcance del arco simple?--preguntó Marga.
What is the range of a simple bow? asked Marga.
--Unos 150-175 pasos-- dijo Ahart, el capitán de los Osos.
About 150-175 paces, said Ahart, captain of the Bears. (The teams are named after various animals. Our guys are the Snow Panthers. I do not know what a snow panther is but apparently it's a Very Cool Animal.)
--Correcto. Sin embargo, el alcance del arco compuesto es de 250-300 pasos.
Correct. However, the range of a compound bow is 250-300 paces.
Ingrid asintió varias veces. Aquello le gustaba.
Ingrid nodded several times. She liked that.
--¿Cuál es al alcance de un Mago o un Hechicero con sus conjuros?
Which is the range of a Mage or a Sorcery with their magics?
--Sobre 200-250 pasos-- dijo Jobas, el capitán de los Jabalíes.
About 200-250 paces, said Jobas, the captain of the Javalinas. (A sort of pig/peccary thing native to South America.)
--Decidme entonces, ¿Cuál de los dos arcos preferís usar?
Then tell me this... Which of the two bows do you want to use?
--¡El compuesto! dijo Nilsa. Lo dijo con tanto ímpetu que sonó como un grito.
The compound! said Nilsa. She said it with such enthusiasm that it sounded like a shout.
--Contra la magia el mejor amigo de un Guardabosques es su arco compuesto.
Against magic, the best friend of a Ranger is their compound bow.
Nilsa asentía emocionada.
Nilsa nodded excitedly.
--Adicionalmente, es mucho más potente: a misma distancia puede atravesar madera e incluso metal y es más ligero. El amigo perfecto del Guardabosques-- dijo Marga con una sonrisa.
Additionally, it's much more powerful: At the same distance it can go through wood and even metal and it's a lot lighter. The perfect friend of the Ranger, said Marga with a smile
Like, that's a page. That's a page of text that I can kinda read, there. Lookit me kinda-reading Spanish.
This book is going slightly slower because there's more political stuff. For example, the assorted dukes are sorta not all 100% behind the king against the Threat from the North. (The Threat of the North is an evil mage guy with Mind Control Powers.) Also, there's an entire historical succession crisis -- grandfather of the current king and great-grandfather of the clever little guy Egil in Lasgol's team both had pretty solid claims to the throne and what with the current political situation, Egil's dad is looking for an angle to press his claim to the throne. Egil's dad is a powerful duke and he has a fairly sizeable faction behind him. (Egil is in the Ranger school basically to be a hostage for his father's good behavior.)
Other plot threads -- Lasgol's mom, there's something weird AF about how she died, way back when, and there is not enough information being shared on that front. I expect it'll get untangled later, but right now it smells like past-its-prime fish. Lasgol got his ancestral home back (during the term break) since his dad wasn't a traitor anymore and he hired a young(ish) housekeeper who knew his mom pretty well. That's where we got the infodump on the what-happened-to-mom thing.
Oh, and we have a New Girl in the first years (Val Blohm) who is star struck by our man Lasgol. Astrid (el capitán de los Búhos) is not amused by Val all fangirling over Lasgol. (Astrid and Lasgol do not have a thing, per se, but he does think she's pretty and we're given to understand that she's not entirely opposed to him too. But there are no... shenanigans of a sexual nature. It is not that sort of book.)
