Thread: Stuck on some words and terms

Context: I am translating some prose poems from Spanish to English. The original author is Domincan.

So these are the bits I'm stuck on.


Es insólito el elemento de la nave
en la que navega el navegante irreconocible
y a la vez lo que cubre su palmito,...


This is about a motorcycle rider with a helmet.

El contenido de las palabras fluían vertiginosamente sobre mi palmito,


The one has to do with a description of a self-portrait in which there are letters in the background and on his face.


Face? Mug, as in slang for face? It comes up twice, in two different "poems."




En el otro aposento, puedo escuchar la música difundida por altoparlantes,
monitores de cono y suspensiones amarillas, consola de muchos canales,

In the other bedroom, I can hear the music issuing from the loudspeakers,
Cone woofers and yellow suspension, multichannel console…



Trazan el trayecto y los objetivos para salir devorando por el viejo alfoz.

They follow their path and purpose to charge ravenously along the old ???
Nothing will stop them, nothing will be missing.


I have no idea what this might mean.




Descubrí una senda olvidada en el tiempo , en donde habitan el bambú y las manaclas,

I came upon a road forgotten by time, inhabited by bamboo and manaclas
Infinite woodlands of coffee and cacao, a pathway of stones leading to a emptiness.


Some kind of tree?



Columnas negras y vigas de acero,
Escalera de aluminio y ventilador silente de amoniaco,

Black columns and steel beams,
Aluminum stairway and a silent ammonia fan,


That's what the translation is but it doesn't seem right.





So if you have any clue what do with any of these, I would love to hear it. Thanks!

Hello Linda,
How is the translation going? Do you still need help?

Yes, I am still interested in hearing from people. I turned in the project, noting these terms I was unable to translate. The client was just as baffled as I was, had never heard them herself (and she is a DR native). Thanks for asking!

I have a couple of comments for the sentences that I understand, or I think that I understand.


En el otro aposento, puedo escuchar la música difundida por altoparlantes,
monitores de cono y suspensiones amarillas, consola de muchos canales,

In the other bedroom, I can hear the music issuing from the loudspeakers,
Cone woofers and yellow suspension, multichannel console…

This may see a device placed in a ceiling or high on a wall.


Trazan el trayecto y los objetivos para salir devorando por el viejo alfoz.

They follow their path and purpose to charge ravenously along the old ???
Nothing will stop them, nothing will be missing.

Check this explanation: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfoz

Columnas negras y vigas de acero,
Escalera de aluminio y ventilador silente de amoniaco,

Black columns and steel beams,
Aluminum stairway and a silent ammonia fan,

That's what the translation is but it doesn't seem right.

Why would it be wrong? I think of a fan that spreads ammonia or a bad smell without any noise.

Thanks so much!

If you have comments from your readers or clients, please share them here. These are interesting words.