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"Sobremesa" - UChicago; untranslatable, personal word


shannonnmm 2 / 4 2  
Oct 30, 2014   #1
Pick a word, tell us what it means, and say why it cannot (or should not) be translated.

Sobremesa. Esta palabra de nueve letras no significa nada en ingles, pero en espańol ayuda a definir ambo la cultura de Espańa y las personas espańoles. Sobremesa es el tiempo que pasamos después de que terminamos comiendo pero antes de que salimos de la mesa. Tiempo que pasamos hablando, relajando, digiriendo, y disfrutando en la compańía de los demás. Tiempo que no nos apresuremos, y tiempo que no nos saltamos.

For me, this word is sobremesa. Roughly translated, sobremesa is the time we spend after we have finished a meal but before we leave the table. It is the time we spend socializing, enjoying, digesting, and relaxing in the company of others. Time we don't rush, and time we don't skip.

The word sobremesa does not exist in English. But why should it? There is no cultural equivalent. Our culture tends to value quantity over quality, results over method. America is society of individualism, where every man is expected to fend for himself. Though it's hard to imagine our country being any other way. These values are a part of our country's culture in the same way that sobremesa is a part of Spain's. However, sobremesa would give America an opportunity to take a step back from the chaos of life. The word itself literally means "over the table." And sobremesa is just that. It's a time when I can bring anything up for discussion, my thoughts on global politics or my feelings about my last math test. In my family, the practice has become a nightly routine. I no longer find myself eating behind the screen of a laptop, working hard to finish just one more problem before my mom realizes I'm missing from the dinner table.

For the Spanish, how they eat is just as important as what they eat. Sobremesa is a reason to spend time with one another, to talk about one's day and share stories with friends and family. It is not planned, not penciled into organizers or marked with a notification on phones. The Spanish value family, friends, and verbal communication. But more than anything, they value sobremesa. Sobremesa gives my family the opportunity to connect over food. It brings purpose to an activity that used to mean nothing. Despite the disorder of life, sobremesa is the one-hour of the day I can count on to relax. With sobremesa, there's no thinking, it just happens. For me, sobremesa is more of a feeling than a word. It's difficult to describe to an outsider, but it's easy to understand once you experience it.

I've decided that neither side is better than the other. Es imposible elegir entre dos culturas que ayudan a definir quién soy. Regardless of how busy we are, my mom always makes sure that we have time for a family dinner, and of course, sobremesa. It's become a family tradition, one I continue to this day. Even in the mayhem of today's world, siempre hay tiempo para la sobremesa. I hope to spread the practice of sobremesa in America, to teach them that there is always time for sobremesa.
vangiespen - / 4,134 1449  
Oct 30, 2014   #2
Shannon, remember, not everyone who reads this essay speaks Spanish, so you should at least offer up a rough translation of the statement you made in full Spanish at the beginning of the essay. It will help to explain why there is also no good English translation for the word sobremesa.

America is society of individualism, where every man is expected to fend for himself.

- America is a society of ...

And sobremesa is just that

- Remember the grammatical rules, you can't start a sentence with "And". Simply say "Sobremesa is just that."

Es imposible elegir entre dos culturas que ayudan a definir quién soy.

- Again with the translation :-)

Overall, a very good essay. You smoothly explained why it is impossible to translate this word to English :-) Just a few points left to address in order to perfect the paper :-)
Charphil 5 / 27 10  
Oct 30, 2014   #3
Very creative and well written and it tell a lot about you.. I would just wait for a second opinion because, even though I liked that you added some words in Spanish (it shows some more about your culture and that need of expressing what it means to you in your own language), I'm not sure how the Admission Officer that reads your essay will see it.
OP shannonnmm 2 / 4 2  
Oct 30, 2014   #4
Thanks! I've had a problem with formatting...the second paragraph is a translation of the first, but I'm not sure how to make that obvious enough for the admissions officer. Any ideas?
vangiespen - / 4,134 1449  
Oct 30, 2014   #5
Shannon, you will need to use a transition sentence to explain that you are giving an English version of the Spanish paragraph then. It is a bit difficult to do because you chose to write a whole paragraph in Spanish which, although impressive, and I am sure that your intention was to make an impression, affected the overall effect of the paper. Remember, you are only being asked for a word, not a whole paragraph. I believe that the best thing for you to do with regards to this situation is to just immediately give the word and the rough English translation. That will lead you to use the translation in the second paragraph as your introductory paragraph instead. That should work better because you will immediately provide your answer to the prompt and provide ample development within the paper for your explanation as well. Try to see if my suggestion will work for your intentions. I believe it will :-)
AndrewT97 2 / 9 1  
Oct 31, 2014   #6
In your first paragraph in Spanish, there are some things you need to change. I don't know if the admissions officer speaks Spanish but I speak it everyday and your paragraph has some mistakes in it and you don't want to risk it.

"Esta palabra de nueve letras no significa nada en ingles ," -----no tiene significado en el idioma inglés.

"pero en espańol ayuda a definir ambola cultura de Espańa y las personas espańoles "
1. Change the first strike to "Por otro lado, en la lengua castellana,"
2. "ambo" is not a word in Spanish
3. Change the third strike to "la cultura y la sociedad Espańola."


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