The Souls of Black Folk — Page 6
After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world.
Después del egipcio y el indio, el griego y el romano, el teutón y el mongol, el negro es una especie de séptimo hijo, nacido con un velo, y dotado de doble vista en este mundo americano,—un mundo que no le ofrece una verdadera conciencia de sí mismo, sino que solo le permite verse a través de la revelación del otro mundo.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.
Es una sensación peculiar, esta doble conciencia, esta sensación de mirarse siempre a uno mismo a través de los ojos de los demás, de medir el alma de uno con la cinta de un mundo que observa con divertido desprecio y lástima.
One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
Uno siempre siente su dualidad,—un americano, un negro; dos almas, dos pensamientos, dos esfuerzos irreconciliados; dos ideales en guerra en un solo cuerpo oscuro, cuya tenaz fortaleza es lo único que le impide ser despedazado.
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.
La historia del negro americano es la historia de esta lucha,—este anhelo de alcanzar una hombría consciente de sí misma, de fundir su doble yo en un yo mejor y más verdadero.
In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.
En esta fusión, no desea que ninguno de los dos yo anteriores se pierda.
He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa.
No africanizaría América, pues América tiene demasiado que enseñarle al mundo y a África.
He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world.
No blanquearía su alma negra en un torrente de americanismo blanco, pues sabe que la sangre negra tiene un mensaje para el mundo.
He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.
Simplemente desea hacer posible que un hombre sea a la vez negro y americano, sin ser maldecido y escupido por sus semejantes, sin que las puertas de la Oportunidad se cierren bruscamente en su cara.
Vocabulary
- Después
- After; following in time or order
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el,' meaning 'of the'
- egipcio
- Egyptian; relating to Egypt or its people
- y
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- indio
- Indian; person from India or indigenous Americas
- griego
- Greek; relating to Greece or its people
- romano
- Roman; relating to Rome or its civilization
- teutón
- Teuton; member of ancient Germanic-speaking peoples
- mongol
- Mongol; relating to Mongolia or its people
- negro
- Black; dark color or of African descent
- es
- Is; third-person singular present tense of 'ser'
- una
- A or an; feminine indefinite article
- especie
- Species or kind; a category or type of thing
- de
- Of or from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- séptimo
- Seventh; the ordinal number following sixth
- hijo
- Son; male offspring of a parent
- nacido
- Born; brought into existence or life
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- un
- A or an; masculine indefinite article
- velo
- Veil; thin covering over the face or head
- dotado
- Gifted or endowed; possessing a special talent or quality
- doble
- Double; twice as much or having two parts
- vista
- Sight or vision; the ability to see
- en
- In or on; preposition indicating location or time
- este
- This; demonstrative adjective for nearby masculine nouns
- mundo
- World; the earth and all living things on it
- americano
- American; relating to America or its people
- que
- That or which; relative pronoun or conjunction
- no
- No or not; negation word in Spanish
- le
- Him, her, or you; indirect object pronoun
- ofrece
- Offers; provides or presents something to someone
- verdadera
- True or real; genuine and not false
- conciencia
- Conscience or consciousness; awareness of self or morality
- sí
- Himself or herself; reflexive pronoun indicating self
- mismo
- Same or himself; emphasizing identity or sameness
- sino
- But rather; conjunction contrasting a negative statement
- solo
- Only or alone; without others or exclusively
- permite
- Allows or permits; grants permission for something
- verse
- To see oneself; reflexive form of 'ver'
- a
- To or at; preposition indicating direction or destination
- través
- Through; across or by means of something
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- revelación
- Revelation; a disclosure of something previously unknown
- otro
- Other or another; a different person or thing
- Es
- Is; third-person singular present tense of 'ser'
- sensación
- Sensation or feeling; a physical or emotional perception
- peculiar
- Peculiar or strange; unusual or distinctive in character
- esta
- This; feminine demonstrative adjective for nearby nouns
- mirarse
- To look at oneself; reflexive form of 'mirar'
- siempre
- Always; at all times without exception
- uno
- One; the number one or an indefinite person
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight in the face
- demás
- Others; the rest of the people or things
- medir
- To measure; to determine the size or extent
- alma
- Soul; the spiritual part of a human being
- cinta
- Tape or ribbon; a narrow strip of material
- observa
- Observes; watches or notices carefully
- divertido
- Amused or entertaining; finding something funny or fun
- desprecio
- Contempt or scorn; strong disrespect toward someone
- lástima
- Pity; a feeling of sympathy for someone's misfortune
- Uno
- One; used as an indefinite pronoun meaning 'one'
- siente
- Feels; experiences an emotion or physical sensation
- su
- His, her, its, or your; possessive adjective
- dualidad
- Duality; the quality of having two distinct aspects
- dos
- Two; the number following one
- almas
- Souls; plural of alma, spiritual essences of beings
- pensamientos
- Thoughts; ideas or reflections formed in the mind
- esfuerzos
- Efforts; attempts requiring physical or mental exertion
- irreconciliados
- Unreconciled; not brought into harmony or agreement
- ideales
- Ideals; principles or standards considered perfect
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between groups or nations
- cuerpo
- Body; the physical structure of a living being
- oscuro
- Dark; lacking light or of a deep shade
- cuya
- Whose; possessive relative pronoun referring to a noun
- tenaz
- Tenacious; persistent and not easily giving up
- fortaleza
- Fortress or strength; great power or resilience
- lo
- It or him; neuter or masculine direct object pronoun
- único
- Only or unique; the sole one of its kind
- impide
- Prevents or stops; keeps something from happening
- ser
- To be; infinitive of the verb indicating existence
- despedazado
- Torn apart; broken into pieces by force
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- historia
- History or story; a record of past events
- lucha
- Struggle or fight; a conflict or effort to overcome
- anhelo
- Longing or yearning; a deep desire for something
- alcanzar
- To reach or achieve; to attain a goal or place
- hombría
- Manhood; qualities associated with being a man
- consciente
- Conscious or aware; having knowledge of oneself
- misma
- Same or herself; emphasizing identity in feminine form
- fundir
- To merge or fuse; to combine into a single whole
- yo
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- mejor
- Better or best; superior in quality or ability
- más
- More; a greater quantity, degree, or number
- verdadero
- True or genuine; real and not false or fake
- En
- In or on; preposition indicating location or state
- fusión
- Fusion or merger; combining two things into one
- desea
- Desires or wishes; wants something strongly
- ninguno
- None or neither; not one of a group
- anteriores
- Previous or former; existing or coming before
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself, or themselves
- pierda
- Be lost; subjunctive of 'perder,' to lose
- No
- No or not; used to negate a statement
- africanizaría
- Would Africanize; to make something African in character
- América
- America; the continent or the United States
- pues
- Since or because; conjunction indicating reason or consequence
- tiene
- Has; third-person singular of 'tener,' to have
- demasiado
- Too much; an excessive amount of something
- enseñarle
- To teach him or her; to instruct someone
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el,' meaning 'to the'
- África
- Africa; the continent in the Eastern Hemisphere
- blanquearía
- Would whiten; to make something white or lighter
- negra
- Black; feminine form referring to dark color or race
- torrente
- Torrent; a powerful rushing stream of liquid or force
- americanismo
- Americanism; values or culture characteristic of America
- blanco
- White; the lightest color or of European descent
- sabe
- Knows; has knowledge or awareness of something
- sangre
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body
- mensaje
- Message; a communication passed from one to another
- para
- For or in order to; indicating purpose or destination
- Simplemente
- Simply; in a straightforward or uncomplicated manner
- hacer
- To do or make; to perform or create something
- posible
- Possible; able to happen or be done
- hombre
- Man; an adult male human being
- sea
- Be; present subjunctive of 'ser,' to be
- vez
- Time or turn; an instance or occurrence of something
- sin
- Without; lacking or not having something
- maldecido
- Cursed; subjected to a curse or strong condemnation
- escupido
- Spat upon; subjected to the act of spitting
- por
- By or for; indicating agent, reason, or exchange
- sus
- His, her, their, or your; plural possessive adjective
- semejantes
- Fellow human beings; those similar or equal to oneself
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- puertas
- Doors; movable barriers used to open or close an entrance
- Oportunidad
- Opportunity; a favorable circumstance for advancement
- cierren
- Close; present subjunctive of 'cerrar,' to shut
- bruscamente
- Abruptly or rudely; in a sudden and harsh manner
- cara
- Face; the front part of the head
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