The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 8
His acquaintance with Arab manners and customs was insufficient to preserve him always from errors of the grossest description, and by the _style_ of his version he has given to the whole a false character, thus sacrificing, in a great measure, what is most valuable in the original work,--I mean its minute accuracy with respect to those peculiarities which distinguish the Arabs from every other nation, not only of the West, but also of the East.
Su conocimiento de los modales y costumbres árabes era insuficiente para preservarle siempre de errores de la descripción más burda, y por el _estilo_ de su versión ha dado al conjunto un carácter falso, sacrificando así, en gran medida, lo que es más valioso en la obra original, es decir, su minuciosa exactitud con respecto a aquellas peculiaridades que distinguen a los árabes de todas las demás naciones, no solo de Occidente, sino también de Oriente.
Deceived by the vague nature of Galland's version, travellers in Persia, Turkey, and India, have often fancied that the Arabian Tales describe the particular manners of the natives of those countries; but no one who has read them in the original language, having an intimate acquaintance with the Arabs, can be of this opinion: it is in Arabian countries, and especially in Egypt, that we see the people, the dresses, and the buildings, which it describes in almost every case, even when the scene is laid in Persia, in India, or in China.
Engañados por la naturaleza vaga de la versión de Galland, los viajeros en Persia, Turquía e India han imaginado con frecuencia que los Cuentos Árabes describen los modales particulares de los nativos de esos países; pero nadie que los haya leído en el idioma original, teniendo un conocimiento íntimo de los árabes, puede ser de esta opinión: es en los países árabes, y especialmente en Egipto, donde vemos al pueblo, los vestidos y los edificios que describe en casi todos los casos, incluso cuando la escena se sitúa en Persia, en India o en China.
"Convinced of the truth of this assertion, I consider myself possessed of the chief qualifications for the proper accomplishment of my present undertaking, from my having lived several years in Cairo, associating almost exclusively with Arabs, speaking their language, conforming to their general habits with the most scrupulous exactitude, and received into their society on terms of perfect equality.
«Convencido de la verdad de esta afirmación, me considero en posesión de las principales cualificaciones para el cumplimiento adecuado de mi empresa actual, por haber vivido varios años en El Cairo, relacionándome casi exclusivamente con árabes, hablando su idioma, conformándome a sus hábitos generales con la más escrupulosa exactitud, y siendo admitido en su sociedad en términos de perfecta igualdad.
Vocabulary
- su
- his, her, its, their (possessive adjective)
- conocimiento
- knowledge, understanding, awareness of something
- de
- of, from (preposition indicating possession or origin)
- los
- the (masculine plural definite article)
- modales
- manners, customs, ways of behaving or conducting oneself
- costumbres
- customs, habits, traditional practices of a group
- árabes
- Arabic, Arab (relating to Arabs or their language)
- era
- was, existed (past tense of ser)
- insuficiente
- insufficient, inadequate, not enough for a purpose
- para
- for, in order to (preposition showing purpose or direction)
- preservarle
- to preserve him, protect him from something
- siempre
- always, ever, at all times without exception
- errores
- errors, mistakes, inaccuracies in something
- la
- the (feminine singular definite article)
- descripción
- description, account or portrayal of something
- más
- more, most (comparative and superlative marker)
- burda
- coarse, crude, rough or poorly made
- por
- by, through, for (preposition showing agency or cause)
- el
- the (masculine singular definite article)
- estilo
- style, manner of expression or artistic approach
- versión
- version, translation or account of something
- ha
- has, have (auxiliary verb in perfect tense)
- dado
- given, provided (past participle of dar)
- al
- to the (contraction of a + el)
- conjunto
- whole, entirety, collection of things together
- un
- a, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- carácter
- character, nature or distinctive quality of something
- falso
- false, fake, untrue or not authentic
- sacrificando
- sacrificing, giving up something valuable deliberately
- así
- thus, so, in this manner or way
- en
- in, on, at (preposition showing location or time)
- gran
- great, large (shortened form of grande)
- medida
- measure, extent, degree or proportion of something
- lo
- the, it (neuter article or pronoun)
- que
- what, that, which (relative or interrogative pronoun)
- es
- is, exists (present tense of ser)
- valioso
- valuable, precious, worth much or highly esteemed
- obra
- work, creation, artistic or literary production
- original
- original, first, authentic or not copied from something
- decir
- to say, tell, speak or express in words
- minuciosa
- meticulous, thorough, detailed and careful in execution
- exactitud
- exactitude, precision, accuracy and correctness of details
- con
- with, accompanied by (preposition showing association)
- respecto
- respect, regard, consideration toward something or someone
- aquellas
- those, those things (feminine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- peculiaridades
- peculiarities, distinctive features or unusual characteristics
- distinguen
- distinguish, differentiate, mark as different or separate
- todas
- all, every one (feminine plural of todo)
- las
- the (feminine plural definite article)
- demás
- other, rest, remaining people or things besides
- naciones
- nations, countries, large groups of people politically organized
- no
- no, not (negation marker in Spanish)
- solo
- only, alone, solitary or exclusively something
- Occidente
- West, Western world, Europe and Americas collectively
- sino
- but, but rather (conjunction contrasting alternatives)
- también
- also, too, as well or in addition
- Oriente
- East, Orient, Eastern world, Asia particularly Middle East
- Engañados
- deceived, tricked, fooled or misled intentionally
- naturaleza
- nature, character, essential quality or natural world
- vaga
- vague, unclear, imprecise or indefinite in meaning
- viajeros
- travelers, voyagers, those who journey from place to place
- han
- have, they have (auxiliary verb in perfect tense)
- imaginado
- imagined, conceived, formed mental image of something
- frecuencia
- frequency, rate of occurrence, how often something happens
- Cuentos
- tales, stories, short narratives or accounts
- Árabes
- Arabs, people from Arab countries or Arab descent
- describen
- describe, tell about, depict or portray something
- particulares
- particular, specific, individual or special details
- nativos
- native, indigenous, originating from a particular place
- esos
- those, those things (masculine plural demonstrative)
- países
- countries, nations, political territories with defined borders
- pero
- but, yet, however (conjunction showing contrast)
- nadie
- no one, nobody, not any person at all
- haya
- have, may have (subjunctive of haber)
- leído
- read, past participle of leer (to read)
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