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Jul 24, 2006 17:25
17 yrs ago
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English term

keeping up with the Jones´s

English to Spanish Art/Literary Journalism idioms, maxims, sayings
This is not for an actual translation. I just thought of the phrase and became curious as to whether there is an equivalent or approximate phrase in Spanish. I am suprised I did not find the phrase here. For those who might not be familiar with the phrase, it means to try to compete with the neighbors in the ostentation of material possesions, and/ or achievments. If they buy a new car, then you want a new car also; if they send their daughter to Yale, then you want yours to go to Harvard, and so on.
I just imagined magazine article with the title "Keeping up with the Jones´s... and the Lopez´s; and the Martinez´s."
Since we are are it, what is the correct way to write "the Jones´" in English? With a single s and an apostrophe, or with an apostrophe and a second s? I am never sure.
Proposed translations (Spanish)
5 manteniendo las apariencias
4 +3 seguir los pasos del vecino
4 +2 consumo ostentoso
4 Competencia / Arribistas
4 aparentar

Discussion

George Rabel (asker) Jul 24, 2006:
Muchas gracias mariteri
María Teresa Taylor Oliver Jul 24, 2006:
George, te paso el link de la excelente guía de Strunk & White, The Elements of Style, la obra está completa en este sitio: http://www.bartelby.net/141/
JaneTranslates Jul 24, 2006:
No room below, so I'll say it here: Ruth's "aventajando a los Pérez" is an excellent translation, both in context and as your title, George, don't you think?
María Eugenia Wachtendorff Jul 24, 2006:
Yeah, I forgot the possessive above. En cuanto a tu traducción, se me ocurre "No ser menos que los Pérez"
George Rabel (asker) Jul 24, 2006:
You are right, Ruth. The "staying over at" does imply a possesive.
Now, just to take the game a little further, let´s suppose we had to translate the example I provided as a TITLE of an article. "Consumo ostentoso" hits the idea right on the head, but I am not sure if it would work as a translation for the title...
JaneTranslates Jul 24, 2006:
Sorry, bad example. I was worried about my 255 char running out! Rosario's name, Barneses' house, Wrigleys's house. However, some manuals disagree, and we have no Real Academia in English!
JaneTranslates Jul 24, 2006:
Absolutely right, and Ruth's note illustrates one of the rules followed by many style manuals: if there are two "s" or "z" sounds, the final "s" of the possessive is dropped: Jesus' name, Gonzalezes' house, but Rosario's name, Petersons's house.
Refugio Jul 24, 2006:
However, in MEW's last example, it does indeed require an apostrophe (May I stay over at the Gonzalezes'?"), since there is an implied possessive (May I stay over at the Gonazalezes' (house)?
María Eugenia Wachtendorff Jul 24, 2006:
ACLARO: Lo que me enseñaron en el colegio fue "May I stay over at the Gonzalezes?" Nunca me permitieron traducir en clases de inglés.
JaneTranslates Jul 24, 2006:
In Spanish, yes; Martínezes sounds horrible. But in English I have no problem whatsoever with adding "-es" to make the regular form of the plural for nouns ending in a consonant.
ntizon Jul 24, 2006:
A mí en plural me suenan fatal en español. Yo siempre oí hablar de los Martínez, los Sánchez, pero no los Martínezes... Por lo menos en España nunca lo he oído en plural, salvo cuando se refieren a dinastías... A veces decimos "los Borbones"...
George Rabel (asker) Jul 24, 2006:
ahh MEW escribiste tu nota en lo que yo estaba escribiendo la mia, Gracias
George Rabel (asker) Jul 24, 2006:
Thank you, Jane. You are absolutely right, There is no possesive here. Now, in the case of "foreign" names like Martinez, etc., would we then write "the Martinezes"? Sounds weird to me...
María Eugenia Wachtendorff Jul 24, 2006:
Hola, George. En el colegio me enseñaron que los apellidos hispanos también se escriben en plural en inglés. Es decir: "the Gonzalezes, the Perezes, etc." And I agree with Jane, the original saying is "with the Joneses."
JaneTranslates Jul 24, 2006:
On your final question: Neither. When you want a simple plural, use no apostrophe: Keep up with the Joneses. For the possessive, you will get arguments both ways: Emulate the Jones' excessive spending habits, or Emulate the Jones's etc. I prefer the 2nd.

Proposed translations

3 hrs
Selected

manteniendo las apariencias

Puedes estar entracalado con deudas pero tienes lo mismo o mejor de lo que tiene el vecino.
Peer comment(s):
neutral María Eugenia Wachtendorff : Hola, Yolanda. De acuerdo con la idea, pero no con la redacción en español. El gerundio se ve feísimo al principio de un título.
8 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Muchísimas gracias a todos. Aparte de lo del gerundio, creo que la palabra "apariencias" es lo que mejor captura la idea."
9 mins

Competencia / Arribistas

No creo que haya un termino exacto se me ocurre la famosa competencia entre vecinos, amigos, familiares. Aveces se utiliza el termino "arribista" pero es más para alguien que desea ser más de lo que es; algo asi como querer ser de la clase alta teniendo marcadas tendencias de clase media.
Something went wrong...
18 mins

aparentar

Like Satto, I can't think of an exact equivalent expression in Spanish. However, aparentar could work depending on the context.

As for the other question, I agree with Jane. There is no possesive so no apostrophe.
Something went wrong...
+3
17 mins

seguir los pasos del vecino

Me atrevo a darte este grado de seguridad, en honor de la mejor profesora de inglés de este mundo (mi mamá), que me explicó -cuando yo era niña, no a raíz de tu pregunta- el significado de este dicho. Según ella, es más imitación que competencia, cuando los vecinos son innovadores, cuidadosos con sus cosas, buenos padres, etc.

Ahora veamos qué dicen los natives... (¡Mi mamá es hija de italianos, nacida en Chile, pero tiene un inglés precioso y cultísimo!)

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-07-24 18:45:08 GMT)
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Después de esta clase magistral, mi conclusión es que no existe una traducción oficial para este dicho y, si tuviera que hacerlo, yo diría "No ser menos que el vecino/fulanito"
Peer comment(s):
agree JaneTranslates : Tu mamá será de esos seres maravillosos que ven todo por el lado positivo. Mi nota arriba expresa lo que yo entiendo por esta expresión: que es, en efecto, una competencia. La Sra. Jones compra Prada, yo compro Gucci y escondo las bolsas de K-Mart.
9 mins
¡Tienes razón, Jane! Mi mamita ES maravillosa. Y yo me he quedado con lo que me enseñó cuando era niña, sin jamás cuestionar nada. :D ¡TE CREO!
neutral Refugio : It is not a following of the neighbors, it is an alternating jumping ahead of them and then falling behind again when they jump ahead. Thus, a competition.
39 mins
¡Muchas gracias, maestra Ruth! :)
agree María Teresa Taylor Oliver : "No ser menos que el vecino" ---> Excelente, Maru :)
3 hrs
Gracias, Tere. ¡Un abrazo!
agree Valeria Vitale : "No ser menos que el vecino" me parece bien.
11 hrs
Gracias, Valeria
Something went wrong...
+2
50 mins
English term (edited): keeping up with the joneses:

consumo ostentoso

Buying things not because they are needed, but to show off competitively to the neighborhood.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-07-24 18:57:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Aventajando a los Pérez
Peer comment(s):
agree María Eugenia Wachtendorff : Stressful lifestyle, uh? :)
13 mins
And yet the expression, which arose in the fifties, has a dated sound now. The Woodstock generation changed things. And now, of course, there is the Simplicity Movement.
agree JaneTranslates : Yes, as you said in your comment on MEW's answer: unfortunately, it escalates. As in the Middle East. Of course, if this were an actual translation, your phrase would have to be tweaked to fit into the context.
26 mins
Too true, Jane, thanks for the agree.
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