C2 · 50 words
Philology in Spanish
Transmission, textual criticism and editing — the craft behind every ancient text anybody can read today.
La recensión is the technical sense here: the sorting of the manuscript witnesses before an editor decides anything. English says « recension » for that and almost nowhere else. The Spanish word does an everyday job as well — una recensión is a book review, the kind a newspaper prints: escribió una recensión elogiosa. English keeps « review » for that, so a Spanish sentence about las recensiones of a novel is about the press, not about the manuscripts.
The words
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Phrase (37)
la tradición manuscritathe whole line of surviving copies of one workPhraseC2
La tradición manuscrita de la obra es escasa.The manuscript tradition of the work is thin.
la copia de autorthe copy in the author's own hand, here not preservedPhraseC2
La copia de autor no se ha conservado.The author's own copy has not survived.
el arquetipo textualthe lost common ancestor of everything that survivesPhraseC2
El arquetipo textual es el antepasado común perdido.The textual archetype is the lost common ancestor.
el stemma codicumthe family tree of the manuscripts, drawn as a treePhraseC2
El stemma codicum se dibuja como un árbol.The stemma of the manuscripts is drawn as a tree.
la variante textualthe differing wording one manuscript has and another does notPhraseC2
La variante textual cambia una sola palabra.The textual variant changes a single word.
la lectura más difícilthe harder wording, which is usually the genuine onePhraseC2
La lectura más difícil suele ser la auténtica.The harder reading is usually the authentic one.
el error conjuntivothe shared mistake that proves two manuscripts are relatedPhraseC2
El error conjuntivo prueba el parentesco de dos códices.The conjunctive error proves two codices are related.
el error separativothe mistake in one that proves the other did not copy from itPhraseC2
El error separativo demuestra que una no copia de la otra.The separative error shows that one does not copy from the other.
la contaminación de la copiathe mixing of two lines of copying, which ruins the treePhraseC2
La contaminación de la copia arruina el stemma.Contamination of the copying ruins the stemma.
el salto de igual a igualthe eye jumping from one identical word to the next, losing a linePhraseC2
El salto de igual a igual pierde una línea entera.The jump from like to like loses a whole line.
la glosa marginalthe note in the margin, which ended up inside the textPhraseC2
La glosa marginal acabó dentro del texto.The marginal gloss ended up inside the text.
la laguna del textothe hole in the text, here two lines longPhraseC2
La laguna del texto abarca dos versos.The gap in the text covers two lines of verse.
la conjetura críticathe reading proposed that no manuscript actually hasPhraseC2
La conjetura crítica propone lo que ningún códice trae.The critical conjecture proposes what no codex has.
la enmienda del editorthe editor's correction, marked so the reader can see itPhraseC2
La enmienda del editor se marca entre corchetes.The editor's emendation is marked in square brackets.
la crux desperationisthe mark set where nobody has been able to work it outPhraseC2
La crux desperationis marca lo que no se ha podido resolver.The crux marks what nobody has been able to resolve.
la nota de variantesthe list at the foot of the page of what the manuscripts readPhraseC2
La nota de variantes ocupa media página.The apparatus of variants takes up half a page.
el texto establecidothe text as printed, with every editorial decision documentedPhraseC2
El texto establecido documenta cada decisión del editor.The established text documents every decision of the editor.
la edición diplomáticathe edition that reproduces one manuscript exactly as it standsPhraseC2
La edición diplomática reproduce el manuscrito tal cual.The diplomatic edition reproduces the manuscript as it stands.
la editio princepsthe first printed edition of a workPhraseC2
La editio princeps salió en Venecia.The first edition came out in Venice.
el testimonio indirectothe evidence of a text quoted inside another authorPhraseC2
El testimonio indirecto es una cita en otro autor.The indirect witness is a quotation in another author.
el fragmento conservadothe piece that survives, here twelve linesPhraseC2
El fragmento conservado son doce líneas.The surviving fragment is twelve lines.
la datación paleográficathe dating done from the shapes of the lettersPhraseC2
La datación paleográfica se basa en la forma de las letras.Palaeographic dating rests on the shape of the letters.
la escritura visigóticathe hand used on the Iberian peninsula for centuriesPhraseC2
La escritura visigótica se usó en la península hasta el siglo doce.Visigothic script was used on the peninsula until the twelfth century.
la abreviatura del copistathe shortened form a copyist used, which saves parchmentPhraseC2
La abreviatura del copista ahorra pergamino.The copyist's abbreviation saves parchment.
la filigrana del papelthe mark in the paper, which helps date the volumePhraseC2
La filigrana del papel ayuda a fechar el volumen.The watermark of the paper helps to date the volume.
la encuadernación originalthe covers the book first had, here lostPhraseC2
La encuadernación original se perdió en el siglo pasado.The original binding was lost in the last century.
la colación de testimoniosthe comparing of the witnesses word by wordPhraseC2
La colación de testimonios compara palabra por palabra.The collation of witnesses compares word by word.
la autoría discutidathe question of who really wrote itPhraseC2
La autoría discutida se estudia con criterios de estilo.Disputed authorship is studied with criteria of style.
la obra atribuida falsamentethe work that circulated under a more famous namePhraseC2
La obra atribuida falsamente circuló bajo un nombre prestigioso.The falsely attributed work circulated under a prestigious name.
el análisis estilométricothe counting of small function words to settle authorshipPhraseC2
El análisis estilométrico cuenta palabras funcionales.Stylometric analysis counts function words.
la traducción anotadathe translation that explains what cannot be translatedPhraseC2
La traducción anotada explica lo que no se puede traducir.The annotated translation explains what cannot be translated.
el comentario filológicothe commentary that clears up every thing named in the textPhraseC2
El comentario filológico aclara cada realia.The philological commentary clarifies every detail named.
la lexicografía históricathe dictionary work that dates the first use of a wordPhraseC2
La lexicografía histórica fecha el primer uso de la palabra.Historical lexicography dates the first use of the word.
el corpus documentadothe body of texts a claim can be checked againstPhraseC2
El corpus documentado abarca cuatro siglos.The documented corpus spans four centuries.
la datación por el vocabulariothe dating done from which words are and are not therePhraseC2
La datación por el vocabulario descarta el siglo doce.Dating by vocabulary rules out the twelfth century.
la edición digital del textothe edition that shows every reading at oncePhraseC2
La edición digital del texto muestra todas las variantes a la vez.The digital edition shows all the variants at once.
la transcripción diplomáticathe copy that keeps even the mistakesPhraseC2
La transcripción diplomática conserva incluso los errores.The diplomatic transcription preserves even the mistakes.
Noun (f) (7)
la filologíathe craft of putting back together what was lostNoun (f)C2
La filología reconstruye lo que se perdió.Philology reconstructs what was lost.
la dittografíathe writing of a syllable twice by accidentNoun (f)C2
La dittografía repite una sílaba por descuido.Dittography repeats a syllable by carelessness.
la haplografíathe writing once of what should have stood twiceNoun (f)C2
La haplografía escribe una sola vez lo que iba dos.Haplography writes once what should have been twice.
la interpolaciónthe passage added by somebody who was not the authorNoun (f)C2
La interpolación añade un pasaje que no era del autor.The interpolation adds a passage that was not the author's.
la codicologíathe study of the book as a physical objectNoun (f)C2
La codicología estudia el libro como objeto.Codicology studies the book as an object.
la recensiónthe sorting of the witnesses before decidingNoun (f)C2
La recensión ordena los testimonios antes de decidir.The recension orders the witnesses before deciding.
la examinatiothe judging of which reading is to be preferredNoun (f)C2
La examinatio juzga cuál lectura es preferible.The examination judges which reading is preferable.
Noun (m) (6)
el códicethe bound book of leaves, the form that replaced the rollNoun (m)C2
El códice se conserva en una biblioteca de Nápoles.The codex is kept in a library in Naples.
el pergaminothe animal skin written on, which outlasts papyrusNoun (m)C2
El pergamino aguanta más que el papiro.Parchment lasts longer than papyrus.
el palimpsestothe page scraped clean and written on again, the first text still thereNoun (m)C2
El palimpsesto guarda un texto raspado debajo.The palimpsest keeps a scraped text underneath.
el escribathe person who copied by hand, and brought their own dialect inNoun (m)C2
El escriba introdujo su propio dialecto.The scribe introduced his own dialect.
el scriptoriumthe room in which several copies were made at onceNoun (m)C2
El scriptorium producía varias copias a la vez.The scriptorium produced several copies at once.
el colofónthe note at the end saying who copied it and whenNoun (m)C2
El colofón indica quién copió y cuándo.The colophon says who copied it and when.
This list belongs to Language and expression — 22 lists and 1102 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.