C2 · 50 words
Narrative theory in Spanish
Voice, focalisation, the handling of time and the building of characters — the tools a narrative is taken apart with.
La isotopía del texto es el hilo semántico que lo recorre: the thread of meaning that runs through it. English has that metaphor too, which is why el hilo looks easy — and then it does two more jobs that « thread » cannot. It is the wire or flex of an appliance, and it is the cloth: una camisa de hilo is a linen shirt, because linen was what was spun before anything else. So perder el hilo is to lose the thread of an argument, el hilo del teléfono is the telephone lead, and el hilo in a shop is what English calls linen. The picture behind all three is the same one: something spun long and thin, and then either followed, plugged in, or woven.
The words
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Phrase (46)
la historia narradathe story as it happened, in the order it happenedPhraseC2
La historia narrada es lo que pasó en orden.The story told is what happened, in order.
el discurso narrativothe telling of that story, which need not keep the orderPhraseC2
El discurso narrativo es cómo se cuenta.Narrative discourse is how it is told.
la instancia narradorathe telling instance, which can lie without the text warning anybodyPhraseC2
La instancia narradora puede mentir sin que el texto avise.The telling instance can lie without the text warning anybody.
el narrador homodiegéticothe narrator who is in the story being toldPhraseC2
El narrador homodiegético participa en lo que cuenta.The homodiegetic narrator takes part in what they tell.
el narrador heterodiegéticothe narrator who is not in the story being toldPhraseC2
El narrador heterodiegético no aparece en la historia.The heterodiegetic narrator does not appear in the story.
la ironía dramática del relatothe irony of letting the reader know more than the character doesPhraseC2
La ironía dramática del relato deja saber al lector más que al personaje.Dramatic irony lets the reader know more than the character.
la focalización internathe focalisation that keeps knowledge down to one characterPhraseC2
La focalización interna limita lo que se sabe a un personaje.Internal focalisation limits what is known to one character.
la focalización cerothe focalisation that knows everything about everybodyPhraseC2
La focalización cero lo sabe todo de todos.Zero focalisation knows everything about everybody.
la focalización externathe focalisation that records only what could be seen from outsidePhraseC2
La focalización externa solo registra lo visible.External focalisation records only what is visible.
el punto de vistathe point from which the story is seen, which may shiftPhraseC2
El punto de vista cambia en mitad del capítulo.The point of view changes in the middle of the chapter.
el lector implícitothe reader the text assumes, who is nobody realPhraseC2
El lector implícito no es nadie real.The implied reader is nobody real.
el autor implícitothe author the text implies, who is not the one on the passportPhraseC2
El autor implícito se deduce del texto, no del registro civil.The implied author is deduced from the text, not from the register of births.
el orden de la narraciónthe order the telling uses, which is rarely the order of eventsPhraseC2
El orden de la narración rara vez es el de los hechos.The order of the telling is rarely the order of events.
el salto atrás en el tiempothe jump back in time, which explains late what was missing earlyPhraseC2
El salto atrás en el tiempo explica al final lo que faltaba al principio.The jump back in time explains at the end what was missing at the start.
la duración narrativathe relation between how long it took and how long it takes to readPhraseC2
La duración narrativa compara tiempo contado y tiempo de lectura.Narrative duration compares time told with time read.
la escena narrativathe scene, where those two lengths are the samePhraseC2
La escena narrativa iguala ambos tiempos.The scene makes the two times equal.
el resumen narrativothe summary, where ten years go by in a linePhraseC2
El resumen narrativo despacha diez años en una línea.The summary despatches ten years in a line.
la elipsis temporalthe gap in time that the reader is left to fillPhraseC2
La elipsis temporal salta lo que el lector puede suponer.The temporal ellipsis skips what the reader can supply.
la pausa descriptivathe descriptive pause, which stops the action and not the readingPhraseC2
La pausa descriptiva detiene la acción sin detener la lectura.The descriptive pause stops the action without stopping the reading.
la frecuencia narrativathe count of how often the same event is toldPhraseC2
La frecuencia narrativa cuenta cuántas veces se narra lo mismo.Narrative frequency counts how often the same thing is told.
el relato iterativothe telling once of what happened many timesPhraseC2
El relato iterativo cuenta una vez lo que ocurrió muchas.Iterative narration tells once what happened many times.
la transcripción del pensamientothe putting of a character's thought straight onto the pagePhraseC2
La transcripción del pensamiento suprime al intermediario.Transcribing thought does away with the middleman.
la contaminación de vocesthe deliberate blurring of the narrator's voice with the character'sPhraseC2
La contaminación de voces confunde a propósito narrador y personaje.The blending of voices confuses narrator and character on purpose.
el flujo de concienciathe stream of consciousness, which gives up orderly punctuationPhraseC2
El flujo de conciencia renuncia a la puntuación ordenada.Stream of consciousness gives up orderly punctuation.
la caracterización directathe characterisation that states what the character is likePhraseC2
La caracterización directa dice cómo es el personaje.Direct characterisation says what the character is like.
la caracterización indirectathe characterisation that shows it instead, through what is donePhraseC2
La caracterización indirecta lo demuestra con actos.Indirect characterisation shows it through deeds.
el personaje funcionalthe character who exists so that something can happenPhraseC2
El personaje funcional existe para que ocurra algo.The functional character exists so that something may happen.
la complejidad psicológica del personajethe character with enough inside to surprise us convincinglyPhraseC2
La complejidad psicológica del personaje permite sorprender de forma convincente.Psychological complexity lets a character surprise us convincingly.
el arco del personajethe arc a character travels, ending where it began with new eyesPhraseC2
El arco del personaje termina donde empezó, con otra mirada.The character arc ends where it began, seen differently.
la motivación del personajethe want that makes a character's unlikely act believablePhraseC2
La motivación del personaje sostiene lo inverosímil.The character's motivation carries what is otherwise implausible.
el conflicto dramáticothe conflict that needs two wants that cannot both be metPhraseC2
El conflicto dramático necesita dos deseos incompatibles.Dramatic conflict needs two incompatible wants.
el punto de girothe turn after which going back is no longer possiblePhraseC2
El punto de giro impide volver atrás.The turning point makes going back impossible.
el cierre del relatothe ending, which answers the question the opening askedPhraseC2
El cierre del relato responde a la pregunta inicial.The ending answers the question asked at the start.
la resolución suspendidathe ending held back on purpose, which is not an unfinished onePhraseC2
La resolución suspendida no es lo mismo que un final sin acabar.A suspended resolution is not the same as an unfinished ending.
la trama secundariathe second storyline, which comments on the firstPhraseC2
La trama secundaria comenta a la principal.The subplot comments on the main one.
el relato enmarcadothe story with another story inside itPhraseC2
El relato enmarcado contiene otro dentro.The framed narrative holds another one inside it.
la puesta en abismothe work repeated in miniature inside the workPhraseC2
La puesta en abismo repite la obra dentro de la obra.The work within the work repeats the work inside itself.
el comentario del narrador sobre el relatothe narrator's aside about the telling, which breaks the spellPhraseC2
El comentario del narrador sobre el relato rompe la ilusión.The narrator's comment on the telling breaks the illusion.
el eco de otra obrathe echo of another work, which assumes a reader who hears itPhraseC2
El eco de otra obra supone un lector que reconozca.The echo of another work assumes a reader who recognises it.
el umbral del librothe threshold of the book: the title, the epigraph, the dedicationPhraseC2
El umbral del libro incluye el título y la dedicatoria.The threshold of the book takes in the title and the dedication.
el pacto de lecturathe contract struck on the first page about how to read thisPhraseC2
El pacto de lectura se establece en la primera página.The reading contract is struck on the first page.
la coherencia interna del mundo narradothe internal consistency of the world, which is not the same as truthPhraseC2
La coherencia interna del mundo narrado no es lo mismo que la verdad.The internal consistency of the narrated world is not the same as truth.
la isotopía del textothe thread of meaning that runs the length of the textPhraseC2
La isotopía del texto es el hilo semántico que lo recorre.The isotopy of the text is the thread of meaning running through it.
el motivo recurrente en la obrathe motif that keeps returning through the work, each time changedPhraseC2
El motivo recurrente en la obra reaparece transformado.The recurring motif comes back transformed.
la secuencia narrativa mínimathe smallest unit of story, which is one change of statePhraseC2
La secuencia narrativa mínima contiene un cambio de estado.The smallest narrative unit contains one change of state.
el ritmo del relatothe pace, governed by alternating scene with summaryPhraseC2
El ritmo del relato se gobierna alternando escena y resumen.The pace is governed by alternating scene and summary.
Noun (f) (2)
la narratologíathe theory of narrative, which asks how rather than whatNoun (f)C2
La narratología describe cómo, no de qué.Narrative theory describes the how, not the what.
la prolepsisthe jump forward, which gives an ending away and keeps the tensionNoun (f)C2
La prolepsis adelanta un final y aun así mantiene la tensión.Prolepsis gives an ending away and still keeps the tension.
Noun (m) (2)
el narratariothe one the telling is addressed to inside the textNoun (m)C2
El narratario es a quien se dirige el relato dentro del texto.The narratee is the one the telling addresses inside the text.
el cronotopothe knot in which a time and a place become one imageNoun (m)C2
El cronotopo une tiempo y espacio en una misma imagen.The chronotope joins time and space in one image.
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