Slogan Changes for Puerto Rico's Voters
The answer involves the idea of translating for understanding rather than word for word, but the political junkies among us may be interested to know something else: that "Sí, se puede," commonly used in Obama campaign materials on the U.S. mainland, is no longer the Spanish slogan of choice as Obama takes his campaign to Puerto Rico. There, as a recent CBN video shows, the slogan has become the more straightforward "Sí, podemos," a literal translation of "Yes, we can." It just goes to show that there are indeed differences in the way Spanish is spoken in different areas. (By the way, about a third of the way through the video, which is in English, there is some discussion of how language issues are affecting the campaign.)
The June 1 election in Puerto Rico marks the first time that a U.S. presidential preference primary has been held in a Spanish-speaking territory. Both leading Democratic candidates have set up organizations in the commonwealth. According to El Nuevo Día, a San Juan newspaper, Chelsea Clinton, daughter of candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, is campaigning on the island today for her mother.
Comments
I personally prefer the “Si, podemos” translation. The “Si, se puede” version seems to be more “yes, one can.”
I’m wondering if the change in slogan just for Puerto Rico is also a way to distinguish it from sounding as if Barack Obama thinks that Puerto Ricans are as involved in the immigration debate as other Latinos? Si, se puede is so associated w/ the whole immigration movement, specifically Mexican, that it seems like the meaning of “yes we can” that Barack Obama is trying to convey would get lost if he used si, se puede with Puerto Ricans. “Si, podemos” is more direct without alluding to a struggle that Puerto Ricans are not particularly a part of. That’s just my 2 cents
Mucho ruido y pocas nueces!