USAL (Universidad del Salvador): Open Journal Systems

Rey, María Dolores

Concurso Literario USAL en Lengua Inglesa 
 
  - 12 - 
 
A Cheesy Kind of Story 
María Dolores Rey* 
 
Truth be told, this was not one of her proudest moments. She was not a 
subservient woman, not a Disney princess who remained locked in her tower, 
holding her breath for the arrival of her chivalrous knight. In fact, her dating 
record proved quite the opposite. Mother had taught her right: during the 
course of her life, she had been the one who kept others waiting —her 
priorities were rightly established, and love was not one of them… or so she 
thought. 
She could not remember when she had last allowed her emotions to get 
the best of her. There had been no place for that in recent months, what with 
a global pandemic and an unfamiliar virus roaming around. Hand sanitiser 
had become her closest friend, and her cat, the only company she would allow. 
It had been for her own good, and she had no complaints. But enough was 
enough. After a bitter winter, and an even more bitter quarantine, it was time 
she opened the doors to love again.  
She was sitting by her bedroom window, her dark, ravenous eyes roving 
around the teeming street. She fidgeted with her watch as the moonlight 
rested on her face. Any minute now, the doorbell would ring. The throbbing 
of her heart matched the rumble outside. Men, women and children threaded 
their way along the pavement; cars and buses slid forward; motorbikes roared 
ahead. It was a Friday night, and the glittering city knew it. Not a minute 
ought to be wasted… How long had she been waiting for this moment? 
The fact that patience was the key ingredient in these matters was no 
secret to her, yet all her brain’s efforts to tame her heart proved futile. She 
could feel her feline stare of disapproval at her foolish 12-year-old-like 
behaviour. Yes, there was no denying that she had lost her ability to reason, 
and anxiety had taken over the reins of her —usually— composed self. One 
cannot love and act wisely at the same time, she thought. When a relationship 
like this came your way, the whole world turned into a dim blur, as if nothing 
else mattered but the both of them and the small portion of it that was theirs. 
Such was the spice between them that she no longer found these thoughts 
intense —or maybe she had befriended that fierceness long ago, when she 
first got a taste of it.  
It is not that they were in any way similar. In fact, it was the substantial 
difference between them that she was most attracted to. When they were 
together, she felt a fullness which she had never found anywhere else—as if 
they blended and became one against the world. All existing troubles went 
away: wounds healed, poverty ended, hunger was satisfied. Their connection 
was unique, and she needed to remind herself so, for the wait was always 
worth it, in the end.  
The ring of the doorbell startled her back to reality. She bolted towards 
the intercom. 
‘Who is it?’ she asked, her voice quavering —as if she did not know the 
answer. 
 
* 3° premio del Concurso Literario USAL en Lengua Inglesa – Categoría cuento (2020). 
Antología 2020 
 
- 13 - 
 
‘Pizza delivery.’ 


Spanish

A Cheesy Kind of Story

D'Isernia, Laura

Concurso Literario USAL en Lengua Inglesa 
 
  - 8 - 
 
Presentación 
Esta cuarta edición de la Antología del Concurso Literario de la Escuela 
de Lenguas Modernas incluye los trabajos premiados en 2020, realizados en 
su mayoría por los estudiantes de dicha Escuela en el marco de las actividades 
de las cátedras de Lengua Inglesa. 
Entre ellos hay ensayos que se destacan por el desarrollo de ideas condi-
mentadas con humor y juegos de palabras, y hay cuentos que sobresalen por 
las descripciones, la originalidad, el suspenso o el uso de figuras literarias. 
Todos los trabajos tienen en común que sus autores dedicaron su tiempo, es-
fuerzo y talento para escribir un ensayo o cuento destacado en inglés. 
Escribir es un proceso de creación individual, en el cual los autores se sien-
ten libres para expresarse, manifiestan su personalidad y sus preferencias, y 
viajan con la imaginación, permitiéndonos compartir la experiencia. Los par-
ticipantes de este concurso literario tienen, además un excelente manejo del 
idioma inglés y están inmersos en la cultura e idiosincrasia anglosajonas. A 
su vez, mediante el análisis de textos han adquirido recursos, como la econo-
mía de las palabras, el humor, la ironía y el uso ingenioso del lenguaje, lo que 
les permite escribir como si el inglés fuera su lengua madre. 
Por estos logros, felicito a los autores de estos trabajos y les agradezco su 
participación en el concurso. Agradezco también, a la Dirección de la Escuela 
de Lenguas Modernas, a la Profesora Rosa María Donati, precursora de este 
concurso literario, y a mis colegas, con quienes colaboro en la evaluación y 
selección de los trabajos. 
Les deseo que disfruten la lectura de esta Antología. 
 
Laura D’Isernia 
Profesora Asociada de Lengua Inglesa I y II 
 


Presentación

Freire, Eliana

Antología 2020 
 
- 15 - 
 
The Victim 
Eliana Freire* 
 
You would not believe me because I am only an untrustworthy prisoner 
whose life, feelings and rights do not matter to anyone, but I swear that I am 
not in prison because of my own actions and their consequences. I do not 
deserve to be confined to the solitude and inhumane conditions of this living 
hell that is slowly engulfing my heart. Everything that I once was will perish 
behind these iron bars. Everything that I had or could have had has been 
taken away from me, forever.  
During my first weeks in prison, I found myself beating the bars of my cell 
almost every night until I got exhausted and the acute sensation of pain 
numbed my thinking. Being confined, every day differs only in its degree of 
monotony. The dreary yard contains little except a dead eucalyptus tree 
whose feeble shade does not provide any relief from the unbearable Summer 
heat and the dry cracked ground gets so hot that it almost burns your flesh. 
At some point, I lost all hope and interest in the world because it offered me 
nothing to do or to explore. But that is not what hurts me the most while 
being in this alien environment. It is loneliness. During visits, which take 
place through a glass partition, I merely feel disdained and ashamed of my 
position as if I were some sort of inferior creature. I only found real comfort 
when I became friends with one of the inmates, his name was Cecil. I truly 
appreciated his company although most of the time it just implied sitting next 
to each other without uttering a word, he was my rock. Now that he is not 
around anymore, I have never felt so lonely, sitting in the yard all by myself. 
Throughout all these years, I have been trying to get used to living behind 
bars, but I never did and apparently, never will. Every day, once yard time is 
over, the guards escort all the prisoners back to the B wing where our damp 
stuffy dungeons are. Out of the corner of my eye, as I shuffle towards my cell, 
I can see several inmates standing at their bars looking out curiously. Their 
faces sorrowful, their bodies wasted, we all look the same. We are all 
condemned to remain in this prison of oblivion for the rest of our lives. Once 
we are pushed inside, the cell doors are slammed shut. Then the guards bring 
us a small meal which I devour in two minutes like a ravenous animal. Prison 
rations have never been enough to stop hunger gnawing at my stomach. The 
lights go down, and the block feels drab and eerie. The voices fade into 
murmurs, and gradually die down. Nights go by painfully slowly, I lie on the 
floor left alone with my thoughts, trying to escape imprisonment through my 
mind’s eye, imagining the things I used to do when I was young and happy 
and free. 
A few years ago, a tragic event took place. I remember waking up that day 
with a strange foreboding that something bad was going to happen. Poor old 
Cecil had never done anything that would force a guard to show authority but 
that day he was not himself, I could see it in his eyes, they were full of hate. 
When we were supposed to get back to the cells after yard time, I saw that 
 
* Segunda mención especial en el del Concurso Literario USAL en Lengua Inglesa – Categoría 
cuento (2020). 
Concurso Literario USAL en Lengua Inglesa 
 
  - 16 - 
 
Cecil would not budge so the guard started bellowing at him from behind the 
fence. He did not even flinch. The guard decided to enter and approached him 
shouting: ‘’What is wrong with you, are you too decrepit or too stupid to move? 
I am the boss around here, so you better do what I say’’. And then it happened. 
The guard did not have the chance to react and defend himself. In the blink 
of an eye Cecil launched his deadly attack and bundled him to the ground. I 
do not blame him, spending hours, days, weeks, months, and years in a space 
no bigger than a cage breeds an animalistic mindset. It can distort and 
destroy anyone’s mind and spirits. You probably call this murder; I call it 
poetic justice.  
Unfortunately, it was not until I was deprived of my freedom that I 
realized how lucky I used to be, how happiness resides in all the little things 
that we take for granted, such as spending time with our loved ones or 
smelling the scent of places that we love. You may be wondering what I did 
to deserve having my life taken away from me forever. I did nothing. I was a 
victim of trafficking, a victim of wildlife trafficking. I was only a cub when I 
was captured and removed from my pride in Africa and brought to America 
where I was kept caged and cruelly abused for years until I was ‘’rescued’’ by 
the owners of this zoo. They claimed that I was going to be held captive only 
for rehabilitation and then I would be released. It never happened. They had 
no vested interest in seeing me return to my natural habitat; to them, I only 
represented profits for their business. 
  


The Victim

Brodersen, Diego

From Free Cinema to British New Wave: A Story of Angry Young Men

Kirac, Marina

Sánchez, Delma Lilian

Villarreal, Martín Federico

Saccone, Néstor

Conde, Oscar

Riddle, Cameron

SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 163 
 
 
 “Teachers´ perceptions on frequent and serious 
mistakes in students´ writings. The case of the 
Course of Studies in Translation (English)” 
 
Marina Kirac*  
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
 
Delma Lilian Sánchez 
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
 
Martín Federico Villarreal  
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
Universidad Tecnológica Nacional 
 
Néstor Saccone  
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
 
Oscar Conde  
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
 
Cameron Riddle  
Universidad Nacional de Lanús 
 
 
Introduction 
The aim of this research was to identify teachers´ perceptions on type and frequency of mistakes 
when assessing students´ writings. There seems to be a missmatch between teachers´ preconceptions 
in terms of students´ difficulties in certain linguistic domains and the type of mistake that prevails 
in their writings. It is presumed that much of the work conducted to recover those failings is not 
always oriented to correcting or eradicating those most significant mistakes.  
This research was conducted in four universities: two state-run ones and two private ones. Two 
different types of self-administered questionnaires were designed. One was addressed to Language 
teachers. They were expected to rank mistakes made by students in writing in terms of frequency of 
occurrence, to state what type/s of mistakes they believe to affect the quality of the written work, 
and to state which mistakes, and to what extent, they considered serious. Six other questions asked 
them to identify (in type and frequency of occurrence) the correction strategies they used both for 
highly frequent mistakes and for serious mistakes, to state the number of mistakes they counted for 
failing writings, as well as to what extent the assessing criteria was shared with students. The other 
questionnaire was administered to teachers who taught subjects in English -other than Language. 
They were expected to answer the same first three questions as Language teachers. 
 
Data Analysis 
 
* SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020), pp. 163-168 
© Universidad del Salvador. Escuela de Lenguas Modernas. ISSN en trámite 
164 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
 
The first question in both questionnaires requested respondents to indicate the frequency of 
ocurrence of mistakes in their students´ writings. Respondents were provided with a chart that 
included 12 different types of mistakes where they had to rank those mistakes assigning number 1 
to the most frequent mistake and number 12 to the least frequent. In order to have a clearer view of 
the data collected, we decided to segment respondents’ ranking of mistakes into three different 
categories: “high frequency mistakes” (for mistakes ranked 1,2,3 or 4), “regular frequency mistakes” 
(for mistakes ranked 5, 6, 7 or 8) and “low frequency mistakes” (for mistakes ranked 9 to 12).  
As can be interpreted in the answers provided by Language  teachers, we may say that the mistakes 
signalled with the highest frequency of occurrence are syntax mistakes in verb phrases (20%) 
together with pragmatic mistakes (17,14%) but the mistakes that seem to appear more often if we 
consider the total number of occurrences (48%) are mistakes in Syntax (in particular, in noun phrases 
or Prepositional phrases) as well as in punctuation (the three types of mistakes being signalled with 
the same number of responses. 
 
 
 
In the analysis of responses given by teachers of other subjects we found that the mistakes signalled 
with the highest frequency of occurrence are syntactic mistakes in noun phrases (19,6%), pragmatic 
mistakes (17,64%) and syntactic mistakes in verb phrases (15,68%).   
 
   
5
3 3
7
1
5 5
6
Synt. NP Spelling Graph Synt. VP Synt.
Adj/Adv
Synt. Prep Punct Pragm
Language teachers 
(High frequency mistakes)
10
3
4
8
4
5
4
1
3
9
Teachers of other subjects
(High frequency mistakes)
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 165 
 
 
 
We then compared the responses provided by the two groups of respondents to question number 
one.  We found (as can be seen in the chart below) that both groups assigned very similar values to 
same types of mistakes , not only when considering “high frequency mistakes” but also when 
considering “low frequency” ones. 
 
 Language 
Teachers 
 
  Teachers of 
other 
subjects 
 All 
respondents 
 % of “high 
frequency” 
mistakes 
 
 
 
Mayor 
Frecuencia 
Syntax (VP) 7  Syntax (VP) 8 15 22,4  
 
 
    80,63 
Pragmatics 6  Pragmatics 9 15 22,4 
Syntax (NP) 5  Syntax (NP) 10 15 22,4 
Syntax (PP) 5  Syntax (PP) 4 9 13,43 
Puntuation 5  Graph. 4    
   Connect. 4    
 
TOTAL 
=100% with 
highest 
frequency 
  
 
67 
 
  
     
        % of “lowest 
frequency” 
mistakes 
 
 
Lowest 
frequency 
Syntax 
(Adj/Adv.P) 
7  Syntax 
(Adj/Adv.P) 
9 16 29,1  
 
    75,75 Graph. 6  Graph. 
 
8 14 25,45 
Word 
formation 
5  Word 
formation 
7 12 21,2 
 
Connect. 
 
5  Spelling 8    
TOTAL 
=100% with 
“lowest 
frequency” 
 55   
 
In question number two, respondents were asked to respond to what extent those mistakes that 
are frequently made by students seriously affect both communication and quality in their writings.  
In question number three, they were asked to inform, out of a given set of possibilities, which 
mistakes they considered serious mistakes. It is worth noticing that none of the respondents 
attempted at adding any other type of mistake to the list provided, which makes us believe that the 
types of mistakes we purposefully left out of that list were not considered by respondents as very 
serious mistakes. 
Interestingly enough, in question number two, Language teachers responded that the type of 
mistakes that to a greater extent affect students’ writings are pragmatic mistakes and semantic 
mistakes. Pragmatic mistakes were also marked in question number one as a type of mistake of very 
high frequency of occurrence but at no point did any respondent consider semantic mistakes as “of 
166 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
 
high frequency”, nonetheless, semantic mistakes appear as having great influence when assessing 
students’ writings. 
     
 
In the same question, teachers of other subjects also provided responses that do not match their 
answers to question number one.  Again, they assign great weight to semantic mistakes , in fact, as 
much weight as to syntactic mistakes , followed by spelling mistakes and then by pragmatic 
mistakes. 
 
 
 
Data is still being analysed. This report is not conclusive but based on the preliminary readings 
of the information gathered in all questionnaires, we can attempt to say that many of the correction 
strategies might not lead to correcting or eradicating mistakes made by students in their writings. 
 
Bibliography 
Abbott, G. (1980) “Towards a more rigorous analysis of foreign language errors”, 
Alvarado, M. (2001) “Entre líneas. Teorías y enfoques en la enseñanza de la escritura, la gramática y 
la literatura”. Manantial. Buenos Aires. 
4
6
9
10
Language teachers
Spelling
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics
10
13 13
8
Teachers of other subjects
Spelling Syntax Semantics Pragmatics
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 167 
 
 
Andersen (2011) “Grammatical error prediction”, Technical Report, No. 794, University of Cambridge 
Computer Laboratory. Obtenido en Noviembre 2012  
Avendaño, Carlos. ¨Didáctica de la Lengua para 2do Ciclo de la EGB¨, Homo Sapiens, 1998 
Brown, H. Douglas. ¨Principles of Language Teaching and Learning¨ , editorial Prentice Hall 
Regents, 1994 
Corder, S.P. (1981) Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 
Díaz-Negrillo, A. y Fernández-Domínguez, J. (2006) Error Tagging Systems for Learner      Corpora. 
RESLA 19: 83-102. 
Dulay, H., Burt, M. y Krashen, S. D. (1982) Language Two. Newbery House, Rowley, MA. 
Ellis, R. (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 
Ferris, D. (2002) “Treatment of Error in Second-Language Student Writing, en The Electronic Journal 
for English as a Second Language. Marzo 2006, Vol. 6 No.4. Consultado el 6 de octubre de 2011, 
Michigan series on teaching multilingual writers (Series editors Diane Belcher and Jun Liu) 
Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press, http://www.cc.kyoto-
su.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej24/r8.html 
Ferris,D. (2003). Response to student writing: implications for second language students. Mahwah, NJ:  
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.  
Gluth, E. (2008). Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis in Respect of Their Treatment of the Avoidance. 
Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.  
Habicher,T. (2010). Understanding Learner Language Errors. Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing.  
 http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-794.pdf 
International Review of Applied Linguistics Vol. 18 No. 2: 121-30. 
James, C. (1998) Errors in Language Learning and Use. Exploring Error Analysis. Harlow, Essex: Addison 
Wesley Longman Ltd. 
Kroll, B. (1994) Second Language Writing. Research insights for the classroom. Cambridge University 
Press, Cambridge. 
Lennon, P. (1991) “Error: some problems of definition, identification and distinction”, Applied 
Linguistics Vol. 12 No.2: 180-96. 
Myles, J (2002) “Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in 
Student Texts””, en The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language. Septiembre 2002, 
Vol. 2 No. 2. Consultado el 7 de octubre de 2011, http://www.tesl-
ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume6/ej22/ej22a1/?wscr 
Nunan, David. ¨Second Language Teaching and Learning¨, Heinle and Heinle, 1999 
Robinett, B. W., y Schachter, J. (eds.) (1993)Second language learning: Contrastive analysis, error analysis, 
and related aspects . Ann Arbor: University of  Michigan Press, 1993. 
Scrivener, Jim (2008)  ¨Learning Teaching¨, Macmillan,London 
Selinker, L. (1992) Rediscovering interlanguage. Longman, London. 
Shahin, N. (2011) “Error Treatment in TESOL Classrooms”. J. J. Appl. Sci.: Humanities Series 13 (1): 
207-226. 
Silva,T & P. Matsuda (2010). Practicing Theory in Second Language Writing. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor 
Press. 
Ur, Penny. (1997) ¨A Course in Language Teaching. Practice and Theory¨, Cambridge University 
Press, Cambridge. 
168 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
 
 
 
 
 


“Teachers´ perceptions on frequent and serious mistakes in students´ writings. The case of the Course of Studies in Translation (English)”

Galazzi, Mariano

Indifference or indignation: Contemporary attitudes towards the Easter Rising in Argentina

Rodriguez Van Dam, Valeria Amanda

Resisting Patriarchy and Petrarchy: Shakespeare, Ovid and a Rhetoric of the Assaulted Female Body

Durán, José Manuel

Teaching Essay-Writing from an ‘Appliable’ Linguistics Model

de Macedo Oliveira, Gértea

Barón, Adriana

SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 4 (2020) 23 
 
Expressões populares em espanhol e 
portugués 
 
Gértea de Macedo Oliveira* 
Pontifícia Univ. Católica R. Janeiro 
Brasil 
 
Adriana Barón** 
Argentina 
 
 
Introdução 
Nosso trabalho consistiu na apresentação de um livro com abordagem contrastiva entre o 
português e o espanhol, composto de expressões populares correspondentes nas duas línguas. 
Estas expressões dos dois idiomas foram selecionadas por terem forma e origem 
completamente diferentes e coincidirem em significado. O par escolhido para dar nome ao livro O 
diabo a quatro /La mar em coche resume a sua ideia central, pois este título encerra as ditas 
características de forma mais marcante.          
O livro foi escrito por duas autoras: uma brasileira e uma argentina. Trata-se de uma proposta 
informativo-didática, com o objetivo de que os leitores se informem divertindo-se e se divirtam 
informando-se. Está dirigido, principalmente, aos aprendizes das línguas portuguesa e espanhola 
e aos que se dedicam ao ensino de tais idiomas. No entanto seu objetivo não se restringe apenas à 
aprendizagem desses idiomas, mas também visa a informar sobre as origens das expressões 
idiomáticas nele incluídas. 
Apesar da grande variedade terminológica quando se trata de Fraseologia: frases feitas, 
expressões idiomáticas, expressões populares, unidades lexicais fixas etc, optou-se pelo uso de 
expressões idiomáticas neste trabalho. 
O emprego adequado das expressões idiomáticas foi o que motivou este trabalho, por tratar-se 
de um acervo linguístico imprescindível para o domínio de uma língua e por ser um tema muito 
atrativo pelos seus traços específicos, diferindo de uma língua para outra. 
Nas expressões idiomáticas se encontram registrados traços de ontem e de hoje, que descrevem 
os homens, as relações entre eles, enfim a própria sociedade. Linguagem que transporta história, 
valores, crenças, receios, alegrias, tristezas etc. O povo é o criador e ao mesmo tempo o usuário 
dessa linguagem.  
As expressões idiomáticas apresentam: 
• riqueza de imagens, originalidade de suas metáforas 
 
* Profesora de portugués para extranjeros, por la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Rio de Janeiro. Es licenciada en 
Psicología y es profesora de Psicología (nivel secundario) y Maestra por el Instituto de Educación de Rio de Janeiro. 
Correo electrónico: gerteaoliveira@yahoo.com.ar 
** Redactora y correctora de textos. Correo electrónico: adribaron@yahoo.com.ar 
Ideas SUPLEMENTO, II, 4 (2018), pp. 23-30 
© Universidad del Salvador. Escuela de Lenguas Modernas. ISSN 2796-7417 
 
 
 
 
• economia formal (redução de orações e até de parágrafos), enfim, um campo rico em 
expressividade e sabedoria popular 
 
O seu uso enriquece a comunicação em geral, quer seja no discurso cotidiano ou literário. 
Além disso, é um recurso privilegiado para fomentar a interculturalidade. Possibilitam um 
contato maior do aprendiz com os diferentes usos da língua, literais e figurados, favorecendo um 
maior conhecimento da cultura da língua-alvo.  
 
Não se pode deixar de mencionar o fator psicológico na aquisição de expressões idiomáticas 
que, segundo Kramsch, proporciona aos aprendizes de uma língua estrangeira a satisfação de 
sentir que estão obtendo o domínio da língua. 
A emoção de conseguir usar formas de discurso que são reservadas somente para falantes 
nativos é uma das formas por meio da qual os aprendizes ganham poder dentro de um sistema 
que, por sua natureza, faz com que se lembrem do quão importantes são. 
Assim, o ensino de expressões idiomáticas não só é relevante pelo conhecimento linguístico e 
cultural que revela ao aprendiz, como também pela oportunidade que lhe oferece de sentir-se 
confiante no seu processo de aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira. 
O conhecimento de expressões idiomáticas conseguiria tornar mais próximo do aprendiz o 
novo sistema linguístico que está sendo construído e essa proximidade é um dos fatores 
determinantes para a aprendizagem de uma língua estrangeira. 
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 4 (2020) 25 
 
A peculiaridade semântica das expressões é que o seu significado não pode ser estabelecido a 
partir dos significados isolados e tampouco completo dos seus elementos. Nele também pode estar 
embutido o extralinguístico, as referências históricas e culturais, daí a dificuldade em se chegar à 
compreensão, em muitos casos.     
Algumas características das expressões em relação à forma:  
1) fixação estrutural e realização fonética fixa 
Exemplos: 
A) Estar com a faca e o queijo na mão 
 
 
B) Cara de um, focinho do outro 
C) Aos trancos e barranco 
 
2) restrição de comutação dos elementos 
Exemplos: 
A) Pagar mico 
 
    B) Soltar a franga 
 
 
 
C) Rei da cocada preta 
 
A relevância do livro O diabo a quatro /La mar em coche está relacionada às dificuldades: de 
compreensão desse léxico, de sua localização nos dicionários, de busca de equivalentes etc. 
Por todo o exposto, acreditamos que o livro representa uma contribuição às áreas de português 
e espanhol como língua estrangeira, pois contam com escassos materiais didáticos que 
contemplem as expressões idiomáticas. 
Metodologia de trabalho 
Acreditamos ser interessante incluir neste resumo a metodologia de trabalho que nos inspirou 
desde a concepção da ideia até a publicação do livro.  
A ideia original partiu de Gértea de Macedo Oliveira que, na sua longa trajetória como docente 
de português para estrangeiros, detectou a dificuldade que os estudantes experimentavam diante 
das expressões populares, cujo significado não podiam decifrar nem traduzir literalmente. Depois 
de analisar o tema durante certo tempo, chegou à conclusão de que a ideia seria potencializada 
incluindo uma autora falante de espanhol. Foi assim que se formou a parceria com a autora 
argentina, Adriana Barón.  
Rapidamente ambas coincidimos que não se trataria de um texto acadêmico nem com 
pretensões literárias. Seria um livro de leitura fácil, prazerosa, com toques de humor. Com todas 
estas definições, já estávamos em condições de passar para a concretização da tarefa. Embora a 
forma de trabalho tenha sido definida ao longo de todo o processo, por efeitos didáticos ela foi 
dividida em três fases. 
A primeira consistiu em encontrar os pares de expressões idiomáticas que correspondessem à 
nossa proposta de trabalho, isto é, que tivessem o mesmo ou quase o mesmo significado e fossem 
diferentes quanto à forma.  
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 4 (2020) 27 
 
Pelo fato de não contarmos com fontes para recorrer, percebemos   que a tarefa nesta etapa 
devia ser “artesanal”: tínhamos que ir descobrindo uma após a outra.  
Para isso, começamos a elaborar, cada uma separadamente, uma relação de expressões 
populares em sua própria língua, recorrendo à memória, aos meios de comunicação (repletos de 
exemplos) e também aos familiares e amigos que contribuíam com suas sugestões.  
Munidas dessas listas, ao nos reunirmos, cada uma apresentava as que havia incluído, 
procurando detectar se na outra língua existia alguma expressão equivalente que reunisse as 
características previamente estabelecidas.  
Aconteceu que encontramos três situações diferentes. As expressões idiomáticas em ambas as 
línguas eram exatamente iguais, isto é, eram formadas pelas mesmas palavras nas duas línguas. 
Nesse caso, a mera tradução permitia compreender o seu significado. Portanto, eram descartadas.  
Outra ocorrência foi a de não encontrarmos uma correspondência no outro idioma. Isto não 
significa que não exista, e sim que não a detectamos. Assim como as primeiras, essas também 
foram eliminadas da lista.  
Finalmente, descobrimos casos que reuniam todos os requisitos: eram distintos formalmente, 
porém tinham o mesmo uso em ambas as línguas.  Com esses, formamos o que poderíamos 
denominar de “pares de finalistas”. 
Passamos, então, para a segunda fase de trabalho que foi individual. Cada uma, por sua conta, 
pesquisava como havia surgido a expressão em questão, desta vez recorrendo a fontes de 
informação.  Fomos encontrando algumas que não tinham uma origem confiável, outras sem 
nenhum registro e, nesses casos, usávamos nossa criatividade para suprir essa lacuna; fato 
devidamente esclarecido no livro. Além desses casos, havia os que tinham origens históricas, 
geralmente desconhecidas e de grande interesse, que eram incorporados à obra.  
Consideramos importante não só incluir a origem, como também explicar seu uso a partir de 
exemplos concretos da vida cotidiana, muitas vezes em forma de diálogo. A obra também foi 
enriquecida com fragmentos de canções, poesias, citações que ajudam a entender melhor o uso das 
expressões e, ao mesmo tempo, acrescentam pinceladas da própria cultura.  
Esses textos assim elaborados eram intercambiados por e-mail, de forma que cada uma tinha 
conhecimento do trabalho da outra. Como consequência desta circulação, tivemos que descartar 
alguns pares ao detectarmos que a equivalência não era a que havíamos previsto.  
O resultado de toda esta tarefa foi a seleção de cem expressões idiomáticas, das quais foram 
escolhidas as setenta e cinco que fazem parte de “O diabo a quatro/ La mar en coche”.  
Passamos, então, ao que seria a terceira fase do trabalho:  diagramação e ilustração. Devido ao 
tom que queríamos dar ao livro, este aspecto era muito importante, pois à primeira vista devia 
refletir seu espírito. Para isso, incorporamos à nossa dupla uma diagramadora de grande 
experiência neste tipo de obras, Mara Magaldi, que compreendeu logo a nossa intenção.  
  
 
 
Configuração 
O livro está confeccionado com as páginas, uma de frente para outra, nas quais se encontram 
os pares de expressões populares nos dois idiomas, o que facilita muito a compreensão da 
correspondência.  
 
 
Por sua vez, cada expressão está acompanhada por uma ilustração que leva em conta seu 
sentido literal. Uma em espanhol e outra em português, totalizando cento e cinquenta imagens. 
 
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 4 (2020) 29 
 
 
Outro ponto a destacar é que, ao final da página em espanhol, se encontra um quadrinho que 
contém uma comparação entre as expressões nas duas línguas, sempre com humor e respeito.  
 
Publicação 
O livro foi editado pela Editoria Dunken em agosto de 2018 e se encontra à venda em livrarias 
convencionais e especializadas em línguas estrangeiras, assim como em institutos de ensino de 
português. A etapa seguinte vai ser venda e distribuição em livrarias do Brasil e com isso nosso 
objetivo ao escrevê-lo terá sido totalmente atingido: a contribuição como material informativo 
tanto para argentinos que quiserem incursionar no português, quanto para brasileiros que tiverem 
interesse na língua espanhola. 
 
 
 
 
 


Expressões populares em espanhol e portugués

Andrada, Norma

SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 43 
Comprehension: An Essential Element in 
Interpreting Training 
Norma Andrada 
Universidad del Salvador 
“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the 
principles of creation are used is free and infinitely varied.” — Noam Chomsky 
Abstract 
Oral comprehension that is achieved during interpretation implies a cognitive exchange between the 
information received and the use the interpreter makes of it. This means that the knowledge of the 
language and the extra-linguistic knowledge (i.e. the knowledge of the world) will help to 
comprehend the communication process that will enable the interpreter to know what piece of the 
information received is relevant to transmit the speaker’s message and what is not. To comprehend a 
message the mind needs to resort to and perform several functions in the short-term-memory. First, it 
selects the useful part of the message, splitting it between primary and secondary information. Then, 
it decodes the data received and grasps the meaning of the message. Only then, full comprehension is 
achieved, since the mere recognition of words (i.e. understanding) is not enough to fully comprehend a 
piece of speech (find its meaning). Thus, the cognitive process of interpretation implies a level of 
comprehension of the source language within a context that goes beyond the simple recognition of 
words and linguistic structures. In other words, short-term-memory and comprehension are key 
elements that cannot be separated. 
The training of professional interpreters is based on two pillars: the development of the Short-
term-Memory together with good comprehension skills.  
So, the first and foremost principle in interpretation training consists in understanding first and 
comprehending afterwards what the speaker has decided to communicate and the manner he has 
chosen to do it. A professional interpreter’s education consists in exercising and training the 
cognitive processes that will enable the interpreter to achieve this aim. 
∗ Norma Andrada is a Sworn Translator graduated from Universidad del Salvador, Argentina. She is also a 
Conference Interpreter graduated from the London School of Languages, United Kingdom. She is a member of Colegio de 
Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA), the American Translators Association (ATA) and the 
Argentine-British Chamber of Commerce. Vice President of the Argentine Association of Translators and Interpreters 
(AATI) for the period 1990-1995. She has been a Professor in the translation and interpreting courses at Universidad del 
Salvador since 1982. She is a former Professor in the Conference Interpreter course at Instituto Superior del 
Profesorado en Lenguas Vivas, Juan Ramón Fernández. She was Professor in charge of the Interpreting Diploma 
Course, Universidad San Pablo de Tucuman and Colegio de Traductores de Tucumán, Argentina, and Professor in 
charge of the undergraduate curricula in Interpreting, Universidad Católica de las Misiones, Argentina. She has been 
a full-time translator and interpreter for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) within the United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP) in Argentina. She has also worked for different government agencies and private 
companies in Argentina and the United Kingdom. In addition to her teaching career, she is Editorial Director of 
Interlingua, a private company involved in the provision of project management and planning services in translation, 
interpretation, and graphic design for national and international companies. Contact: nandrada@interlingua.com.ar
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020), pp. 43-48
© Universidad del Salvador. Escuela de Lenguas Modernas. ISSN 2796-7417
44 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
In this sense, which is the difference between understanding and comprehension? In general, 
these two verbs are used as synonyms. But in the specific case of interpretation there is a significant 
difference that can be noted in a variety of situations. 
Understanding 
The meaning of understanding is more rational and superficial. Understanding means in the first 
place listening to the acoustic sounds, then transforming that sound into words and phrases and 
finally recognizing and identifying the literal meaning of that particular word or phrase. It is a 
superficial cognitive process that implies a mere mental representation or image of what was heard. 
Do you understand what I am saying? (i.e. Are you listening?) 
Have I made myself understood? (i.e. Is it clear?) 
Comprehension 
On the other hand, comprehension means to decode the message that was heard and understood. It 
is a deeper cognitive process that is related to ideas, messages, aims and intentions behind a word 
or phrase. So, to achieve full comprehension it is necessary to put meaning into the data received or 
heard that may enable the interpreter to comprehend the message.  
Comprehension implies the ability to grasp not only the literal meaning of the individual words or 
phrases but also the ability to grasp their connotations within a given context. 
I understand your words, but I cannot actually comprehend what you mean. 
(i.e. I can hear you but it makes no sense to me.) 
Comprehension is not a passive process. On the contrary, it is a process that demands from the 
receiver (or the interpreter) an equal or an even higher mental activity than the verbal expression 
process (by the speaker). The speaker performs only one cognitive process, while the interpreter 
performs three simultaneous processes, i.e. listening, processing from source language to target 
language until production or delivery of the interpretation as we will see below. 
Although the cognitive process performed by the interpreter to comprehend is the same in each 
situation, the difference lies in the amount of data the interpreter needs to process to achieve full 
comprehension, such as a highly technical speech or a speech with a very high linguistic register. 
Therefore, a professional interpreter needs first to understand and subsequently comprehend the 
speaker’s words in terms of the key components of the communication process, i.e. Message, 
Linguistic Structures, Aims and Intentions. 
 
Comprehension in the Act of Communication 
Oral comprehension that is achieved during interpretation implies a cognitive exchange between 
the information received and the use the interpreter makes of it. This means that the knowledge of 
the language and the extra-linguistic knowledge (i.e. the knowledge of the world) will help to 
comprehend the communication process that will enable the interpreter to know what piece of the 
information received is relevant to transmit the speaker’s message and what is not. 
There are several theories about the way in which the short-term-memory processes the 
information and uses background knowledge to comprehend what is actually transmitted in the 
communication process. However, in interpreting training two basic models are important: 
• The bottom-up model: The mind processes the information in only one way: 
o by identifying sounds with a subsequent superficial analysis; 
o by following a linguistic and structural recognition process to undestand the 
actual meaning within the communication setting. 
• The top-down model: The mind makes use of the extra-linguistic elements to perform 
a specific analysis in each communication process that leads to full comprehension. 
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 45 
 
 
This means that to comprehend a message the mind needs to perform several functions. First, it 
selects the useful part of the message, splitting it between primary and secondary information. Then, 
it decodes the data received and grasps the meaning of the message. Only then, full comprehension is 
achieved, since the mere recognition of words (i.e. understanding) is not enough to fully comprehend a 
piece of speech (find its meaning). 
Thus, the cognitive process of interpretation implies a level of comprehension of the source 
language within a context that goes beyond the simple recognition of words and linguistic structures. 
In other words, short-term-memory and comprehension are key elements that cannot be separated. As 
an example, consider the translation of the following sentence: 
The failure was caused by a faulty nozzle. 
La falla se produjo por una boquilla defectuosa.  
(a small device at the end of water hose)  
La falla se produjo por una tobera defectuosa. 
(a large piece of equipment that transforms thermal energy of a fluid into kinetic energy) 
For this reason, interpretation requires a first instance of visualization of the mental image within 
a certain context after listening to a speech segment in the source language. A professional 
interpretation does not imply the reproduction or repetition in the target language, but rather the 
comprehension of the speaker’s message to transmit the right meaning in the target language. 
Based on the above, interpretation is not a linear process of the transfer of information from one 
language to the other, but a three-stage cognitive process: 
1. Perception Stage: the source language is heard and understood. 
2. Comprehension Stage: the source language is decoded in units of meaning. 
3. Reexpression Stage: the source language is transmitted with the characteristics and 
peculiarities of the target language. 
 
For that reason, the comprehension process in interpretation is a two-way activity, as shown below 
in the communication workflow of interpretation: 
 
Source language receiver (Audience) 
Speaker (Sender) 
of source language 
Interpreter 
(Source language receiver) 
          (Target language Sender) 
 
 
 
Target language receiver (Audience) 
 
 
From the above diagram we can infer that there are two main actors in the comprehension process 
of interpretation: the interpreter, who is the source language receiver and target language sender, 
and the audience, who is the source and target language receiver.  
If the interpreter does not comprehend what the speaker says, he or she cannot interpret. On the 
other hand, if the audience does not comprehend what the interpreter says, due to a poor oral expression 
or delivery, the communication process is broken. This is the reason why comprehension is one of the 
key pillars of interpreting training. 
46 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
Therefore, the comprehension process of the interpreter is divided in two stages with very specific 
requirements: 
1. The interpreter must comprehend what the speaker says. Therefore, the interpreter 
should have an excellent listening comprehension of the source language to grasp and transmit 
the message according to the meaning determined by the context. 
2. The audience or target language receivers must comprehend what the interpreter says. 
Therefore, the interpreter should have an excellent oral expression in the target language so 
that the audience may comprehend the message that the speaker wants to transmit with a 
certain meaning and constrained by the context.  
Regarding item 1. above, it is essential to consider the type of speakers that the interpreter is 
called to comprehend. The speaker typology is important as a determining factor of the 
characteristics of the speech in terms of linguistic and semantic resources, register, pace and 
expression.   
 
Typologies of Speakers 
• The unexperienced speaker, speaks or reads quite fast, thus bursting out words to 
transmit ideas or concepts. He stammers and retracts himself all the time.  
• The chaotic speaker, doesn’t have a logic line of thought. He beats around the bush all 
the time and gets lost in his own reasonings.  
• The shocking speaker, seeks “to break the ice” or generate a “shock” in the audience 
through some unexpected action. He makes jokes and cannot understand why the 
audience does not laugh at them.  
• The histrionic speaker, speaks with the affectation or exaggeration of an actor. He 
poses and makes gestures that clearly show that he is acting to show off instead of 
communicating an important message. He uses unconventional language to conceal or 
make up for the lack of ideas.  
• The progressive speaker, tries to capture the attention of the audience by speaking 
quite slowly at the beginning and as soon as he thinks he has succeeded he speeds up 
and increases the density of the speech to exceptional levels.   
• The straightforward speaker, is very sure of himself, the subject matter of the 
conference and the level of knowledge of the audience. He uses extremely technical 
terminology and a very high linguistic register, “for experts only”. 
A second important point to consider are the linguistic and extra-linguistic elements that may 
hinder or totally impair comprehension. Languages are not structured on the basis of exactly the same 
lexical, syntactical or phonological patterns and therefore, there is no exact correlation of words and 
structures between the source and target languages. 
In this sense, comprehension is based on four basic elements: 
• The knowledge of both source language and target language 
• The knowledge of contrastive grammatical rules and structures of the pair of languages 
• The knowledge of the context 
• The knowledge of the political, economic, social, cultural and scientific background 
information also called extra-linguistic knowledge 
If the above is not met, the result may be a literal reformulation or transcoding from the source 
language to the target language leading to a clumsy, awkward, erroneous or meaningless 
interpretation in the target language. 
 
The Role of Short-Term-Memory in Comprehension 
SUPLEMENTO Ideas, I, 3 (2020) 47 
 
 
During decades, linguists, psychologists and neurologists have been studying the phenomenon 
of bilingualism. The findings of the research and studies in this field applied to interpretation may 
be summarized in what Macanamara and Kushnir (1971) called The Bilingual Switch Mechanism that 
enables the interpreter to perceive, understand, comprehend and produce information verbally in 
two or more languages either sequentially or simultaneously. In the case of the interpreter, this 
mechanism may the described as follows: 
• An Input switch in the brain allows the interpreter to receive the sound waves and 
decode them into a message in the source language.  
• The information received by the brain in the source language is analyzed for 
comprehension purposes and processed into the target language in the Short-term 
memory. 
• The time required by the Short-term-Memory to analyze and process the information 
from the source language to the target language is called Time lag. 
• Finally, an Output switch is triggered by the brain to enable the interpreter to produce 
the information already received and processed and decode it in the target language. 
A few years later, in 1995 and building on the Bilingual Switch Mechanism Theory, Daniel Gile 
developed the The Theory of Efforts in Interpretation: 
• Listening and Analysis Effort: covers the cognitive operations from the perception of 
sound to the moment the interpreter decodes the sound to give it meaning. 
• Short-term Memory Effort: covers the cognitive operations related to the storage of 
information in the memory until the moment it is delivered in the interpretation. 
• Production Effort: covers the cognitive operations from the moment the interpreter 
understands and comprehends the message and transmits in the target language with 
its characteristics and peculiarities.  
Based on these two theories, the training of professional interpreters should be focused on the 
development of the Short-term Memory where the most important cognitive processes are performed, 
i.e. comprehension, attention, retention, until interpretation is produced sequentially in the form of 
consecutive interpretation or simultaneously.   
Perhaps the most complicated cognitive process of the Short-term-Memory during the training of 
professional interpreters is the interpreter’s capacity of division of attention, that allows to perform 
several mental operations at the same time. Thus, concentration is an essential element to achieve this 
goal. If concentration is not mastered through specific exercises, the goal would not be achieved. 
Division of attention means that in addition to the cognitive efforts above mentioned, the 
interpreter needs to: 
• listen to two speeches at the same time, i.e. the speaker’s speech and its own speech, in 
the case of simultaneous interpretation.  
• listen to the speaker’s speech and store the information in the Short-term-Memory until 
the time of delivering the interpretation, in the case of consecutive interpretation. 
And finally, the last element to consider is the time factor or Time lag. The delay of the Time lag 
required to process and interpret a written speech in the case of first sight interpretation, or a verbal 
speech in the case of consecutive or simultaneous interpretation is of a fraction of a second to 
complete the full cycle of listening/ understanding/  comprehending/ processing/ producing. But it is also 
short enough to create serious comprehension and interpretation problems.  
Comprehension, memory, concentration, attention, retention and time to deliver are the key factors that 
must be exercised during the training of professional interpreters until they are proficiently 
mastered. The road to follow by trainees is hard and challenging. But if this is not perceived as a 
tedious and frustrating process, trainees will certainly capitalize the opportunity of learning and 
enjoying the magnificent gift and flair of communication. 
48 Actas V Jornadas Internacionales de Lengua Inglesa 
 
 
  


Comprehension: An Essential Element in Interpreting Training

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