Casa abierta al tiempo

[Glen]

This appears on the letterhead of a Doctor's stationery, in Mexico. It must mean something besides a literal rendering of Open House at the Same Time, right? How could I say this in English?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

No se trata de una frase con un significado claro para un hablante de español estándar.

Se trata del lema (by the way, how do I say this in English? "Motto"?) de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, de México.
De acuerdo con la UAM, la frase es casi la calca de una expresión en náhuatl.
Si entiendo bien, el lema se refiere a un lugar donde el pensamiento, el saber y la gente misma se transforman (a través del estudio y del diálogo).

In English, I guess it should be something like "house open for transformation"; or closer to the obscure original in Spanish, "house open to the time".


A veces, los egresados de la UAM usan el lema en sus documentos.

[Glen]

Thanks for the quick reply Angélica, and all the good information. I looked up the link expresión en náhuatl, and as a school motto (you're right, that´s what we call it) maybe I´d better leave it as is, rather than trying to wring a good translation out of it.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I updated the link to one that explains more about the idea behind it and its emblem. Maybe you'll recognize it in the Doctor's stationery.

Thank you... I wasn't sure about the word; that's why I replied in Spanish.

[poli]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

No se trata de una frase con un significado claro para un hablante de español estándar.

Se trata del lema (by the way, how do I say this in English? "Motto"?) de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, de México.
De acuerdo con la UAM, la frase es casi la calca de una expresión en náhuatl.
Si entiendo bien, el lema se refiere a un lugar donde el pensamiento, el saber y la gente misma se transforman (a través del estudio y del diálogo).

In English, I guess it should be something like "house open for transformation"; or closer to the obscure original in Spanish, "house open to the time".


A veces, los egresados de la UAM usan el lema en sus documentos.

Motto and slogan are not OK in this case. The best term is seal. In the U.S.A., the caduceus is the seal of the medical profession. Sometimes, as in case of some universities. a seal contains a motto which is supposed to represent the philosophy of the establishment. So, the UAM symbol is the seal and the accompanying words are the symbol's motto.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Thank you, Poli.

UAM's seal is almost always used with this phrase, but "Casa abierta al tiempo" can be used without the emblem. So, from what you said, I guess motto can be used in the case that there is no seal, but the phrase is used to refer to the university.
However, since "slogan" is commonly used with a vain objective of selling something, I wouldn't use it for this phrase, as this is rather the expression of a belief or a serious commitment that identifies the institution.

[poli]

Yes, a motto is more serious. It is associated with a pledge. US Marines uses semper fi with or without a seal. It is more a motto than a slogan.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Thank you, Poli.

[chileno]

If anything, it should be translated as "...open to the times"

[poli]

Another word for seal in this case is emblem, and, in fact, emblem may be a better choice. Seal has lots of meanings, but emblem has just one.