Traduccion de una novela

[Lucy79]

Tengo que traducir parte de un libro y no entiendo el siguiente frase:

se han vuelto de palabras de tanto que los mienta.

Necesito ayuda!

Muchas gracias

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Mentar" is to mention.
"Volverse" in this case means "to become".

Some extra context might be needed, but here are some proposals:

-They have become words (changed their physical composition to words) because he/she mentions them so much.
-They have materialised (if they were away they are present close to the one who mentions them) in words because he/she talks so much about them.


Btw, "frase" is a feminin => "la siguiente frase"

[Lucy79]

Muchas gracias, entiendo mejor el sentido de la frase ahora. Muchas gracias!!!

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Lucy79

se han vuelto de palabras de tanto que los mienta.

I don't see the function of the first de . Why not "se han vuelto palabras" ?

[Elaina]

Originally Posted by Lucy79

Tengo que traducir parte de un libro y no entiendo el siguiente frase:

se han vuelto de palabras de tanto que los mienta.

Necesito ayuda!

Muchas gracias

Sometimes.......se han vuelto de palabras..... can mean they are arguing....

Mienta from the word Mentar.......

For example...

se han vuelto de palabras de tanto que los mienta.....

he/she mentions them so much they are now arguing

My

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Elaina: The common expression for arguing is "hacerse de palabras". Although in many contexts "hacerse" and "volverse" are synonyms, they don't seem so in this case.


@Perikles: There is a nuance in meaning.
"Volverse palabras" would be that they become just words... as if they weren't joined together anymore.
"Volverse de palabras" (like "volverse de piedra" or "de sal", etc.) means that it's their physical composition, what changed, but they are still "themselves".

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Perikles: There is a nuance in meaning.
"Volverse palabras" would be that they become just words... as if they weren't joined together anymore.
"Volverse de palabras" (like "volverse de piedra" or "de sal", etc.) means that it's their physical composition, what changed, but they are still "themselves".

I'm afraid the nuance is too subtle for a Monday morning - could you give another example? I really do not see the difference.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I admit there is not always a difference, but in the example there was one. I won't claim it's a universal perception, but this is how it sounds to me and most people I know. (It could be one of those "regional" notions.)


In the "words" example, my visual concept changes from one expression to the other:
If you say "se volvieron de palabras", it means you can't see those persons' skin, but just written words… like a doll made of words.
If you say "se volvieron palabras", words would be just heard or wouldn't stay together keeping a corporal shape.


La mujer de Lot se volvió de sal cuando miró hacia atrás. (She became a salt statue)
La mujer de Lot se volvió sal cuando miró hacia atrás. (She became a mound of salt)


Los enemigos de la Medusa se volvían de piedra cuando la miraban. (They became like stone statues)
Los enemigos de la Medusa se volvían piedra cuando la miraban. (They became shapeless stones)

Me volví de piedra cuando me dieron la mala noticia.
It would be uncommon to hear "Me volví piedra", but here the meaning wouldn't change.


Ícaro se volvió pájaro con sus alas nuevas. (He became a bird)
"De pájaro" makes no sense, but if the sentence were "Ícaro se volvió de pájaros cuando empezó a volar", the matter that constituted him became many birds, and I'd dare to say many birds flying together, keeping his body shape.


En la película de Francis Ford Coppola sobre Drácula, el conde se vuelve ratas. (They run away in different directions… if they would stay together, I'd be inclined to say "el conde se vuelve de ratas".)

[Perikles]

I think I see now. The examples you give are very instructive. Many thanks for the trouble!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

My pleasure... this kind of questions make interesting puzzles to solve.