Condición

[Perikles]

The context is whether Shakespeare wrote his works or not (again):

Las suspicacias se remontan a 1785, año en que James Wilmot, un estudioso formado en Oxford y que vivía cerca de la localidad natal del dramaturgo, Stratford–upon-Avon, no consiguió en la comarca indicios de su condición. Su conclusión: las obras habían sido autoría de otro dramaturgo, muy probablemente sir Francis Bacon.

All clear except:

no consiguió en la comarca indicios de su condición

I can't see what objection Wilmot had.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I don't understand that either. It probably means he didn't find any traces of Shakespeare existence, of his having lived there, of his working there... or perhaps it means that he didn't find any life characteristics of an individual called William Shakespeare that would lead him to write what he wrote.

I hope someone else will be more familiar with such use of the word. ;(

[Don José]

I don't know either what "condición" the author is talking about.

I found some examples where "indicios de su condición" can be easily understood:

Los ojos proveen claros indicios de su condición de salud visual.

El embarazo de María Elena Swett sorprendió al mundo actoral y a la audiencia, pues ella no había dado indicios de su condición.

[poli]

His condition tambien condición is like state. (of being dead or alive, real or fictional)

[Perikles]

Well, I'm glad it's not just me being stupid. Here is a link to the article. Perhaps it is an error - these things do get updated.

Thanks everyone, anyway.

[aleCcowaN]

indicios de su condición [de escritor] = any hint of him being a writer/an author

es decir, fue a Stratford y no encontró papeles, cartas, historias, cuadros, documentos públicos ni nada que indicara que se lo tenía por escritor (aunque seguro que encontró que era maestro, etcétera)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by Don José

I found some examples where "indicios de su condición" can be easily understood:

@Don José: Los casos que citas son bastante claros, pero últimamente (al menos en México) se usa "la condición" como "la enfermedad" o "el estado médico" de alguien (probablemente del inglés "condition").

·Juan tiene una condición que no le permite salir con frecuencia. -> Tiene una enfermedad / un padecimiento (médico)...
·María, estás embarazada; en tu condición no deberías fumar. -> En tu estado...
·No puedo trabajar porque tengo una condición. -> ...porque tengo una enfermedad que me lo impide.



@Perikles: Es probable que el autor tampoco sepa que es un error o que el uso de la palabra es más bien equívoco.
Pero visto con buena voluntad, creo que Alec tiene una interpretación plausible.

[Don José]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

indicios de su condición [de escritor] = any hint of him being a writer/an author

Pero también podría ser:

indicios de su condición [de autor de las obras que se le atribuyen]

De hecho, de eso es de lo que se habla en el artículo, donde no se cuestiona que Shakespeare fuera un escritor. Coincido con Angelica en que resulta equívoco.

En el enlace que puso Perikles, uno de los comentarios señala tres errores de redacción.

[aleCcowaN]

Quiero aclarar que lo que dije no lo dije especulando, ni siquiera con un asomo de duda, sino que fue lo que instantáneamente entendí al leer el párrafo.

Yo nunca he confundido la frase "no lo puedo creer de una persona de su condición" con la frase "no lo puedo creer de una persona de sus condiciones". Y mucho menos confundir ambas con "no lo puedo creer de una persona en sus condiciones". Quien no vea la extrema diferencia entre todas las frases puede estar viendo como ambigüedad la proyección de su propia duda.

Originally Posted by Don José

Pero también podría ser:

indicios de su condición [de autor de las obras que se le atribuyen]

Es tan difícil encontrar las cosas. A ver, busquemos en Internet (.... 5 minutos pasan ... ) Aquí está el texto original en inglés:

«Whether you get your facts from the Dictionary of National Biography or form Wikipedia, the earliest documented claim dates back to 1785, when James Wilnot, an Oxford-trained scholar who lived a few miles outside of Stratford-upon-Avon, began searching locally for Shakespeare's books, papers or any indication that he had been an author --- and came up empty-handed.»

Contested Will | Who Wrote Shakespeare? - James Shapiro - 2010 - Publisher: Simon & Schuster.

I suppose the author is from the USA, because of that "a few miles outside of Stratford-upon-Avon".

[Perikles]

Ah - thanks Alec for a possible meaning. That had occurred to me, but I dismissed it because there is no reason why there would any evidence there. I thought it was well-known, even then, that Shakespeare spent most of his life in London.

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

I suppose the author is from the USA, because of that "a few miles outside of Stratford-upon-Avon".

Now that has me baffled. Why deduce 'from the USA' ?

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Ah - thanks Alec for a possible meaning. That had occurred to me, but I dismissed it because there is no reason why there would any evidence there. I thought it was well-known, even then, that Shakespeare spent most of his life in London.

As far as I remember, he was a teacher and he married a widow older than he, and he went to London when he was 24 or something like that, so finding a poem or a story written in Stratford was and is a reasonable expectation.

Originally Posted by Perikles

Now that has me baffled. Why deduce 'from the USA' ?

That "a few miles outside..." is an American take on geography and scale with a town, not the country, as central reference and everything gravitating around it. I would've expected "nearby Stratford" or "in Warwickshire" or "in the West Midlands" from an European author. But maybe I haven't developed enough English muscle yet to allow myself these perceptions.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

That "a few miles outside..." is an American take on geography and scale with a town, not the country, as central reference and everything gravitating around it.

Actually, to me it sounds like perfectly normal UK English. Unless it was 100 miles away, which for England, would not be just a few.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Actually, to me it sounds like perfectly normal UK English. Unless it was 100 miles away, which for England, would not be just a few.

Well, then it was by chance that I guessed the real nationality of the author (I checked this morning and he was born in Bronx, NY). Or maybe other elements in the whole paragraph.