[Gocamino] Literal meaning of "Camino"

[Renato Alvarado Vidal]

	Dear Rosina, certainly El Camino de Santiago must be understood as  
"the way to Santiago", and in this sense, a good spanish synonym to  
"camino" is "senda"(path). I, as spanish speaker, understand El  
Camino as "The Path to Santiago".
	I also think that the english expression:  "The Way to Santiago"  
adds a new and richer english meaning, because "way" in spanish is  
also "modo", so it makes reference to a peculiar attitude belonging  
to the specific activity developed in that place; this is, the  
pilgrim's way of walking, of going to someplace. In spanish The Way  
to Santiago also means : la manera de ir a Santiago.

	From a nice winter afternoon in Patagonia, low flying clouds under  
the sun, painting with light on the sea, the islands and the boats  
rolling quietly under my window. ¡Buen Camino!

	Machi

El 02/07/2007, a las 15:02, blaroli at aol.com escribió:

> Hi Ruby,
> The word "Camino" cannot really be translated into English. Not by me.
> While it may be a noun, it is also the conjugated first person  
> singular of the verb to "to walk", but it has connotations and  
> nuances beyond its letters.
> "Yo camino", "Eu caminho", "Io cammino", all mean "I walk" in  
> Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Also, because in those languages  
> the conjugated verb changes according to its noun, the noun is  
> omitted more often than not, therefore ?'"camino" "caminho"  
> "cammino" all mean "I walk"?. With (or without) a preceding article  
> those verbs are also nouns by themselves:? El Camino, O Caminho, Il  
> Cammino.
> The French verb, marcher, is better translated as "to  
> march" ("marchar" in Spanish) which means in Latin to walk "in  
> step".? I wonder why.
> Anyway,? the noun Camino does not necessarily mean "journey" in  
> Spanish, that would be ?"caminata" which implies a?defined  
> beginning and end. And what in English would be?"a walk"?would be  
> referred to as a "paseo" in Spanish.
> The verb/noun "Camino" in its substantial form means "going to",  
> "moving towards", or something like it.? In the Divine Comedy there  
> is a passage where the devil is tempting?a soul by calling it to  
> himself?saying: "cammina, cammina" (to me, to me).
> Pope John XXIII was very pleased when people called him "Il  
> camminante", the walker, ?(he used to like to walk at all hours  
> everywhere in Rome and its environs), and he once referred to life  
> as one step in "Il cammino".
>
> This is the best I can do.? (I'm not a good translator); ?perhaps  
> Robert ?Spencer with his love of words and impressive erudition can  
> do better than I.
>
> Hugs!
>
> Rosina
>
>
>
>
>
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