Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

alabanzas

English translation:

hosannas

Added to glossary by Wendy Gosselin
Aug 31, 2021 16:47
2 yrs ago
34 viewers *
Spanish term

alabanzas

Spanish to English Art/Literary Religion
In a strictly biblical sense:
El gesto descolonial, poético y político, del poeta palestino, causa un efecto desconcertante en el lector. En lugar de un poema contestatario, el poeta recurre a las alabanzas (atribuidas tradicionalmente al rey David) para señalar la falta de justicia. ¿Por qué lo haría? Tal vez, porque los cantos de alabanza bíblicos (que dicen de muchas maneras la gloria del Señor) puedan despertar la humildad que exigen si retornan como un eco desde el dolor de los oprimidos. La lectura mecánica y automática de los Salmos, oblitera el llamado a la humildad….

Hymns? Praises?

Discussion

Domini Lucas Sep 3, 2021:
Praises or hymns of praise So, after a little digging (some of which gave info I should have remembered), I have found fairly strong evidence for Praises (plural and capitalised), though, without more context (e.g. a sentence or so before the text quoted), there could be an argument for hymns of praise. I'm putting some references in as simpler. May be more detailed than required because not sure of fuller context.
Ruth Hill Sep 2, 2021:
@Domini re poem Yes, that's true about the capitalisation!

You've actually changed my mind about the poem - I was thinking it could work to contrast with "poema contestatorio", and of course the Psalms are poetry and are often referred to as such, but I hadn't considered the fact that given the fact you have "poeta" as well right before it, three lots of poem/poet would be too much!
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
@Ruth - re poem I meant to say poem doesn't work for me here.
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
difference hymns and songs Good point re the Psalter being specifically Christian. In any case, psalms would be lower case
in the first instance. Here's an interesting link. To my mind anyway. Right at the bottom there's a comment re the Psalms being either songs of hymns... http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/religion-misc...
Ruth Hill Sep 2, 2021:
@Domini Yes, I think Psalter is too specific - it is specifically Christian, whereas simply saying the Book of Psalms could refer to them from either a Jewish or Christian perspective.
You could have "hymns/poems of praise; songs of praise; Psalms" to avoid repetition, but if Wendy preferred "Psalms of praise" for "alabanzas", I don't think saying "Psalms" again in the last sentence would seem repetitive at all, since it's separated by several sentences plus another term "songs of praise"!
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
@Ruth - Salmos Good point re the repetition. I wonder if psalms of praise was used here for alabanzas, Psalter could be used for La lectura mecánica y automática de los Salmos, though it can be a separate volume, so probably too specific. Though not always https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/psalter
The Ephesians 5:19 verse was in my mind re hymns, where it distinguishes between psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=spirit...
Ruth Hill Sep 2, 2021:
At the end of the paragraph, the author does specify the Psalms: "La lectura mecánica y automática de los Salmos..."
I assumed the reason why they said "alabanzas" and "cantos de alabanza" instead of repeating "Salmos" was for variety/to avoid repetition, like you might alternate between names, pronouns, job titles, etc.
About the links - it's bizarre, I just assumed they were open access since I could read them, but at the top it says "logout" indicating that I have a subscription! I've certainly never bought one, it must be some sort of bug.

The entry for "hymn" reads:
Broadly, a spiritual theme which could be sung, as were the psalms in the Temple. Jesus and the Eleven sang a hymn, the hallel (Mark 14: 26), before he led them to the Mount of Olives, and the early Church used a variety of hymns and songs (1 Cor. 14: 26; Eph. 5: 19). Hymns were composed for use in the Mass in the medieval Church, and at the Reformation hymns became part of popular Protestant piety.
The entry for "Psalms" is far to too long to share, but the relevant bit reads: "Many are hymns celebrating deeds for which God is praised—the Creation (Ps. 8), the Exodus (Ps. 114)..."
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
@Ruth - links Re hymns, equally himnos could have been used, though that is less specific than psalms and does mean song of praise https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hymn, hence my thought re substituting it for cantos, except that you're right of course, that we don't speak of 'biblical hymns'. I can't read the links without a subscription by the way. Could you possibly copy and paste? I would love to see them.
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
@Ruth All well here, thank you. Glad you are too! Part of my hesitancy is that if the writer was referring to the Psalms, salmos would have been used. Why wasn't it? (She says trying to think from the writer's point of view our of context...). It would have been simplest for the writer to do so. So is something else meant, she (that is I) asks herself...
Ruth Hill Sep 2, 2021:
@Domini Hi! No we haven't met, I'm well, thank you, and hope you are too!
I think it's quite common to refer to the psalms as hymns - they are certainly a type of hymn, by every definition of it I've seen. See here: http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e917 and http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1548.
I guess I don't see what else "el poeta recurre a las alabanzas (atribuidas tradicionalmente al rey David)" would be referring to apart from the Psalms - as in, David's psalms of praise, which are part of David's entire collection of psalms (comprising many genres), which are part of the Book of Psalms. Either way the reader interprets it would be accurate. They are psalms found in the Book of Psalms.
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
@Ruth Hello hello, I don't think we've met before? Hope life is treating you kindly in these crazy times. Yes, re 2 Samuel 22 & Psalm 18. I meant to say so & forgot. My hesitancy is because I've not heard hymns of praise in the context of King David. Songs of praise or psalms is more usual. I agree re the general meaning of psalms but would try to avoid it if there is a way. My concern is an uninformed reader misreading it and think it was a blanket reference to the Book of Psalms (unless @Wendy happens to know that is definitely meant). I am not saying it can't be general in some contexts. Just flagging up the potential associations for the target readers, as I don't know who they are likely to be. Hence my wanting to look in a few theological books. Which I never got round to this pm in the end! Must have a look later! In any case, for me your suggestions are the closest thus far. I added my thoughts for @Wendy's further deliberation. I didn't add agree to your entry before looking up further as unsure and still pondering. Am hoping my theological reference texts might come up with an extra word that currently eludes me, but is also used in one/other context standardly.
Ruth Hill Sep 2, 2021:
"Psalms" isn't being used as a blanket term though. In both the original and the translation it would be clearly referring to only the psalms of praise, not psalms of lament or other types.
Also, the psalm in 2 Samuel 22 is almost identical to Psalm 18 - both attributed to David.
I would suggest psalms or hymns of praise for "alabanzas" on its own, and "Biblical songs of praise" for "cantos de alabanza bíblicos" - why change songs to hymns when songs would be more literal and perfectly natural?
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
p.s. re psalms also, not all the Psalms are psalms of praise, some are psalms of lament, etc. so, again, I would avoid psalms if at all possible. Though potentially accurate, I think it could be misread unless you are 100% sure it refers very specifically to David's psalms of praise in Book of Psalms itself, as opposed to 'songs/psalms of praise' he happened to write. Hope this makes sense in 'text' form!
Domini Lucas Sep 2, 2021:
songs/hymns of praise At first glance I would be inclined to go with songs of praise for alabanzas on its own and Biblical hymns of praise for cantos de alabanzas bíblicos. I think the difficulty is that you can't really use psalms as a
blanket term as it would be read as referring specifically to the (Book of) Psalms. Though many of those were written by David, some were not, even if general perception is that they were (question to you: how detailed would you poet's Biblical knowledge be - ditto the writer of your text? That could affect your choice). Also, (the Book of) 2 Samuel 22 also contains a song/psalm/hymn written by David https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2 Samuel 22&ver... so it might be included in the attribution (hard to know without more context). If you go to Bible Gateway and look that up in different Bible versions you will find different titles for it. There are also other songs of praise in the Bible e.g. The Song of Moses and Miriam https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus 15&versi... If you still have time on this, I'll do some digging in my Bible dictionaries this pm to see if anything else comes up
Jane Martin Aug 31, 2021:
Anyone seen 'In the Heights'? It has a beautiful song called 'Alabanza' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTNdOAhQglk&ab_channel=Lin-M...

Proposed translations

+3
34 mins
Selected

hosannas

An option.
"A hosanna is a statement or exclamation of praise. Usually, hosannas praise God. The noun hosanna referring to a cry of praise can claim a long pedigree in English: it first appeared in the 12th century. ... ."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-08-31 17:24:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For example, you might use it to translate the phrase "cantos de alabanza bíblicos", to avoid repetition of "praise"...
Example sentence:

Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord

In church, many of the prayers and songs are hosannas...

Peer comment(s):

agree Helena Chavarria : This didn't occur to me but it's also very good.
24 mins
agree David Hollywood : nice too
9 hrs
agree Orkoyen (X) : neilmac cited from Matthew 21:9, "Hosanna to the Son of David". It's also instructive that when the chief priests and the scribes in Jerusalem objected, Jesus replied "From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your PRAISE."
19 hrs
neutral Domini Lucas : sorry to disagree, but hosanna is an exclamation of praise/the act of cry https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hosanna... hosanna. I don't think this fits here as it is too specific. I would it expect it to be Hosana in the Spanish.
1 day 19 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks"
+6
25 mins

praise

I would use the singular
Peer comment(s):

agree neilmac
1 min
thanks
agree Helena Chavarria : That's what immediately came to my mind.
32 mins
thanks
agree Thomas Walker : Definitely "praise" singular in the 4th sentence (songs of praise). Possibly "praises" in the 2nd sentence, depending on how the whole sentence is translated.
34 mins
thanks!
agree Eileen Brophy
3 hrs
thanks
agree Orkoyen (X)
5 hrs
thanks!
agree David Hollywood : "praise" or "praises" depending on specific context
9 hrs
thanks!
neutral Domini Lucas : I don't think it can be praise/praises on its own because of the attribution to King David. It has to be referring to his psalms or songs of praise written by him.
1 day 19 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

Psalms/hymns/poems of praise

Later in the paragraph it's specified that the author is referring to the Psalms, specifically those attributed to David. So I think that here "alabanzas" is specifically referring to David's multiple Psalms of praise, so just saying "praise" doesn't necessarily convey that meaning - I think it should be plural. You could also say "hymns of praise", or "poems of praise" to contrast with the "poema contestatorio". See references for "hymns of praise" plus the term "Psalm of praise" mentioned in a Psalm of David itself.
Peer comment(s):

agree Yvonne Gallagher : yes but wasn't it psalms or songs of praise?...alabanzas (atribuidas tradicionalmente al rey David)//yes, I see how you wanted to vary it but "poem" doesn't work (a conclusion you reached yourself I see). Interesting discussion.
1 day 4 hrs
"Cantos de alabanza" comes later in the paragraph and "songs of praise' would be the natural translation, which is why I didn't suggest it here because I wanted to maintain the same variety as in the original
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

2 days 9 hrs
Reference:

alabanzas: Praises

On the Spanish end I found this link (not a source I already know) which says "Los salmos de la Biblia, también llamados en ocasiones como Alabanzas o Salterio" ... .
https://www.unprofesor.com/ciencias-sociales/que-son-los-sal...
This fits with an English equivalent found, except that your ST does not capitalise Alabanzas, hence my not being 100% sure this is what is meant in your text, though it seems likely.

If you Google el libro de los Tehilim/Himnos/Alabanzas como titulo para los salmos, you will find more mentions of Alabanzas as the title of the Book of Psalms.

The English equivalents I have found (from Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries recommended in Theological College) are:
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Part 3), Book of Psalms, III.Technical terms in the Psalter p.1295 "The title of the book in Hebrew is tehillîm, 'Songs of Praise', or 'Praises'."
Re the designations psalms, songs, etc. it goes on to say "Technical designations of psalms. The most frequent term is mizmôr, 'a psalm', a word which suggests the use of an instrumental accompaniment. 'A song' (šîr) is a more general term, not confined to worship. In the Psalter it is often coupled with mizmôr ... and there are 15 consecutive 'Songs of Ascents' (120-134), probably pilgrim songs or else processional songs for the festivals." ..."Other titles are 'a prayer' (...), 'a praise' or doxology (145) ...".

The Introduction to Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Psalms 1-72, by Derek Kidner p. 38, takes up the latter point:
"A Prayer (five psalms); A Praise (Ps.145). the plurals of these could serve as titles for entire collections of psalms..." It reiterates on its commentary on Psalm 72, verse 20 (p.257) that "It seems from this verse that the word prayers was the earliest collective term for the Psalms. They are now entitled 'Praises' in the Hebrew Bible."...

Old Testament Survey, p.430: "The title "Psalms" reflects the book's name in the LXX Psalmoi. ... The Greek words, from psallo "to pluck" were first used for the playing of a stringed instrument or for the instrument itself. Later they were used to describe the song (psalmos or collection of songs(psalterion). ...Although the closest Hebrew word to "psalm" would be mizmôr "a song sung to musical accompaniment", the actual Hebrew title is tehillîm "praises" or "songs of praise".

Praises, plural and capitalised, would therefore clarify that it is referring to the title of the Book of Psalms (generally attributed to King David, though it is known in scholarly circles that only about half were actually written by him). To my mind praise/praises without capitalisation suggest a general meaning of 'offering praise(s)' and would therefore be less accurate. Following the above line of thought, praise in the singular, would only refer to one psalm.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 9 hrs (2021-09-03 01:53:30 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

p.s. sorry I was writing this slowly as you closed the topic. I will add my further reference for completion's sake in case anyone needs it longer-term!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 9 hrs (2021-09-03 02:08:51 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

additional reference re hymns of praise:
A scholar called H.Gunkel (Lutheran - did a lot of work on the Book of Psalms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Gunkel) drew up a classification of the Psalms in which he refers to some of them as Hymns of Praise. His scholarship has been built on by much later scholarship. This is however seen from a Christian scholarly perspective, whereas the above is Judeo-Christian.

References re Hymns of Praise:
New Bible Commentary, p. 486 The Psalms in Worship The father of modern specialis psalm-study is Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1926) who set out to relate each psalm to the life-situation from which it emerged. He distinguished certain main categories:
(a) Hymns, poems like 8, 19, 29 which dwell on the greatness and attributes of God. ..."

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary p. 1296 The liturgical approach to the Psalter A landmark in the modern study of the Psalter was the work of H. Gunkel in the early decades of this century. To him it was all-important to start by distinguishing the different clasess (...) of psalms ... He found the following main types: Hymns of Praise, Personal Thanksgivings, Communal Laments and Personal Laments. In addition there were smaller categories... His classification has been widely adopted, and his insistence on the importance of such an approach seldom questioned.

If you think that your text is using alabanzas in a more general way, hymns of praise might therefore be fitting.

p.s. I couldn't post this as a separate reference for some reason, hence adding here.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 9 hrs (2021-09-03 02:09:32 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry about all the bold text above. As it was a note, I couldn't preview!
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search