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Rationale - Re-telling - Translation - Activities - Reflection

Country: Spain, Catalunya
Language: Catalan
Title: La Castanyera (The Chestnut Woman)
Author:
Illustrator:
Publisher:

ISBN:
Chosen by: Miguel Ángel Jiménez Nares; Mary Carmen Sánchez Marín

Rationale for Choice:
This book has been chosen because we would like to introduce La Castanyera as a typical ancient job in Catalonia, which is a cultural reference for us.

Re-telling
XXX

Translation:

Once upon a time there was an old lady. People used to call her La Castanyera , the chestnut woman. Her name was Tana and she was very kind. Children loved her very much because when they did not have any money, she gave them chestnuts.

They loved her because of a funny thing: she often invited them to her house to tell them amazing stories. Then, the children closed their eyes and everything became real.

Tana, was waiting for the autumn, when the tree leaves become golden and the wind blows strongly and makes dancing whirlpools like happy sardanas , the traditional Catalan dance.

Then, la Castanyera used to leave home. With her striped skirt, dark vest and a dark scarf knotted under her chin, and then she sat in the street like a cloth doll.

The toasted chestnuts left a wonderful smell in the air…

“-Come and buy my roasted chestnuts! Very well roasted!” said Tana

In the afternoon, when the coldest weather arrived, la Castanyera walked back home. She lived in a very small and clean house. And she cooked chestnuts to sell them the next day.

Tana was waiting for All Saints´ Day, because she earned a lot of money during that celebration. At night, everybody celebrated the party with panellets a traditional Catalan sweet, and moreover with toasted chestnuts.

But, a few days before that party, a strange old lady who looked like a witch, entered Tana's small house and stole all the chestnuts that Tana had to toast and left the house, running.

That old, sad, and angry woman was another Castanyera . She felt jealous of Tana, because children loved Tana more than her and they never bought her anything nor made fun with her.

Tana was very sad and cried a river of tears. She huddled close to the fire and started to pray until she fell asleep like a little baby.

And let's see what happened….

The children who went to school tried to buy chestnuts from Tana like every day, but that day, they realised that Tana was not sitting in her usual place, so the children decided to go to Tana's house.

They found her crying and frozen. She explained to them what had happened. Then they felt sorry and in a kindly way the kids took their moneyboxes and with all money they bought a little sack of nuts.

Imagine Tana's happiness when she saw God's gift of chestnuts to toast. She held the children kindly and excited.

-“You are the nicest children of the world!” she said.

Nevertheless, the old, sad and angry Castanyera was toasting the stolen chestnuts.

Suddenly, the chestnuts started to jump wildly making strange and horrible sounds running down the street. Everybody ran away from the place.

-“This was a punishment for hate and for stealing chestnuts, so she decided to say “I am sorry” to Tana. Tana forgave her with her heart and they became good friends.

Then happened that the children decided to buy chestnuts from her and get closer to the angry castanyera with smiles on their faces. The angry lady closed her eyes because she didn't want to cry and she never was angry again.

 

Activities for use in school: 

1) Find fourteen differences:

 



2) Find the hidden expression filling the crosswords with the appropriate word for each description and picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Description

 

Picture/Appearance

1- It is a typical sweet food made of dough with pine nuts which is eaten in All Saints' Day.

2- It is a holy day in our country which we celebrate All Saints' Day going to the cemetery to pray for our ancestors.

3- This food is a kind of nuts which blow in trees like a little brown ball and when it falls to the floor, it is ready to eat.

4- They are typical dances in which people make circles holding hands and moving their feet in the circle.

 

5- It is a typical ancient job starting from autumn until the end of winter, in which the person sells chestnuts in Catalonia's streets.



3) Find the hidden words in the wordsearch and draw something connected with them inside the boxes below.

1) TOTS SANTS

3) LA CASTANYERA

2) SARDANES

4) PANELLETS

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4) Memory Cards Game

La Castanyera

Chestnuts

 


Sardanes

 

Panellets

All Saints' Day

 

All Saints' Day is celebrated on 1 st November and is also...

 

5) Using the first poem as an example, complete the second with your own ideas:

 

1. Saint Valentine's Day

Something to Celebrate:

Love and friendship

Something to say:

I love you

Something to give:

Flowers and sweets (presents)

My friend's name:

It's a secret.

 

 

2. All Saints´ Day

Something to Celebrate:

………………………..

Something to say:

……………………….

Something to give:

………………………

My friend's name:

………………………..

 

 

6) Complete the words with the pictures.

 

 

 

L_ C_ _t _ _ ye _ a  

 

http://www.barceloca.com/uploads/data/Sardanas.gif


S _ r _ a _ _ s

 


P _ n _ _ l e _ s

 

Cultural Reflection:

Translation strategy

PROBLEMS

STRATEGY AND JUSTIFICATION

SOLUTION

La Castanyera

Foreignisation strategy because we would like to introduce La Castanyera as a typical ancient job in Catalonia, which is a cultural reference for us.

La Castanyera

Sardanes

Foreignisation strategy because we would like to let people know that Sardanes are typical dances from Catalonia.

Sardanes

Com una figureta de roba

Domestication strategy because we want to adapt the situation to the reader, in addition it is not an important aspect to be consider in our society.

Like a cloth

Calentotes

Domestication strategy because the only way to cook nuts is toasting them We have used the most appropriate English adjective.

Well roasted

El fred era més viu

Domestication strategy because we give another sense to describe the weather in our culture so we have changed the words to give them completed meanings.

The coldest weather arrived

Polida

Domestication strategy because we have considered that this word has to be translated into English language in orders to let English people understand it better.

Clean

Tots Sants

Domestication strategy because this holy exists in Great Britain and in other countries, so it is better for English people.

All Saints' Day

Panellets

Foreignisation strategy because we want to introduce an important and typical sweet food for Catalan people.

Panellets, a typical Catalan sweet

El bé de Déu

Domestication strategy because we have translated this expression into English because there is a similar sentence that native English people use.

God's gift

La Castanyera: It is a typical ancient job starting from autumn until the end of winter, in which the person sells nuts in Catalonia's streets.

Sardanes: They are typical dances in which people make circles holding hands and moving their feet in the circle that they perform.

Tots Sants: It is a holy day in our country which we celebrate going to the cemetery to pray for our ancestors.

Panellets: It is a typical sweet foot made of dough with pinenuts which is eaten on All Saints' Day.

 

 

NB Further literature and language-based activities can be found in
Picture Books sans Frontières
available from tb@trentham-books.co.uk
or www.amazon.co.uk


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ncrcl January 2005