COMPLETE Porto Rico: The Land of the Rich Port-mas

[vviera]

ch. 2 up, I reread the first part so please PL to around :50

Sanx,
V

[jakemalizia]

ch. 2 up, I reread the first part so please PL to around :50

Sanx,
V

This is PL ok now, as I understand "scarlet melons" is fine.

[vviera]

Jake, Chap 3 is up.

It's kind of equally fascinating for me to hear this frequently patronizing OWG's take on everything, and for me to note how many things there are that I experienced, that I can really see the roots of as expressed in this time period.

BTW, there is a lot of sort of derision toward the Puerto Rican accent in Spanish, probably due to their low social status (both on the island and as increasing numbers came to the mainland). However, the story is really interesting. A large number of Spaniards who settled in Puerto Rico left from the port city of Cádiz, which is near Seville, and many characteristics of Puerto Rican Spanish are typical of the accent in that area. A few years ago, I was in Seville, and I was startled sometimes at how close it sounded. (I already knew the back story from grad school.)

And speaking of accents, listen for when I say the word "salad," which is my Upper Midwest U.S. accent at its very broad finest. I don't know if I've said this to you, but I often think my accent has mellowed toward more Standard "unaccented" American English. Then I listen to my recordings. I am who I am. Same for Spanish. I worked really hard to get rid of my Puerto Rican accent when I was an interpreter. Not because it was low class, but because almost all my clients were from Mexico or Central America and others can sometimes find Caribbean Spanish hard to understand. Like, I don't know, if I had a thick Scottish brogue and were interpreting here in the U.S. Then I listen to myself.

[jakemalizia]

Really sorry for the delay on PL'ing this.

All good here, no notes for the text itself. It just falls outside the acceptable volume range at 93.5dB - could you deamplify by a few decibels then reupload?



(this chapter ends p.60)

[vviera]

Really sorry for the delay on PL'ing this.

All good here, no notes for the text itself. It just falls outside the acceptable volume range at 93.5dB - could you deamplify by a few decibels then reupload?



(this chapter ends p.60)

OK, reuploaded. That's weird. I would have said I "always" use checker, but obviously I forgot. I have had the same microphone settings and recorded in the same place for so long that I guess it's easy for me to overlook that. This'll be a good reminder.

[jakemalizia]

Really sorry for the delay on PL'ing this.

All good here, no notes for the text itself. It just falls outside the acceptable volume range at 93.5dB - could you deamplify by a few decibels then reupload?



(this chapter ends p.60)

OK, reuploaded. That's weird. I would have said I "always" use checker, but obviously I forgot. I have had the same microphone settings and recorded in the same place for so long that I guess it's easy for me to overlook that. This'll be a good reminder.

I usually do, but sometimes forget as well. All good now

[vviera]

Ch. 4 up
https://librivox.org/uploads/maryannspiegel/portorico_04_seabury_128kb.mp3

[jakemalizia]

Ch. 4 up
https://librivox.org/uploads/maryannspiegel/portorico_04_seabury_128kb.mp3

All good here.

There were just a few differences which seemed to me more like differences in edition, like we had before, rather than mistakes by you. None of the differences particularly affected the meaning so I think it's safe to PL ok this.

For instance at once point you said "football and baseball" and in the hathitrust link it was just "baseball". Another example, you said "United States government" and the linked text said "Insular government". I think they're fine to leave in, don't you?

[vviera]

differences in edition, like we had before, rather than mistakes by you.

I think they're fine to leave in, don't you?

Yes, and because we had this issue before, I've been meaning to send you the link to the text I'm using.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ymkdvkdp30snp3/Porto%20Rico%20-%20Land%20of%20the%20Rich%20Port.pdf?dl=0

I don't know which version came first, and they both must be PD, but let's both use the same text so we don't have to do this every time!

[vviera]

Chapter 5 up, Jake.

I had lots of thoughts as I read this. I've been to the caves at Caguas, though by the mid-1990s, it was no longer accessible only by pony, and there was no part of it, as far as I am aware, that one had to (or was allowed to?) pass through on hands and knees.

I believe the Puerto Ricans of today would be surprised that in the early 20th century, at least, they were "part Mexican."

Remember to use this text version, please:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ymkdvkdp30snp3/Porto%20Rico%20-%20Land%20of%20the%20Rich%20Port.pdf?dl=0

[jakemalizia]

Chapter 5 up, Jake.

I had lots of thoughts as I read this. I've been to the caves at Caguas, though by the mid-1990s, it was no longer accessible only by pony, and there was no part of it, as far as I am aware, that one had to (or was allowed to?) pass through on hands and knees.

I believe the Puerto Ricans of today would be surprised that in the early 20th century, at least, they were "part Mexican."

Remember to use this text version, please:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ymkdvkdp30snp3/Porto%20Rico%20-%20Land%20of%20the%20Rich%20Port.pdf?dl=0

Thanks - I'm now reading from the same PDF as you.

All PL ok!
It really does paint a scene of intriguing cave systems.
I wonder if archaeologists have discovered any more interesting skull fragments that suggest head binding? Or if they've discovered more about the purpose of it?

[vviera]

I wonder if archaeologists have discovered any more interesting skull fragments that suggest head binding? Or if they've discovered more about the purpose of it?

Sue did some Googling to try to find out. The ability to study the indigenous Caribbean people is greatly hampered by the fact that they pretty much all caught smallpox and expired shortly after European arrival. What Sue found is that it was likely more a marker of ethnicity (tribe, I suppose) than the theories proposed in this section.

The New World showed US, though. Syphilis.

[vviera]

Section 6 up and at 'em.

This is the most boring section so far. Rather than creating a text that might be found interesting by the teen social studies student who is the supposed audience, he instead gives a monotonous catalog of every river and where it is on the island, yawn. Most of the rest just sounds like a field report back to Washington on how to take advantage of the island for commercial purposes. Hopefully the next chapter will be more fun.

I really struggle with how Anglicized vs. how native I say all the place names. I kind of sit in the middle and don't like how any of it sounds

Notes of interest:
Did you know that "pea" (as in the green round vegetable) is a back formation singular from "pease," which used to be a non-count noun? But unlike wheat, rice, barley, or whatever other product like that, "pease" sounds like a plural, so eventually one of them because just a pea.

"Hormigueros" means anthills.

And Toa Alta, mentioned a couple of times, is home town of Dayanara Torres, who was crowned Miss Universe about 3 weeks before I moved to the island. Things were abuzz, you can imagine, about "La Dayanara."

I read and did preliminary edit on about 40% of the next TC chapter, so that should be posted before too long.

[jakemalizia]

Section 6 is PL ok!

I know what you mean about it just listing off a load of geographical features - not being particularly exciting. It reminds me of a really boring chapter from The Silmarillion where Tolkien just spends the entire chapter describing the topography and names of geographical features of one of the realms.

I didn't know that about "pease"

Edit: up to p.87 of the PDF

[vviera]

Hola, Señor Malizia -

Please PL Chapter 7