(no subject)

[arethinn]

Does anyone know if the title of La Plata Cantata should be read as (La Plata) Cantata, as in a place name like La Plata, Argentina or La Plata, Maryland, or is it La (Plata Cantata), "the silver cantata"? As in, know what the author had in mind or if it is clear from context if you read the poems?

(It makes a difference on whether the La should be skipped as non-filing. "Los Angeles" files under L, not A, because the definite article is an integral part of a name; similar principle here.)

Comments

[dragonzuela.livejournal.com]

Just from my knowledge of Spanish I would say skip the "La". (If it means "the sung silver", although I have no idea what that means.)

[arethinn]

I know that much Spanish too, but that's why I'm asking. If the author is intending to refer to "La Plata" as a proper name unit, the article should not be skipped (see the example of "Los Angeles"). So I was hoping someone would have specialized knowledge of this particular book.

[arethinn]

p.s. The past participle of cantar is cantado. I think the reference is to the form of choral composition known as a cantata. So in a poetic sense (this is a book of poems) you could hypothetically have a silver one, whatever that would mean exactly.

[dragonzuela.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't "The Silver Cantata" be "La Cantata de Plata?" And if it were a cantata about a place called La Plata, wouldn't it be "Cantata de La Plata"? I guess if it's poetry the word order could get mixed around a bit.

[arethinn]

The book's not in Spanish, so it could be using English word order here (a kind of pig-Spanish I guess). But, true. I suppose that makes it more likely the author was thinking of a place called "La Plata".

[lady-silverfire.livejournal.com]

If you read down the list of poems on the Amazon page there's one called "La Plata, Missouri: Turkey Season"

[arethinn]

Oho! I did read that, but obviously not closely enough. Thanks!