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Practise you lot know what happened to the soon-to-be-wed mouse?
Or why the crying woman is trapped between the living and the expressionless?
If non, it sounds like nosotros have the pleasure of introducing you lot to famous short stories in Spanish!
These well-known gems are quick to read—some even easy enough for beginners—nevertheless they'll still open a window into rich culture for you to explore. (Not to mention all of the language benefits for Spanish learners…)
You lot'll take no problem staying engaged with the interesting plots, so if you've never given short stories a try before, brainstorm today!
Here are five famous tales to get yous started, plus all of the tips you'll demand to maximize your learning with this rewarding source.
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Why Read Famous Brusque Stories in Castilian?
At that place are countless benefits to reading famous Spanish short stories. It'southward an easy way to larn nearly Castilian beyond the textbook, and a great opportunity to run into the language flow in a natural context.
The length is besides an unbeatable selling point. Since they're then approachable, yous could hands focus on ane story per week to build up your reading skills. Or before committing to a full novel, you tin explore these short stories to observe an author who interests you.
You'll also diversify your Spanish by learning about unlike cultures associated with the language, and by seeing differing styles of writing and perspectives.
Seeking out stories in Castilian that are already famous is always an like shooting fish in a barrel place to start. They're certain to have translations, summaries and additional sources online to make the start time reading in Spanish equally stress-free as possible.
Plus, let'south not forget that all famous stories became well-known for a reason! So interacting with a civilization's most treasured stories will no doubtfulness teach y'all their historical bear on and how/why they came to concord such importance.
How to Maximize Your Learning with Famous Short Stories in Spanish
If information technology's your beginning fourth dimension reading a short story in Spanish, don't go out looking for the Castilian equivalent of Shakespeare! But you probably already knew that, right?
So aside from basic tips—like trying to figure out words from context rather than looking them up right away in a dictionary and writing down new, of import words/phrases—here are a few more ways you can employ these stories to improve your Spanish level.
Use English translations
If this is your very first time dipping your toes into the world of Spanish brusque stories, feel gratis to take advantage of English language translations. Every bit mentioned above, since these stories are famous, information technology's pretty easy to find decent translations online.
1 constructive way to apply both versions is to read the story first in Castilian, and and so read the English translation second to exam your comprehension.
Afterwards reading the Spanish story at to the lowest degree one time, looking at both versions side-by-side can actually go you ahead on learning how the sentence structures compare. Choose a few sentences to pick autonomously 1 at a time, comparing the word order and translations with that of the English version. What grammar topics are illustrated? Which rules can you deduce from this real-world usage?
Research the story'due south origin
Once y'all've read the story, sympathise it and have pulled information technology autonomously for linguistic lessons, have 15-20 minutes the following twenty-four hour period to do a bit of research almost both the author and the historical/cultural significance of the story. Practice all of your online searching in Spanish, of course, to get Castilian results!
Some questions y'all might want to explore include:
- What inspired the author to write this story?
- What was the author'southward life like?
- How was the story originally received by readers when it was outset published?
- Is this story regularly taught in schools now? Why?
Over again, since they're famous, you could too search for short story materials made for native Spanish speaking students, such as study guides, give-and-take questions or videos.
Live-tweet your reading
Accept you ever seen someone live-tweet an event, like the Superbowl, a flick, a conference or a presidential debate? You can do the aforementioned on Twitter while reading one of these brusque stories!
Alive-tweeting usually involves tweeting your thoughts/reactions during the live event (in this case, while you read the story). Capture your surprise, laughs, disgust, confusion—whatever emotions arise!
Oftentimes times speakers are quoted directly in tweets as well, and then experience gratuitous to quote your story as well. At 140 characters per tweet, writing in Spanish becomes very approachable.
While being informative, it's also a great opportunity to try and be funny! Practise this with a friend or exchange partner for double the fun.
Integrate new vocab by writing or speaking
Finally, be sure to use new phrases and vocabulary shortly after reading, so that they can become a part of your base of operations knowledge. Here are a few ideas of unlike ways you could practice that:
- Create a timeline. This will work better for certain stories, merely the idea is simple: Map out the events on a timeline.
- Rewrite an ending. Don't similar the way one of the stories ends? Rewrite it and create your own ending!
- Write a summary. For a twist, first write a paragraph summary in Castilian. So, write a new summary that's only 3 sentences long. Side by side, challenge yourself to summarize the whole story in one sentence. Finally, try to summarize the story as a newspaper headline—in just a few words!
- Draw a Venn diagram. Compare characters, or once yous've read two stories, compare the two using a Venn diagram.
- Retell the story. Retell the story to your language exchange partner, trying to incorporate new vocabulary words as you lot practice so.
By using any of the above tips, you can squeeze and so much valuable learning from a unmarried famous short story.
Supplement your learning with other authentic materials
Using authentic cloth like short stories is an splendid manner to see the language in use the way it'southward actually spoken. You tin notice even more authentic fabric on FluentU, which is perfect for the more visual learners out there!
How to Find More Great Spanish Stories on Your Ain
If y'all find the five stories below helpful and are left wanting more, here are a few places to discover some more on your own.
The website E-stories has brusque stories, poems and more for you to browse through. All organized by genre, you're certain to detect exactly what you're in the mood for! You can change the linguistic communication to "Español" up at the top.
A book that contains a collection of short stories in Castilian with English translations parallel is "Castilian Stories — Cuentos Españoles" by Angel Flores.
Or if you would like to beginning off a little slower and easier, here's a website with fifty children's stories in Castilian.
v Famous Curt Stories in Spanish
1. "La Ratita Presumida"(The Vain Piffling Mouse)
This story has been floating around for centuries. Starting off orally, it was put to newspaper in "Lágrimas"past Fernan Cabellero in 1839.
In that location are quite a few different versions of this story, but it mostly involves a soonhoped-for-wed mouse, her many suitors and a cat. While this tale may sound a little dark, information technology's widely used as a children's book because of its moral and educational value.
If it's your commencement time reading a brusque story in Castilian, this is a great one to start with. Having just a few hundred words in length, it's brusk, simple and piece of cake to get through.
2. "La Llorona"(The Crying Woman)
Many Latin American cultures are known for existence superstitious, and it happens to make for some of the best myths and legends."La Llorona"originated in Mexico and has been told and retold over the centuries.
It's about a woman, who in a second of madness from her hubby'south abandonment, drowns their children. Later on she realizes what she has washed, she then drowns herself, leaving herself trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead.
Legend has it that she wanders the World to this day, and parents often use this tale to continue their children from going out late at night."La Llorona" is ane of the near widespread legends in United mexican states and through Primal America, and so much more has developed from it online, including videos, essays, extensions and translations.
The story is not very lengthy or hard to get through, and yous can even download a curt version of the story that comes with the background story as well as comprehension questions here.
iii. "La Sihunaba"(Ugly Woman)
"La Sihunaba"is a tale traced dorsum to the indigenous peoples in Central America, yet today it's still heard in many countries in Central America and remains an especially popular story in the country of Republic of el salvador.
Translating to "ugly woman" in the ethnic languages of Primal America, at that place are many different versions of the tale, simply they all share the character La Sihunaba (who is besides sometimes referred to as "Siguanaba," "Cigua" or "Cegua").
Similarly to La Llorona,La Sihunabais a wandering ghost, merely she specifically targets men.
The story starts with a woman who is originally referred to as La Sihuehuet, which translates to "cute woman" in the language of origin. Later she was cursed by her husband who discovered she was having an affair, the woman becameLa Sihunabato forever haunt the region.
To this day, subsequently disguising and portraying herself every bit an attractive female, she finds men in isolated areas and tempts them with her beauty. After they reveal themselves as unfaithful, she reveals her face to testify what she truly is: a hideous, soulless creature with the face of a horse.
This tale, forth with many others of similar genre, are extremely popular in Latin American culture. If yous enjoy "La Sihunaba," you're in luck considering in that location are tons of similar stories available in the Spanish language.
4. "La Muñeca Menor"(The Youngest Doll)
"La Muñeca Menor"is a unique short story written by Rosario Ferré that has been enjoyed past many for its unpredictability. The story is most a woman, who, after bathing in a river, receives a bite from a river problems that damages her leg severely, leaving her disabled.
As a wealthy widow and the aunt of three nieces, the doctor she had kept for years begins to accept reward of the sickly woman. While she could have been cured, the doctor keeps her every bit a patient through the years for his own monetary gain.
While it'due south merely a few pages in length, "La Muñeca Menor" has been frequently used in literature classes and many disquisitional essays have been written near the short story.
Classified in the genre of magical realism, this story is not just surprising and entertaining, only also symbolic and aims to teach a lesson. Because of this, it'south a flake college-level than the others on the list, but considering the story became then widespread, there are many translations and additional resources available to help.
Though the author Rosario Ferré passed abroad in 2016, she still remains one of the most honored writers in Puerto Rico. Ferré wrote many celebrated stories, translated them herself into multiple languages, won awards and even temporarily served equally the Offset Lady of Puerto Rico! A volume containing a drove of her well-nigh enjoyed works, including "La Muñeca Menor,"was released under the title of"Papeles de Pandora."
5. "María Dos Prazeres"(Maria of Pleasures)
"María Dos Prazeres" was originally published in 1992 as function of a drove of stories titled "Doce Cuentos Peregrinos"(Twelve Pilgrim Stories).
It was published by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, who is the same author of i of the most widespread books in Spanish and in English, "Cien Años de Soledad"(One Hundred Years of Solitude).
The championship and main character of the story is María Dos Prazeres, a Portuguese name that ways "Maria of Pleasures." The story is a bit out of the ordinary and open to many interpretations. It is just a few pages in length, only has become quite a sensation.
The story is about an elderly woman who had a vision of her decease. With this, her life changes drastically every bit she begins anticipating her death and carefully preparing for every aspect of it. And so subsequently years of obsessing over it, she finds that there was a fault in the vision she had.
"María Dos Prazeres"is gravely unique and follows a similar theme as the other twelve shorts in the volume, which are mostly about decease and illusions.
While the stories in "Doce Cuentos Peregrinos" are fairly brusque, they do contain quite a few words that may be disruptive, so be sure to go along your trusty lexicon and translator handy for this one.
Over the past few decades, this book has get quite popular, then there are many boosted resources and discussions online to aid, which can exist found with a Google search of the title. Also, the unabridged book is available for a gratuitous download hither.
And in that location are our five famous short stories.
Now you lot've got enough of reading to keep you entertained as well as productive!
Happy studies and ¡buena suerte!(Good luck!)
Download: This weblog post is available as a user-friendly and portable PDF that you can accept anywhere. Click here to go a copy. (Download)
Source: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/famous-spanish-short-stories/