2

Just on Amazon, I can see:
El Conejo De Pana,
El Conejo De Felpa, and
El Conejo De Terciopelo (additional links).

Clearly, these are different translations, as even the titles are translated differently. I am considering purchasing one as a gift, but I don't know enough to tell the difference between these and am wondering if anybody has insight into the accuracy of the translation (or other differences that I should be aware of).

With some stories/books there is an authoritative translation and some lower-quality imitators, and those "in the know" know which one is the best. If that's true with this story, which one is the authoritative translation?

Edit: Thanks much to Diego's answer commenting on which title might be the most accurate translation. If anyone has information about the accuracy (etc.?) of the text of these book translations beyond the title, that would be helpful as well.

2 Answers 2

4

I think that the appropriate translation for Velveteen is Pana:

Velveteen

Velveteen (or velveret) is a cloth made in imitation of velvet. Normally cotton, the term is sometimes applied to a mixture of silk and cotton. Some velveteens are a kind of fustian, having a rib of velvet pile alternating with a plain depression.

Pana

La pana, corderoy, corduroy, o cotelé es un tejido grueso, de tacto áspero, semejante al terciopelo, liso o compuesto por fibras entrecruzadas que cuando están en paralelo forman el distintivo motivo con acanaladuras (bastones) verticales de pequeño tamaño, pero también pueden ser un poco más gruesos.

Felpa seems to be Terrycloth, and Terciopelo is Velvet

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  • I'd go for pana as well. IMO felpa aims for familiarity (I think most readers would think felpa when thinking about a plush animal) but pana, although less used in toys than felpa, is not an unfamiliar material at all, and it adds a touch of humbleness and handcraft... Which the original author might be already intending? (I haven't read the book, sorry). I like terciopelo the least, for the opposite as pana: it's a fine material which I imagine in a toy for a rich kid. And lastly, if you want the «none of the above» option, peluche (which I like less than pana as much as felpa) [more...]
    – guillem
    Aug 20, 2015 at 16:33
  • [...] Unless you are targeting a region where the meaning «friend» for «pana» is too interfering in what you want to convey (Venezuela?).
    – guillem
    Aug 20, 2015 at 16:35
1

All of them are literal translations, but in Spanish you don't use any of them to refer to that kind of toys; the correct translation would be "Conejo de peluche" ("felpa" is a synonym of it, but nobody says "Conejo de felpa"):

(definition from Google):

PELUCHE

nombre, masculino

1.
Tela, generalmente de seda, lana o alguna fibra sintética, parecida al terciopelo pero de pelo más largo y aspecto más brillante; se utiliza sobre todo para forrar prendas de invierno y confeccionar muñecos.
"un perrito de peluche; se pasaba el día en el café, con la cabeza apoyada en el respaldo de peluche, mirando para los dorados del techo"
sinónimos:  felpa
2.
Muñeco hecho de peluche, que suele tener forma de animal.

PD: Anyway, maybe all of those terms refer to the same kind of toy; they are probably literal translations of "peluche" and don't really mean a difference in the product they are selling.

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  • If the author (and sorry again for answering a translation question about an edited work without having read ir) didn't want to stress the material, wouldn't she use «plush rabbit» as a generic instead of choosing «velveteen»?
    – guillem
    Aug 21, 2015 at 9:47
  • Absolutly; you are right, and if the books were written by different authors I would think so, but it's funny that the author on all the cases is the same one, that's why I think it's an issue of "bad" translation (Interested, IMO). Either the author can only be creative on tales based on different-materials-rabbits :S, or he (or the publishing house) is translating it "badly" on purpose just to make them look like different tales for commercial purposes. Anyway, I'm equally sorry for not having read them, so I'm just guessing it. Aug 21, 2015 at 11:01
  • peluche is plush. Velvet and velveteen are related. They aren't the same.
    – Lambie
    Dec 17, 2022 at 19:16

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