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17:40 Jan 5, 2012
English to English translations [Non-PRO] Poetry & Literature / demonyms
English term or phrase:The demonym of Valparaíso?
As in the sentence "The people of Valparaíso then sent a mission to Drake."
I am looking for a word such as "Porteños" for Buenos Aireans or Mancunians for the people of Manchester. Perhaps there is such a word (a Spanish word that would "travel well" in English), and perhaps there is not, and the demonym is simply "Valparaísans." Do, please, tell!
Explanation: I've just found this. I don't know, but I feel an "i" needs to be added to "Valparisan": Parisian, Russian, etc.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-05 18:45:16 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
We spent 5 days here just chilling and walking round the town from the wonderful markets and the close by Vino del Mar - billed as the place the Valparisians go to ‘play’!
But as a daily rule of thumb, local Valparisians often begin their day with la sopa marina, a hodgepodge of shellfish and seafood served in a seaweed, garlic and onion broth. More often than not, one can find little pieces of chicken or chorizo added to the mix. Served at many picadas and typical low budget Valparisian restaurants, non-native seafood lovers might find this local delicacy (running between CP$1,500-2,500, or US$3-5), a challenge.
I wish to thank all answerers, since all came up with what I was after. What Helena did was give me some additional reading to confirm pros and cons for myself. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
I guess it depends on your readership, I would avoid the word unless you are addressing the most erudite of audiences... Gaggles of googles for Valparaisans, have you tried posting this question in the Spanish-English section?
doesn't travel well in English, surely "name given to people of a place" or similar?
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Answers
54 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
the demonym of valparaíso?
Valparisian
Explanation: I've just found this. I don't know, but I feel an "i" needs to be added to "Valparisan": Parisian, Russian, etc.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-05 18:45:16 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
We spent 5 days here just chilling and walking round the town from the wonderful markets and the close by Vino del Mar - billed as the place the Valparisians go to ‘play’!
But as a daily rule of thumb, local Valparisians often begin their day with la sopa marina, a hodgepodge of shellfish and seafood served in a seaweed, garlic and onion broth. More often than not, one can find little pieces of chicken or chorizo added to the mix. Served at many picadas and typical low budget Valparisian restaurants, non-native seafood lovers might find this local delicacy (running between CP$1,500-2,500, or US$3-5), a challenge.
Helena Chavarria Local time: 04:10 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English, Spanish
Grading comment
I wish to thank all answerers, since all came up with what I was after. What Helena did was give me some additional reading to confirm pros and cons for myself.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Helena. You couldn't possibly give me the original Spanish for "Valparisan"/"Valparisian", could you? A growing trend in English is to borrow such words lock-stock-and-barrel, as witnessed, for instance, by "Sarajlije" ("a native of Sarajevo"). It might just work better than anything else...
Asker: ¿Porteños, valparaisinos o valpinos? :) :) :) Thanks!
55 mins confidence:
the demonym of valparaíso?
people of Valparaíso
Explanation: This seems to be best for your audience. The gentilicio is "Porteño" but, as you say, that doesn't travel well! "Valparaisians" sounds very ungainly to me (with or without an accened "i").
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-05 19:08:02 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Maybe something like "the people of the port of Valparaíso, hence known in Chile as 'porteños', ..."would work then?
DLyons Ireland Local time: 03:10 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you. I wanted to inject a note of "exoticism" which would be in keeping with the general tilt of the story.
Asker: " La Real Academia Española les da la razón a los que se quejan. Una de las acepciones de “porteño” es “natural de Valparaíso, ciudad de Chile”. "
Thanks!
Explanation: In Spanish it would be "valpino", without an initial capital. And "valpinos" in the plural, of course.
To my mind the standard option in English is the one you mention: Valparaisan. This is the most common form and occurs in what look like respectable published sources. Valparaisian is rather less usual, and the extra i after the s seems awkward and unnecessary to me. And with great respect to Helena I find Valparisian unconvincing; it doesn't have any real authority, it sounds too much like "Parisian" and it distorts the place name (it's not Valpariso but Valparaíso).
However, if you'd really like a Spanish term, I think "valpino" is an interesting option. The standard term, as has been said, is "porteño", but that's ambiguous (also applying to Buenos Aires, for example) and unless Valparaíso has been mentioned already it won't be understood. "Valparaisino" is correct in theory, but no one seems to like it or use it much. However, some people who actually come from Valparaíso claim that "valpino" is an authentic alternative to "porteño". It is close enough to the place name to be identifiable, but unusual enough to be interesting. Worth considering, I'd say.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 7 hrs (2012-01-06 01:16:03 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
An infamous son of Valparaíso was Pinochet; this biographical sketch refers to his "terruño valpino" (Valparaisan homeland) http://www.cidob.org/es/content/pdf/1964
This blog is on "gentilicios" (demonyms, as you say) with particular reference to Valparaíso. It starts by pointing out the problem with "porteño": it applies to many other places as well, notably Buenos Aires:
"Con motivo de mi visita a la preciosa ciudad de Valparaíso (Chile), me enteré de que sus habitantes se conocen como porteños [...]"
In one of the replies, a woman born and bred in Valparaíso says that her schoolmistress insisted the correct form was "valpino/a":
"Hola, soy nacida y criada en la hermosa ciudad de Valparaíso y cuando estudié mi educación básica, mi maestra, una de esas fantásticas profesoras normalistas de antaño, nos enseñó que el gentilicio para la gente nacida en nuestra ciudad era valpino-valpina" http://jamillan.com/lengua/2009/04/26/portenos-y-otros-genti...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 7 hrs (2012-01-06 01:23:51 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I may say that Spanish "gentilicios"/demonyms are quite often unpredictable, not to say downright weird, and locals tend to be endearingly proud of them. A form like "valpino", rather than the more obvious "valparaisino", is in the spirit of this phenomenon.
Charles Davis Local time: 04:10 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +2
