What means Babelia?

Question

http://www.elpais.com/suple/babelia/

My spanish is not very good but I am trying to read the headlines of the text but it is very hard for me.

Can someone tell me what babelia means?

Also someone know maybe a place where I can find easier texts to read? I don't really care about the subject of the text.

I added the link for you I hope you don't mind :-) - 00b6f46c, Aug 15, 2010

Answer 1

Hola Vraagi,

Have you 'googled' this word with the translator on? It looked like a company name and it certainly appeared on the Google search as such. I have copied and pasted their answer to Quienes somos?
BABELIA FORMACION S.L. es una compañía, cuya misión principal es la formación en idiomas de las empresas y directivos españoles en su lugar habitual de trabajo. Nuestro gran logro ha sido coordinar de una forma óptima la actividad profesional con las necesidades de formación.

It seems to be able to convert the working practises, language etc to fit the countries where the spanish companies work.

If you want some simple spanish literature to read perhaps I can suggest Historias breves para Leer. by Joachím Masoliver. Start with the first level, it has a dictionary and grammar exercises. Available from Sociedad General Española de Librería.

Any problems, send me an email.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

That's a proper name for one of El Pais extra features. Babelia's scope is literature.

of course it's a proper name. but is it a name they invented themselves or have they taken from somewhere else? - 00494ed7, Aug 15, 2010

No idea, really. To me, your way of thinking is very logical - a word derived from Babel. Other guys exploited the idea: http://www.babelia.info/cgi-bin/babelia.pl?page=product&idioma=en (pity, but it seems to me that the project has been given up). - esp211, Aug 15, 2010

"To me, your way of thinking is very logical - a word derived from Babel." You make it sound like it's a bad thing... - 00494ed7, Aug 15, 2010

I'm sorry if I made anything sound a bad thing for you. I'm not a native speaker of English. I just wanted to say that to mu mind you were right about the origin of the word. - esp211, Aug 15, 2010

oh, I see. my apologies for misunderstanding you. friends again? ;) - 00494ed7, Aug 15, 2010

Answer 3

a place where I can find easier texts to read?

Try this:

http://www.veintemundos.com/en/

Answer 4

That's a strange one, I give you that.

First I thought it's Spanish for Babel. Apparently not. Babel is exactly the same in Spanish, too. Then I thought it might be some weird, slang-y feminine form of Babel, perhaps diminutive, too. Then I thought again. Finally, I looked it up in the RAE. They don't have it registered either.

Aviso

La palabra Babelia no está en el Diccionario.