Café con leche

Question

Hola,

I'm just doing a translation for college and was wondering whether you guys think I should translate 'café con leche' into English or to leave it as it is? As it is a cultural difference, it probably wouldn't have the same meaning in English (like how there's no need to translate 'tapas' into English) but I'd like to hear some of your opinions on it?

Muchas gracias )

Answer 1

I think you should leave it as it is. Food items are probably the only inanimate objects that survive translation. Café con leche might loosely translate to 'milk coffee' in English, but I am pretty sure that it is not just milk coffee. It is a beverage closely tied with Spanish culture, and thus, should retain its Spanish name.

Wikipedia hasn't translated Café con leche.

I disagree,but in your country it might be correct to ask for milk coffee. here that sounds like baby food. - annierats, Jan 23, 2014

Probably. My knowledge of coffee is frighteningly limited, so wrong terminology can be expected. Thanks for clearing things up :) - Helado_eclectico, Jan 23, 2014

But the thing is that 'cafe con leche' isn't technically just white coffee. It's a coffee that is unique to Spain and which they don't tend to serve here in Ireland, anyway. - queguay6, Jan 23, 2014

I gre queguay, we don't get it in Devon either! But nobody would understand the term, whereas they understand ' tapas'. - annierats, Jan 23, 2014

I totally agree where you're coming from. I thought it was really interesting that my lecturer brought up the other day that the world is becoming so multicultural that we should try to integrate these words into daily language! - queguay6, Jan 23, 2014

She also brought up the fact that there is no such thing as a Christmas cracker in Spain & how you'd go about translating it.. these little cultural differences can be v interesting! - queguay6, Jan 23, 2014

Interesting, We do not have Christmas crackers in North Carolina but I do know of a cuban place where you can get café con leche. - deedeegill72, Jan 23, 2014

Answer 2

Well, debatable. In England we can have any amount of cappuchini, americanos, expressos, lattes etc. ad infinitum, but at least in my rather backward region you would not be understood if you went up and asked for a 'café con leche' which , actually is a distinct product. I love it!

However, I'm sorry to say, if you just go up a and ask for' an ordinary coffee' they will stare at you and say '' Do you mean filter-coffee?''

Also we don't usually say coffee with milk, We say white coffee. Or ''Would you like a cup of coffee ? '' Yes, please.'' '' Do you take milk?'' '' Yes, please, I do.''

Or '' Can I have a cup of coffee, white, please''.

In the States they drink huge containers of very weak coffee into which I believe they pour maple syrup. I think this is called Starbucks. I've never tried it, because it costs about £ 2 here and I prefer smaller cups of stronger coffee, such as ' café con leche'.

I once walked by Starbucks as they were giving out free samples. Don't know what they gave me but it had froth and sprinkles on top. It was lovely and I'm not a coffee drinker - Purechilli, Jan 23, 2014

D: Free samples!? I never got those! Now I am jelly. Bet you didn't think I could change consistency so fast. - Helado_eclectico, Jan 23, 2014

In the States Starbucks is all the rage with many people but coffee is traditionally served with 'cream & sugar'. - dennywells, Jan 23, 2014

No wonder you're getting a bit overweight, cream, standard? Lol. - annierats, Jan 23, 2014

we can, of course, have all of them, and tea, de-caffeinated. - annierats, Jan 23, 2014

I have never had coffee with maple syrup. eeuuuwww. Starbucks is overpriced. - deedeegill72, Jan 23, 2014

Answer 3

I find this very amusing , these terms are so universal that there is no need

whatsoever to translate , we just say latte , machiato ,stretto espresso etc

the only qualifier would be " soy latte " or "skinny latte" these words are

now accepted as English , the same as when you meet someone for a drink

one may say ," tu casa o mi casa" very well understood.

Answer 4

I think "café con leche" would be "coffee with milk" in spanish

yo creo que "coffee with milk" es como "café con leche" en ingles

Answer 5

This is one only you can judge. I live in England but not in one of the big cities. We do have some Spanish cafés but I usually ask for a cortado - I would not use that phrase in other coffee places where the phrases for fancier coffees all seem to be borrowed from Italian. If your piece has a strong link to food and drink then leave it as 'café con leche' you could of course put something along the lines of I'd like a café con leche that is a milky/white coffee - whatever the normal order is where you live. Of course as you can see from the wiki link provided above Ana Botella has been mocked for using the phrase in a presentation made in English. The safe option is a direct translation to a coffee with milk, but it depends on the level you have attained and whether it is a more polished interpretation. It is odd that certainly in England it is common place to order lattes or cappuccinos in cafes which have a good coffee machine but are not Italian.