Question about "se les..."?

Question

I am reading this article about cacao (chocolate) on Mexico's tourism website. I have stumbled upon a rather unusual sentence that has baffled me...

The article's link is right here: Cacao: alimento de los dioses

Además del cultivo y uso del árbol de cacao, a los olmecas se les reconoce por ser los inventores del calendario mesoamericano largo, del concepto de cero, el juego de pelota mesoamericano y el primer sistema de escritura en el hemisferio occidental

I know that when indirect object is used together with direct object (especially those starting with "l"), it needs to be changed to "se lo, se la..." etc. But what does "se les" mean here? I can understand the flow of the sentence that the Olmecs are recognized as inventors of Mesoamerican calendars but I want to know how I got to this translation.

Please explain this concept! What is meant by "se le" or "se les"? I am confused...

Thanks in advance.

Hang in there mate and a Spanish native extraordinaire may mosey by and put your anxious mind at rest - ray76, Jul 29, 2016

I wasn't going to mosey on this one, because it's hard to explain. But for you I did it. - Daniela2041, Jul 29, 2016

Answer 1

I know you have the idea correct that "les" refers to the olmecas. The "se" is referred to as the "passive" se and is used in a lot of constructions.

You translated the sentence correctly in noting that the Olmecs "are recognized" --passive construction. The "se" is what makes it passive.

It is similar to but not exactly the same as "Aquí se habla español." "En este lugar no se permite fumar." and many others. It's when you add what in Spanish is an indirect object, that's when things get complicated.

So I guess the idea is to separate "se" as passive and "les" as indirect object when reading this type of sentence. Okay, thanks. - Chocolatepan, Jul 29, 2016