Marti Wrongly Translated

THE letter in Friday’s newspaper 13 January 2012

‘Black Consciousness revisited’ has a translation error:’La unica manera de ser libre es ser cultos’. When translated directly into English it means ‘the only way to be free is to be cultivators’.This translation is wrong.The right one is: ‘the only way to be free is to be cultivated’ in the sense of educated, or literate. Ser culto has nothing to do with cultivation of the earth.The quote originates from Jose Marti as said in the letter. He was never a farmer or cultivator but an intellectual: ‘In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist,’ quoted from Wikipedia! The quote therefore is translated wrongly and freely interpreted.C SchulzBy email