No sea tan de rulo...

J

Jacobtm

Senior Member
NY
English - New York
Estoy leyendo El Delantal Blanco, que entiendo es una cuenta común para estudiantes de español.

En la cuenta, a la playa, una Señora dice a su hijo:

"Alvarito, métase un poco al agua. Mójese las patitas siquiera... No sea tan de rulo..."

Mi libro dice que "No sea tan de rulo" significa "Don't act as if you've never seen water." Pero, no comprendo por qué, considerando que lo único definicion de "rulo" he encontrado es "curl". Es la Señora diciendo literalmente "Don't be such a curl", y "curl" tiene un sentido que implica miedo del agua?

¿Pueda alguien ayudarme?

Gracias,
Jacob
 
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    • Right, so "don't be so much like a curl" or something simmilar?

    Just a nitpicky note, it is "sea" and not "seas", la señora is of the upper class in Chile where I guess they do that sorta thing.
     
    Could it be that the waves aren't that rough? Just a crazy guess. Maybe like... The waves don't seem to be that curly ? "Sea"" being the present subjunctive and not command form? Like, "It doesn't seem to be that rough" ?
     
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    If you google "tierra de rulo" (with quotes) you will find it means "tierra de secano" and that it is extremely rare.

    A literal translation would then be: "Don't be so arid" (and I'm sure you can why a freer translation is suggested).

    syd
     
    From what I can discover, it appears to be specifically a Chilean term, and is not the same word as the Spanish "rulo", but is derived from an indigenous language. This is what RAE says:
    rulo2.
    (Del mapuche rulu).
    1. m. Chile. Tierra de labor sin riego.
    Click to expand...
    And here is something from a Chilean document talking about land in Chile, and possibly titled "Manual para Emigrantes: De Alemania a Chile en 1924":
    En zonas donde el agua es especialmente escasa (las provincias nortinas), el agua a disposición no se da en forma permanente, sino por turnos. Se denomina la tierra regable como Tierra de Rulo, y la que no se puede regar como Tierra de Riego .
    Click to expand...
    "Extremely rare" indeed, at least on the www, except for its use in "El Delantal Blanco" by the Chilean writer Sergio Vodanovic.
     
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    ¡Muchos muchos gracias para (por?) la ayuda!

    ¿Entonces, sería un poco más literal si se lo traducir como "Don't act like you're from the desert"?

    Muchos gracias otra vez,
    Jacob
     
    I know the post is very old, but I think I have some points to add. First, the translation “Don't act like you're from the desert” is correct. I’m Chilean, but for me was hard to understand the meaning of “rulo” word. I was born in a city, and I don’t know too much about agriculture. You have helped me, thanks to (by the record, is “gracias por la ayuda”)… She was upper class and probably comes from a landholder family, it explain the use of that expression. Please note that in all Latin America the coming of the small agricultural propriety – like the English XVIII “enclosure” – was very recent (XX). The phenomena was very polemic and in Chile reaches its highest point between the years 64-73.

    Second, about the use of the verb “sea”. It conjugated in 3d person, present, mode imperative, which coincides with the subjunctive present 3d person. But, the sense is clearly imperative. She used the third person instead of a second because it’s a respectful/familiar sense.
     
    Cuando era niño y no saludaba a alguien mis padres solían decirme,"¡No seas ranchero y saluda!"
    En otras palabras, "No seas penoso o cohibido..."
     
    Aviador said:
    Significa tener aversión al agua.
    Click to expand...

    Fuente:
    rulo | Diccionario de la lengua española
    Es correcto lo que aparece en rulo². Pero además en el lenguaje coloquial y con un sentido irónico, se utiliza para indicar "rechazo o aversión al agua". Así podría aplicarse a niños o adultos que no se lavan o duchan con frecuencia, y también a los que no quieren mojarse los pies. En todo caso en este sentido coloquial es ya un término en desuso.
     
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