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Introduction to Puerto Rico Genealogy: Language Help

A research guide to online and print resources for genealogy related to individuals from Puerto Rico.
Guide by Diane Dias De Fazio.

[detail] Casa Blanca and Sea Wall, post card

Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs,: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library.
Detroit Publishing Company. "Casa Blanca and Sea Wall, San Juan, P. R." [detail], New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Language Dictionaries in the Research Catalog

External Resources

FamilySearch Spanish Genealogical Word List
Contains Spanish words with their English translations that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. 

FamilySearch Puerto Rico Personal Names
A guide to naming conventions in Puerto Rico. Understanding naming customs will help identify your ancestors in records.

BYU Introduction to Spanish Script Tutorial
Tutorial on how to read old records written in ​Spanish

Google Translate

Google's service, offered free of charge, instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.

Genealogical Word List

Some useful phrases in translation:

mil novecientos = 19__ (rarely, "mil ochocientos" = 18__)

comparecio = appears

legitimo = legitimate

natural = illegitimate

ya difunto = deceased

de __ años de edad = is __ years old

Some records also list the race of the child, which literally translate as: blanca/o = white; mestiza/o = literally "mixed", typically refers to a person of Spanish and Native American ancestry; mulata/o = a person with one parent of African descent and one parent of European descent; negra/o = black; parda/o = brown; triqueña/o = "three cultures".