Their Ideal Society: A Pipe Dream? (AQA A-Level Spanish): Revision Notes

Their Ideal Society: A Pipe Dream?

Introduction to young people's visions

Young people today have clear ideas about the society they want to create for tomorrow. This topic explores how Spanish-speaking youth view their ideal society and whether these aspirations are realistic or simply pipe dreams (quimeras). Understanding their perspectives helps us discuss social issues, use impersonal verbs effectively, and translate authentic Spanish into natural English.

Key vocabulary: Social issues and ideals

Spanish	English
la sociedad ideal	the ideal society
una quimera	a pipe dream / illusion
las aspiraciones	the aspirations
cambiar	to change
mantener	to maintain / keep
la Seguridad Social	Social Security
los hospitales públicos	public hospitals
los derechos	the rights
la protección	the protection
la naturaleza	nature
las redes sociales	social networks
la libertad de expresión	freedom of expression
el acceso	access
la universidad	university
las tasas	fees

Example sentences:

• En mi sociedad ideal, cambiaría el sistema de salud para que todos tengan acceso a hospitales públicos de calidad. (In my ideal society, I would change the healthcare system so that everyone has access to quality public hospitals.)
• Los jóvenes quieren mantener la libertad de expresión y proteger sus derechos. (Young people want to maintain freedom of expression and protect their rights.)
• ¿Crees que una sociedad ideal es una quimera o algo alcanzable? (Do you think an ideal society is a pipe dream or something achievable?)

Key vocabulary: Daily necessities and activism

Spanish	English
la vivienda	housing
el transporte	transport
los impuestos	taxes
el precio	the price
las necesidades diarias	daily necessities
los derechos humanos	human rights
la seguridad ciudadana	citizen security
la corrupción	corruption
la austeridad	austerity
manifestarse	to demonstrate / protest
los edificios públicos	public buildings
disolver	to break up / disperse
castigar	to punish
prohibir	to prohibit / ban

Example sentences:

• El precio de la vivienda es demasiado alto para los jóvenes que buscan independizarse. (The price of housing is too high for young people seeking independence.)
• Muchos ciudadanos se manifiestan contra la corrupción de algunos políticos. (Many citizens demonstrate against the corruption of some politicians.)
• El gobierno intenta prohibir las protestas delante de los edificios públicos. (The government is trying to ban protests in front of public buildings.)

Three perspectives on ideal society

Lina Márquez's vision: Housing and security

Lina believes that young people today are closer to achieving their dreams than before. Her ideal society would guarantee two basic principles for all citizens: housing and work. She references Manuela Carmena, the mayor of Madrid, who returned 2,086 social housing units to tenants after they had been sold to investment funds. This action demonstrates that perhaps an ideal future isn't so far away, despite negativity.

Key vocabulary: Housing and social investment

Spanish	English
conseguir	to achieve
los sueños	the dreams
los ciudadanos	the citizens
asegurar	to ensure / guarantee
cualquiera	anyone
la dignidad	dignity
contemporáneo/a	contemporary
la alcaldesa	the mayor (female)
devolver	to return / give back
las viviendas sociales	social housing
los inquilinos	the tenants
los fondos de inversión	investment funds
el futuro ideal	the ideal future
la negatividad	negativity

Example sentences:

• Los ciudadanos merecen conseguir vivienda digna y trabajo estable. (Citizens deserve to achieve decent housing and stable work.)
• La alcaldesa decidió devolver las viviendas sociales a los inquilinos que las necesitaban. (The mayor decided to return the social housing to the tenants who needed them.)
• Todos queremos vivir con dignidad en una sociedad más justa. (We all want to live with dignity in a fairer society.)

Santos Reina's vision: Freedom of expression

For Santos, the most important aspect is freedom of expression. A society that cannot express itself freely is in serious trouble. He discusses the new law that the government introduced in July 2015, known as the 'Ley Mordaza' (Gag Law), which limits freedom of expression in brutal ways.

The law prohibits, among many things, protesting in front of public buildings or refusing to break up street gatherings. Although this citizen security law also punishes street violence, Santos sees it as a poorly intentioned attempt to control and silence young people, because the government doesn't like that young people protest against austerity measures or the corruption of some politicians. In his ideal society, there wouldn't be such prohibitive laws.

Key vocabulary: Laws and protests

Spanish	English
la libertad de expresión	freedom of expression
libremente	freely
atado/a de pies	tied hand and foot
última(mente)	last(ly) / recently
el gobierno	the government
puso (poner)	put / introduced
la Ley Mordaza	the Gag Law
vetar	to veto
de manera brutal	brutally / in a brutal way
prohibir	to prohibit
entre otras cosas	among other things
negarse	to refuse
las reuniones	the meetings / gatherings
la calle	the street
la seguridad ciudadana	citizen security
la violencia callejera	street violence
malintencionado/a	ill-intentioned
controlar	to control
tapar	to cover up / silence
las medidas de austeridad	austerity measures

Example sentences:

• La libertad de expresión es un derecho fundamental en cualquier democracia. (Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in any democracy.)
• El gobierno introdujo la Ley Mordaza para limitar las protestas ciudadanas. (The government introduced the Gag Law to limit citizen protests.)
• Los jóvenes se niegan a aceptar las medidas de austeridad sin protestar. (Young people refuse to accept austerity measures without protesting.)
• Es importante poder expresarse libremente sin miedo a las consecuencias. (It's important to be able to express oneself freely without fear of consequences.)

Lorena Puig's vision: Ecology and environmental protection

Without doubt, Lorena's ideal society has only one colour: green. It symbolises hope, but also ecology. She hopes that the society of the future will have greater respect for flora and fauna.

In Spain, there are fewer and fewer Iberian lynxes, which worries her because this animal could cease to exist. This species is in critical danger with fewer than three hundred free specimens, and she would like to see her country do more for its protection. "Better late than never!" seems impressive to her - the action developed by the NGO WWF España, although they deserve more media presence and communication. In her ideal society, ecology would be paramount.

Key vocabulary: Environment and conservation

Spanish	English
sin lugar a duda	without doubt
el color	the colour
el verde	green
simbolizar	to symbolise
la esperanza	hope
la ecología	ecology
esperar	to hope / expect
el respeto	respect
la flora	flora
la fauna	fauna
cada vez menos	fewer and fewer
el lince ibérico	the Iberian lynx
preocupar	to worry
dejar de existir	to cease to exist
la especie	the species
el peligro crítico	critical danger
los ejemplares	specimens
en libertad	free / in the wild
hacer más por	to do more for
la protección	protection
más vale tarde que nunca	better late than never
impresionante	impressive
la acción	the action
desarrollar	to develop
merecer	to deserve
los medios de comunicación	the media
primordial	paramount / essential

Example sentences:

• La ecología debe ser una prioridad para las generaciones futuras. (Ecology must be a priority for future generations.)
• El lince ibérico está en peligro crítico de extinción, con menos de trescientos ejemplares en libertad. (The Iberian lynx is in critical danger of extinction, with fewer than three hundred specimens in the wild.)
• WWF España ha desarrollado campañas para proteger la flora y la fauna. (WWF Spain has developed campaigns to protect flora and fauna.)
• Más vale tarde que nunca cuando se trata de proteger el medio ambiente. (Better late than never when it comes to protecting the environment.)

Grammar focus: Impersonal verbs (Los verbos impersonales)

Impersonal verbs are verbs that don't have a specific subject. They're extremely useful when discussing social issues and general opinions. In Spanish, these constructions often use the infinitive form after certain verbs or expressions.

Common impersonal constructions

Hacer + infinitive - to be necessary to do something

• En el futuro falta tomar medidas más eficaces para proteger las especies en peligro de extinción. (In the future it's necessary to take more effective measures to protect endangered species.)

Ser + adjective + infinitive - it is [adjective] to do something

• Es una pena que las autoridades no sepan cómo hacer frente a las consecuencias. (It's a shame that the authorities don't know how to face the consequences.)

Haber + que + infinitive - one must / it's necessary to

• Hay que hacer algo para mejorar la situación de los inmigrantes. (One must do something to improve the situation of immigrants.)

Se + third person verb - impersonal 'se'

• Se dice que el gobierno va a imponer más leyes que limiten la libertad del ciudadano. (It is said that the government is going to impose more laws that limit citizens' freedom.)

Key vocabulary: Impersonal expressions

Spanish	English
hacer falta	to be necessary
es importante	it's important
es necesario	it's necessary
es una pena	it's a shame
hay que	one must / it's necessary to
se debe	one should / must
conviene	it's advisable
se puede	one can
se dice que	it is said that
bastar	to be enough

Example sentences with impersonal verbs:

• Hace falta mucho tiempo que el gobierno había prometido enfrentarse al problema de la corrupción. (It's been necessary for a long time that the government had promised to confront the problem of corruption.)
• En mi opinión, en el futuro será importante ejercer más control sobre los bancos. (In my opinion, in the future it will be important to exercise more control over banks.)
• En mi sociedad ideal habría más responsabilidad ciudadana y menos despilfarro. (In my ideal society there would be more citizen responsibility and less waste.)
• Es una pena que cada vez que las autoridades no sepan cómo hacer frente a las consecuencias. (It's a shame that each time the authorities don't know how to face the consequences.)
• Se vivió mal en mi ciudad en the past; nowadays, due to European money, one lives better. (Life was bad in my city in the past; nowadays, due to European money, life is better.)

Translation strategies: Spanish to authentic English

When translating from Spanish to English, authenticity is key. Your translation should sound natural to an English speaker while preserving the Spanish meaning.

Translation tips

Before you begin:

• Read the text carefully and understand its full meaning
• Identify the main ideas and supporting details
• Note any cultural references that might need explanation

During translation:

• Aim for natural-sounding English, not word-for-word translation
• Stick to the Spanish meaning as much as possible, but don't be too rigid
• Remember that translation isn't an exact science - synonyms are acceptable
• Don't leave anything out; translate all pieces of information

After translating:

• Return to difficult sections and reread carefully
• Check that your English flows well and reads naturally
• Ensure you've included all information from the Spanish text

Key vocabulary: NGOs and youth activism

Spanish	English
la colaboración altruista	altruistic collaboration
la edad media mínima	the minimum average age
colaborar con	to work with / collaborate with
sentirse útiles	to feel useful
ayudar a los demás	to help others
cambiar el mundo	to change the world
madurar	to mature / grow up
en el plano personal	on a personal level
en el plano profesional	on a professional level
según	according to
ampliamente conocido	widely known
promover	to promote
los beneficios	the benefits
la ayuda voluntaria	voluntary help
defender	to defend
los derechos	the rights
las personas más necesitadas	the most needy people
se sugiere que	it is suggested that
a largo plazo	in the long term
la actitud solidaria	supportive attitude
construir	to build / construct
una sociedad mejor	a better society

Example sentences:

• Los jóvenes comienzan a colaborar con ONGs para sentirse útiles y ayudar a los demás. (Young people start working with NGOs to feel useful and help others.)
• Según el Observatorio Juvenil, la participación en voluntariado ayuda a los jóvenes a madurar en el plano personal. (According to the Youth Observatory, participation in volunteering helps young people mature on a personal level.)
• Las ONGs promueven los beneficios de la ayuda voluntaria para defender los derechos de las personas más necesitadas. (NGOs promote the benefits of voluntary help to defend the rights of the most needy people.)
• Se sugiere que a largo plazo, la actitud solidaria de los jóvenes construirá una sociedad mejor. (It is suggested that in the long term, the supportive attitude of young people will build a better society.)

Issues facing young people in Latin America

When discussing ideal societies, it's important to consider the specific challenges young people face in different Spanish-speaking countries. Latin American youth often focus on three main areas of concern:

The economy

Young people worry about employment, education and training, salaries, labour rights, and opportunities for advancement. High unemployment rates and precarious work conditions are common concerns across Latin America.

Society

Social issues include security, social support systems, inequality, health, diet, and drug problems. Many young people feel their governments aren't doing enough to address these fundamental needs.

The environment

Environmental concerns include infrastructure, deforestation, and environmental pollution. Climate change and the protection of natural resources are increasingly important to young activists throughout Latin America.

Key vocabulary: Latin American youth concerns

Spanish	English
el trabajo	work / employment
la formación	education / training
los sueldos	salaries / wages
los derechos laborales	labour rights
las oportunidades	opportunities
la seguridad	security / safety
el apoyo social	social support
la desigualdad	inequality
la salud	health
la dieta	diet
las drogas	drugs
la infraestructura	infrastructure
la deforestación	deforestation
la contaminación ambiental	environmental pollution

Example sentences:

• Los jóvenes latinoamericanos luchan por mejores oportunidades y derechos laborales. (Young Latin Americans fight for better opportunities and labour rights.)
• La desigualdad y la falta de apoyo social son problemas graves en muchos países. (Inequality and the lack of social support are serious problems in many countries.)
• La deforestación y la contaminación ambiental amenazan el futuro del planeta. (Deforestation and environmental pollution threaten the future of the planet.)