I’ve been reading some Spanish language newspapers about the Minnesota Twins.
Some refer to them as the “Mellizos de Minnesota” others “Gemelos de Minnesota”.
I was taught the word “Gemelos” for twins.
Does anyone know if there is a distinction between the two words in terms of meaning or is just a regional difference.
I assume that “Gemelos” comes from the same root as “Gemini”.
Actually both “mellizo” and “gemelo” are both derived from the Latin gemellus, the former being derived from the diminutive form gemellicius.
Many use “gemelos” to refer to identical twins and “mellizos” to refer to fraternal twins, although the distinction is becoming less common.
Gracias.
I suppose Minneapolis and St. Paul are identical so “mellizos” is better.
I also assume that La Opinion and the other Spanish language newspapers set up a standard vocabulary for all the team names.
Wait, if Minneapolis and St. Paul are identical, then gemelos is better, not mellizos.
I left out the word “not”.
From the 1992 Royal Academy dictionary (sorry, hardcopy only), as translated to English by JRD:
gemelo, la(s) - 1. birthed in the same labor 2. equal or equivalent components of a different order that work together towards the same end 3. (some anatomical description of musculature) 4. cufflinks 5, 7 and 9. binocular sightglasses 6. constellation Gemini
mellizo, za(s) - 1. birthed in the same labor 2. a thing equal to another
Also, as to team names; Spanish sports journalism has for the longest time had a similar problem with the name of the California/Anaheim Angels. Since calling them “los Ángeles de California/Anaheim” would create undue confusion with the team from Los Angeles, it has been common to refer to them as “los Angelinos”, literally the “Angelenos” – El Nuevo Herald, in Miami, uses that style-- or, in a fit of angelology – like by ESPNDeportes.com – “los Serafines de Anaheim”, literally the “Anaheim Seraphim” .
The Spanish language TV in Southern California prefers “Serafines”.
I’ll just point out that my wife’s familiy always referred to the “twin towers” (of the WTC) as the “tores gemelas” rather than the “mellizo” as per JRDelirious’ indicated definition. That’s the central Mexican non-costal version of Spanish.
Torres gemelas is the only name I’ve read and heard in Spanish when they are referring to the WTC Twin Towers.
From Puertorrican Spanish, to various newspapers in various countries, to the news on Spanish cable.
Interesting … can you or any other posters name all of the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL franchises in Spanish? I know that’s a tall order … maybe different posters can handle different leagues.
Some are easy, like “los Reyes de Sacramento” or "los Broncos de Denver 
".
Or does each major pro league have a Spanish-language website?
BTW, are there some team names that are specificallly NOT translated? I was thinking “Yankees” might be left alone … or it might come out “Yanquis”? “Dodgers”? “Mets” into “Metropolitanes”?
Hmm… just from raw memory and today’s San Juan sports press:
The L.A./Brooklyn baseball team is mostly called just plain ‘Dodgers’ these days but some old-timers still use “Esquivadores”. “Mets” usually stays Mets. Expos is untranslatable. Phillies is sometimes transliterated as “Filis”. Arizona stayed “Diamondbacks” because “Serpientes de Cascabel” was too much of a mouthful. The Rockies are, for now, just Rockies, though some try to promote “los Rocallosos”, but it remains to be seen if that will stick. The Marlins and Devil-Rays are just too lame in any language.
The Oakland baseball team is “Atléticos”, never abbreviated. The Reds are “Rojos”, but some old-stylers still use “Patirrojos” (redlegs). The Texas Rangers have been translated as “Rancheros”(ranchers) or “Vigilantes”(watchmen; doesn’t carry the same connotation in Spanish) or left as-is.
Ya gotta remember that the traditional pre-expansion MLB teams have been well known south-of-the-border since before WW2, and generally speaking MLB was THE American pro league known in these lands before the mid-late 70s.
NBA/NFL/NHL team names tend to stay in English unless they’re easy/obvious, the ideal being that you not need more words/syllables than the original to convey the idea; and not even then if it would make for an awkward translation (the “Mighty Ducks” which in PRican street slang literally translates as “Powerful Queers”). This is not so unusual: when the Spanish-language press writes about soccer/football, it does NOT translate “Manchester United”.
Oh, yes, and also…
… it’s true, in most of the Americas, “mellizos” has been relegated in ordinary usage to describing siblings, with “gemelos” referring to almost anything else that has a “twin”.
Thanks JRD!
Not to mention the word “cuates” which can mean twins that aren’t totally identical or friends… the sport’s commentators on Mexico’s main station (televisa) prefer “mellizos”. Then again i was shocked when las torres gemelas were destroyed.
Checking out La Prensa here I get the following for MLB (sometimes different names have been used in different stories)
Yanquis
Medias Rojas (Red Sox)
Orioles
Azulejos (Bluebirds = Blue Jays)
Devil Rays
Indios
Tigres
Reales (Royals)
Medias Blancas (White Sox)
Rangers or Vigilantes
Gemelos or Mellizos
Atleticos
Marineros
Serafines (Seraphim = Angels)
Mets
Piratas
Filis (Phillies)
Expos
Cerverceros (Brewers)
Cardenales
Cachorros (Cubs)
Astros
Rockies
Marlins
Gigantes
Dodgers
Bravos
Padres
Rojos (Reds)
Diamondbacks or Diamantes (Diamonds) or Cascabels (Rattlesnakes)
My favorite is the Cachorros de Chicago, which can mean not only Chicago Cubs but also the Chicago Puppies.
Why no Rayos de Diablo?
Because, I believe, “Devil Rays” is a reference to a species of fish from the Gulf, rather than energy emanations from Satan 
. The closest commonly understandable Spanish term (at least where I live) could be “Mantarrayas”, which is manta rays. You could stick to “Rayas” but that also means “lines”, “pinstripes” or “scratches”. Notice that the Diamondbacks get translated as Diamonds or Rattles (cascabel = rattle or bell; only if you presume the reference to snakes does it mean “Rattler” – serpiente de cascabel). You would have a similar problem with whatever University’s team is called the “Razorbacks”; you’d probably end up with something that really means just plain “boars” or “hogs”.
And maybe a threat to change their name to Chicago Puppies would be what it takes to motivate Mr. Sosa’s teammates…
[sub]uh-oh… getting close to 1000th post… gotta be careful…[/sub]