About Languages (updated 25 Feb. 2018)

I've recently learned that I can significantly increase the size of my poetic following by translating my poems, most of which are originally written in English, into a few other languages. Currently I am translating into Portunhol Surenho (a Portuguese-Spanish border language), Spanish, French, and sometimes Esperanto or Hindi, depending on the subject. I have occasionally translated into Catalán and Italian, and if there were enough demand, I would do it. The important point is that, although many people can use English as a second language, they may not be able to enjoy poetry written in English, at least not without some help.

I have quite a history with languages. In theory, I can speak English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Esperanto. You will notice that the list doesn't include Portuguese, although I've read whole books in the language. If you say to me, in the accent of Rio, "No Brasil, as melhores músicas são as músicas antigas," I will not understand you. This has been proven. But if you say to me in Portunhol, "En Brasil, as meshores canzones son as canzones veshas," I will surely understand you. When I'm in Brazil, I speak Portunhol, and am understood, at least in the south. I don't claim to speak Portuguese, although I can read it.

So much for theory. In practice, I was born in California, thirty kilometers from the Mexican border. My native language is English. I learned Spanish early in life, and the Spanish I learned at that time was Mexican Spanish. I have a real love for Mexico, Mexican music, and Mexican food, but I have not been in the country for perhaps twenty-five years.

One thing about me is that I'm a chameleon. When my wife and I were living in Spain (Barcelona), I picked up the accent and the rhythms of Spanish as spoken in that country. When I immigrated to Uruguay, some (rather pretentious) people really liked the way I spoke Spanish. That was five years ago, and now I talk pretty much like everybody else here. We drink more ma-te per capita than any other country, and we speak gaucho.

If your language is one that I might have some familiarity with and you'd like me to provide translations of my poems into that language, let me know (exolinguist at gmail dot com). I'll think about it, and will try if there is sufficient demand. If you'd like to translate my poems into your own language, I'll be happy to try to help.