My grad was Linguistics, Translation and Literary Criticism; it's a weird mix but traditional here in LatAm. I hopped in due to Linguistics*, specially Historical Linguistics but... well, reality kicks in, and translation became my breadwinner. I've been doing it for a decade or so, first through contacts that I've made in uni times, then as an independent freelancer.

*it's actually the main "root" of my fascination with languages - there's something bittersweet about understanding the languages of the past and present. For me it forces to deal with the contradiction between "we're all different" and "we're all the same", how much culture shapes us while we're all still unmistakeably human.

[–] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wow, you're impressive. I've never interacted with someone with as much depth of knowledge as you. That being said i don't typically interact with people who could or should have depth of knowledge in one area anyways.

So, it is the nature of a translator that they travel a lot. What are some of the most memorable places you've travelled to?

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sadly I never had much of an opportunity to travel to a lot of different places, at most neighbouring countries - Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay; I'm from the southern parts of Brazil. I did it alongside a native Spanish speaker, my then girlfriend.

What are some of the most memorable places you’ve travelled to?

Probably the Iguazu Falls. It's technically in my state (Paraná), but right at the border with Paraguay and Argentina. When I went there it rained a lot a few days before, so the falls were really strong. A shame that my ex- already saw them a few times, so she was a bit more interested on buying whisky for the travel and going to Asunción.

I also enjoyed Asunción (Paraguay) a fair bit. It's kind of weird to associate fish with a landlocked area, but they had some amazing freshwater fish dishes, and the old colonial architecture was really nice.

Rosario (Argentina) was memorable but for another reason - since it was her home city, we spent there two weeks, I kind of grew tired of the city.

Wow, you’re impressive. I’ve never interacted with someone with as much depth of knowledge as you.

Thank you! It's mostly knowledge directed towards one area though.

[–] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's a lot of places you've been to. It doesn't matter whether they're in the same continent, Latin America is already diverse enough. Plus, it sounds like you had a good time, which is what matters. I hope to visit most of Latin America some day as well.

Thank you! It's mostly knowledge directed towards one area though.

Deep knowledge is impressive knowledge man. Pat yourself on the back

Okay, final question. Is there anything more you hope to get out of life before you can say you've done it all?

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Okay, final question. Is there anything more you hope to get out of life before you can say you’ve done it all?

I want some sort of feat, achievement or even improvement left behind for people after my death. It doesn't need to be fancy or life-changing; just something nice that makes people say "hey, Lvxferre did it".

[–] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ok. I'm gonna make a guess. I feel like I'm wrong, but... Are you 39?

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wow, that's really close (I'm 38).

How did you guess it? (Sorry for the late reply!)

[–] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Haha yes! I ruled out 20s when you said you'd been in grad school. I knew it must have been late 30s or higher since you've been doing translation for a decade. I was able to rule out 40s due to some psychosocial theory from Erikson.That was the point of the last question i asked. Typically individuals within ages 40 - 60 are dead set on some area they want to make an impact in. It didn't seem like you quite had that figured out yet (although that was and still is just a guess, i could be completely wrong).