¿Por qué escribo este blog en inglés?
La pregunta no me sorprende. Mi idioma nativo es el castellano, y vivo en un país y una ciudad donde no son mayoría los que pueden entenderme si escribo en otro idioma. Me juego en contra, se diría además, al escribir en inglés desde y sobre una ciudad que no es internacionalmente conocida, que no es un destino turístico, que no tiene fama excepto la muy difusa de ser la cuna del Che Guevara.
Fueron precisamente esas cosas las que me decidieron a escribir en inglés. La comparación con Buenos Aires es inevitable. La capital de nuestro país tiene muchos bloggers, y más que unos cuantos son extranjeros angloparlantes. Se hace y le hacen también mucha publicidad a Buenos Aires para un público internacional. Rosario tiene comparativamente pocos bloggers, y ninguno, que yo sepa, en inglés, salvo yo. Creo que lo que pasa en el interior de Argentina es tan importante como lo que pasa en la capital, que ya tiene demasiados privilegios como para concederle, además, que sea la única visión de Argentina que llegue al exterior. Creo también firmemente que el futuro de Rosario como ciudad turística está en juego en estos años, y que hay que ayudarla; que también vale la pena difundir lo que pasa en esta provincia, tan rica en recursos y en emprendedores y a la vez tan pobre en instituciones y en representación ante el mundo.
En cuanto a lo personal, supongo que si puedo escribir de mis convicciones y opiniones, no está mal escribir sobre mis hobbies y distracciones. Si puedo hacerlo sin traicionar mis raíces como argentino hispanoparlante, llegar a un público amplio y de paso practicar mi segunda lengua, ¿por qué no?.
Why do I write this blog in English?
The question does not surprise me. My native language is Spanish, and I live in a country and a city where the ones who can understand me if I write in another language are not a majority. I'm going against my interests, you could say, by writing in English from and about a city that is not internationally known, that is not a tourist destination, that has no fame except the vague claim of being the craddle of Che Guevara.
It was precisely those things that prompted me to write in English. The comparison with Buenos Aires is inescapable. Our country's capital has a lot of bloggers, and more than a few are English-speaking expatriates. Buenos Aires also gets lot of advertising targeted to an international public. Rosario has relatively few bloggers, and none in English, that I know, except myself. I think that what happens in the interior of Argentina is as important as what happens in the capital, which already has too many privileges and shouldn't be additionally granted the one of being the only view of Argentina that reaches the world abroad. I also firmly believe that the future of Rosario as a touristic city is at stake these years, and that it has to be helped; and that it's worth making things known that happen in this province, so rich in resources and enterprising people and at the same time so poor in institutions and in representation before the world.
As for the personal stuff, I suppose if I can write about my convictions and opinions, it can't be wrong to write about my hobbies and pastimes. If I can do that without betraying my roots as a Spanish-speaking Argentinian, reaching a wider audience and in passing practise my second tongue, why not?
07 March 2007
¿Por qué in English?
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I for one am super-feliz eres escribiendo en espanol - it really helps to gather all the nuances that go into your great writing - and I visited Rosario, as a tourist, in 2004, and am anxiously awaiting my return someday soon! Roberto desde Miami
ReplyDeletePablo – I enjoy reading your blog for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is written in really excellent English. It’s also refreshing to read something other than the goings-on in the Capital. The almost exclusive focus of all things argentine around BsAs does the rest of the country an injustice. It would be as if New York was regarded as the only area of the US worthy of consideration –when we all know it should be San Francisco :-). What’s that quote again – “Argentina is the country where Porteños go on vacation”.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your style of writing, - informative, yet questioning. Many of the issues you tackle would be difficult for a non-argentine to address, and would undoubtedly be met with hostility. I also like the links you provide that allow a greater understanding of the issues and provide a broader context.
After reading most of you blog entries, I’m still curious as to where you learned English. You write like a native, and there have only been a few instances where I could tell that it wasn’t your first language.
Cheers,
John
Your answer makes perfect sense. I just recently became aware of your blog and started reading it. I enjoy your posts for the same reasons that John stated in his comment. He just beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteI have also been to Rosario twice and on business. I only got to see a little bit of it but I liked what I saw. You have a great city and the city does benefit from you writing about it.
Keep up the great work.
Saludos,
Frank E. Almeida
¡Che, Pablito! ¡Nunca te dije pero que buen ingles tenes!
ReplyDelete¡Gracias a todos! I learned English from the age of 13 to about 17 with a private teacher (she was just a student a couple of years above my level). Then I attended classes for two years at the Asociación Rosarina de Cultura Inglesa (that's how I got my British spellings, in case you were wondering). The Web plus cable TV with subtitles did the rest. :)
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