Skip to main content
Outdated Browser

For the best experience using our website, we recommend upgrading your browser to a newer version or switching to a supported browser.

More Information

Poetry

Linguistics in the Time of Uruguayan Invasion

By Andrea Durlacher
Translated from Spanish by Anna Guercio Rosenwong

I
Linguistics in the time of Uruguayan invasion.
When nobody cared about linguistics,
before France, before Saussure,
when nobody could have imagined a human being might ever think about
            linguistics.

II
They planted flags.
Loyally they defended their country to the limit
and far beyond it
was linguistics.

III
Linguistics isn’t a resource that’ll ever carry a nation to
            glory.
In fact, the glory of linguistics
matters to very few people.
If linguistics lacks glory,
who, then, who could it harm?
“All of mankind,” replies the linguist, a bit indignantly.

IV
Dedicating an entire life to linguistics.
Loving it like a homeland.
Going back to school.
Graduating from la Universidad de la República.
From the Magallanes and Uruguay campus.
Teaching.
Dreaming of fieldwork.
Getting a group of linguistics majors to join the
            project.
Working with them.
Bringing the finalized project to an institution.
And hoping the institution will decide it’s worth funding.

V
Months later the linguists will live in fear of hunger and penury.
They’ll have to look for work.
They’ll have to go back to teaching.
And future linguistics majors will take meticulous notes.

VI
When linguistics majors think about linguistics
(which they do pretty often)
they realize that they don’t know enough about linguistics.
And so:
they go to the Spanish Embassy
they want to apply to graduate programs.

They read up on grants
a lady with a reddish, plastered-down bun explains that if
            they teach at the Universidad de la República their
            chances of getting a grant / will improve.
They work on their curriculum vitaes.

Linguistics is a resource created for linguistics majors
it’s a resource parceled out in an almost circular fashion:
You get a linguistics degree
and you teach me linguistics.
Then we work together.
I’m much lower on the totem pole than you.
But we work together.
As time passes
I take on new students.
But you do, too.
And then, oh no!
We’re competing!!

VII
You print copies of your CV and disseminate it as widely
            as possible.
But I got there first
I already sent mine out.

But your CV is stronger than mine.
You took honors on your international English exams at the
            University of
Cambridge.
You speak fabulous French
And hold your own in Italian
you run computer programs I don’t even know about.
And you’ve been teaching at the university a lot longer than I have.
In 1997 you made waves with your essay about the
            diversity of dialects in Spain, which opened doors for you
            to speak at conferences in Salamanca.

VIII
You get that job that every linguistics graduate
            dreams of.
Then you apply for a grant that you get without much
            trouble.
And you’re off to Spain.
As for me,
I stay here,
I watch passing generations of linguistics majors.
I teach.
I grade midterms.

IX
And You return.
We meet again.
I look at you and you at me.
You ask to buy me a drink.
And between drinks you kiss me.
Oh wow.
I kiss you back.
Oh wow mwah mwah mchhhm mmmmmmmm
Suddenly your hand between my thighs
It’s late and the waiter begins to slump slowly against the bar
You sing a song into my ear (you’re a little drunk
            we both agree)”
“the moon wants to go to bed, let us do the same”

X
You take me home, I tell you that I thought we were going to my place and you say
            it doesn’t matter mwah mwah,
your hand gets ideas that go beyond polysemia.
We go to your room, oh my, first your house, you already know
            but not me, you / show me your kitchen and I say it’s
            so little, the three bears might fit / gummy bears but still
            you, you laugh, and you look out the window and I don’t understand
because the taxi’s still out there like it’s waiting for us to come to the door.

We won’t go out that door until tomorrow morning
and in his heart of hearts the taxi driver knows it
and understands us.

“Lingüística en los períodos de la invasión oriental” © Andrea Durlacher. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2014 by Anna Guercio Rosenwong. All rights reserved.

English Spanish (Original)

I
Linguistics in the time of Uruguayan invasion.
When nobody cared about linguistics,
before France, before Saussure,
when nobody could have imagined a human being might ever think about
            linguistics.

II
They planted flags.
Loyally they defended their country to the limit
and far beyond it
was linguistics.

III
Linguistics isn’t a resource that’ll ever carry a nation to
            glory.
In fact, the glory of linguistics
matters to very few people.
If linguistics lacks glory,
who, then, who could it harm?
“All of mankind,” replies the linguist, a bit indignantly.

IV
Dedicating an entire life to linguistics.
Loving it like a homeland.
Going back to school.
Graduating from la Universidad de la República.
From the Magallanes and Uruguay campus.
Teaching.
Dreaming of fieldwork.
Getting a group of linguistics majors to join the
            project.
Working with them.
Bringing the finalized project to an institution.
And hoping the institution will decide it’s worth funding.

V
Months later the linguists will live in fear of hunger and penury.
They’ll have to look for work.
They’ll have to go back to teaching.
And future linguistics majors will take meticulous notes.

VI
When linguistics majors think about linguistics
(which they do pretty often)
they realize that they don’t know enough about linguistics.
And so:
they go to the Spanish Embassy
they want to apply to graduate programs.

They read up on grants
a lady with a reddish, plastered-down bun explains that if
            they teach at the Universidad de la República their
            chances of getting a grant / will improve.
They work on their curriculum vitaes.

Linguistics is a resource created for linguistics majors
it’s a resource parceled out in an almost circular fashion:
You get a linguistics degree
and you teach me linguistics.
Then we work together.
I’m much lower on the totem pole than you.
But we work together.
As time passes
I take on new students.
But you do, too.
And then, oh no!
We’re competing!!

VII
You print copies of your CV and disseminate it as widely
            as possible.
But I got there first
I already sent mine out.

But your CV is stronger than mine.
You took honors on your international English exams at the
            University of
Cambridge.
You speak fabulous French
And hold your own in Italian
you run computer programs I don’t even know about.
And you’ve been teaching at the university a lot longer than I have.
In 1997 you made waves with your essay about the
            diversity of dialects in Spain, which opened doors for you
            to speak at conferences in Salamanca.

VIII
You get that job that every linguistics graduate
            dreams of.
Then you apply for a grant that you get without much
            trouble.
And you’re off to Spain.
As for me,
I stay here,
I watch passing generations of linguistics majors.
I teach.
I grade midterms.

IX
And You return.
We meet again.
I look at you and you at me.
You ask to buy me a drink.
And between drinks you kiss me.
Oh wow.
I kiss you back.
Oh wow mwah mwah mchhhm mmmmmmmm
Suddenly your hand between my thighs
It’s late and the waiter begins to slump slowly against the bar
You sing a song into my ear (you’re a little drunk
            we both agree)”
“the moon wants to go to bed, let us do the same”

X
You take me home, I tell you that I thought we were going to my place and you say
            it doesn’t matter mwah mwah,
your hand gets ideas that go beyond polysemia.
We go to your room, oh my, first your house, you already know
            but not me, you / show me your kitchen and I say it’s
            so little, the three bears might fit / gummy bears but still
            you, you laugh, and you look out the window and I don’t understand
because the taxi’s still out there like it’s waiting for us to come to the door.

We won’t go out that door until tomorrow morning
and in his heart of hearts the taxi driver knows it
and understands us.

“Lingüística en los períodos de la invasión oriental” © Andrea Durlacher. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2014 by Anna Guercio Rosenwong. All rights reserved.

Lingüística en los períodos de la invasión oriental

I

Lingüística en los períodos de la invasión oriental
Cuando a nadie le importaba la lingüística
cuando sin Francia, sin Saussure
nadie habría siquiera imaginado que otro mortal pensaba en
                        lingüística.

II
Ellos ponían banderas.
Defendían con lealtad su país por todo lo alto
y kilómetros más allá
había lingüística.

III
La lingüística no es un bien que llevará a ninguna nación a la
                        gloria.
De hecho, la gloria de la lingüística
es un asunto que incumbe a muy pocas personas.
Si la lingüística no tiene gloria
¿Quién, de veras, quién se perjudicará?
“La humanidad toda” respondió el lingüista, acaso indignado.

IV
Dedicar todo una vida a la lingüística.
Amarla como a la patria.
Retomar sus estudios cuando uno ya es mayor.
Recibirse en la Universidad de la República.
En su sucursal de Magallanes y Uruguay.
Dar clase.
Soñar con proyectos de investigación.
Conseguir un grupo de licenciados en lingüística que avalen el
                        proyecto.
Trabajar con ellos.
Llevar el proyecto finalizado a una institución.
Y que la institución analice si le es redituable costearlo.

V
Meses después los lingüistas temerán pasar hambre y penurias.
Buscarán trabajo.
Darán clases nuevamente.
Y futuros licenciados en lingüística tomarán concisos apuntes.

VI
Cuando los licenciados en lingüística piensan en lingüística
(cuando lo hacen muy a menudo)
note que saben de lingüística demasiado poco.
Por lo tanto:
van a la Embajada de España
quieren aplicar para un posgrado.

Averiguan por las becas
una señorita de moño rojizo y engominado les explica que si
                        dieron clases en / la Universidad de la República sus
                        posibilidades de acceder a una beca / aumentan.
Ellos elaboran un currículum vitae.

La lingüística es un bien creado para los licenciados en lingüística
es un bien que se reparte de manera casi circular:
Vos te recibís de licenciado en lingüística
y me enseñás lingüística.
Luego juntos trabajamos.
Yo en un escalafón más bajo que el tuyo.
Pero juntos.
Y mientras
yo me encargo de otros aspirantes.
Y entonces ¡oh no!
Somos competencia!!!

VII
Vos imprimís tu currículum y lo esparcís por todos los lugares
            posibles.
Pero yo me adelanté
y lo envié.

Pero vos tenés un currículum superior al mío
Te destacaste en exámenes internacionales de inglés de la
                        Universidad de
Cambridge.
Vos hablás francés fabulosamente
Y te defendés bastante con el italiano
manejás programas de computación que yo ni siquiera conozco.
Y diste clases en la Universidad más años que yo.
En el año 1997 obtuviste una mención por tu ensayo acerca de la
            diversidad de /dialectos en España que te abrió puertas
            para dar conferencias en Salamanca.

VII
Vos obtenés aquel trabajo que todo licenciado en lingüística
            sueña.
Luego gestionás para una beca que ganás sin demasiada
            dificultad.
Y vas a España.
En tanto yo
aquí me quedo,
veo generaciones de licenciados en lingüística que se suman.
Doy clase.
Corrijo parciales.

IX
Y Volvés.
Nos re encontramos.
Me mirás y te miro.
Me invitás a una copa.
Y entre un copa y otra me das un beso.
Que rico.
Y te doy otro.
Que rico mua mua mchhhm mmmmmmmm
De pronto tu mano en mi entrepierna
Y el mozo con la hora comienza lentamente a recostarse en la
            baranda.
Vos me cantás una canción al oído (estás algo ebrio
            convengamos):
“la luna quiso recostarse, nosotros lo hicimos también”

X
Me llevás a tu casa, yo te digo que creí que íbamos a la mía y me
            respondés
poco importa mua mua,
tu mano adquiere nociones que superan a la policemia.
Entramos a tu cuarto, que va, primero a tu casa, vos ya sabés
            pero yo no, me / mostrás tu cocina y yo digo que
            pequeña, cabría la familia de los osos /gummys pero no
            vos, vos te reís, y yo miro por la ventana y no entiendo
porque el taxi permanece como si nos esperase en la puerta.

No saldremos de esa puerta sino hasta la mañana siguiente
en el fondo de su alma el taxista lo sabe
y nos comprende.

Read Next