It has now been almost two decades since I became a translator, and then an editor, and then more generally a linguist as I kept expanding the scope of what I do as a language professional. For a long time I had this idea for a blog that I would call “The Lexical Files,” loosely inspired by The X-Files, where I would compile interesting anecdotes and “cases” from my daily investigations, which often are at an intersection between medicine, science, and language. The texts would be scientifically sound, linguistically intriguing, and genuinely engaging to read even for an audience that had no reason to be concerned with medical translation—just as I enjoy reading experts from different fields, from archaeology to computer science.
That blog, sadly, never came to be: I got distracted, it would have been too much work, and I had no time for it. But this one that I’m writing now does exist. I just reduced the scope of the project and gave it a more modest name. I’m still as busy as ever, but I think the effort will produce something interesting.
My intention with this blog, then, is to annotate and document my linguistic work and some of my discoveries, whether deliberate or serendipitous. I would also like to share some practical knowledge I accrued over the years in the hope that this helps someone to do their work more efficiently. As much as the internet can be a place of noise and distraction, I still managed to use it to learn important lessons from experienced colleagues when I was a new linguist myself. So it might be time for me to give something back.
A few weeks ago I sat down with a notepad and wrote down ideas for a series of posts. Looking at that list, I suppose I will be writing about: translation, especially in the medical and scientific domain; editing and proofreading; terminology research and management; language technology; productivity tips and tricks for practicing professionals. I want this to be a practical blog, but I might also talk about language itself, not necessarily manifest as text. Finally, I might write about early music, another interest of mine, because I think it can be an amusing diversion*, and I would not want to create another blog to discuss just that.
Producing more language than what I already do for a living is no trivial feat for my body, but I hope someone is paying attention and finds these notes useful, or at least moderately entertaining.
* Fun language fact about fun: In some Romance languages, the words for “fun” (e.g., diversão, divertimento, diversión) descend very directly from “diversion.” From the Latin divértere: take a different, diverging path, stray away. So there’s an etymological cue on how to inject a bit of fun into your life, if needed.