1. What’s your story? How did you get into all these languages?

I  feel that I opened my passion a long time ago: my case is a common  case, a case where the inspiration that derives from language learning  has come with me all along these years. My strength is focused on the  aspects that are related to the grammar or syntax of the languages I  learn. It all began with English, at a humble English institute where I  learnt the basics of the language. This would be the proof of my love  for languages given that I am a translator of English and Spanish. I am  stirred when I study languages. I feel something deep inside, stirring,  like a wave in the ocean. With the other languages I found a pleasure  unique of its kind when I went to the library of my school and I learnt  languages on my own. I was the very nerdie guy who used to open every  book that was in the library of my school and which could allow me to  study a foreign language. I always was aloof and abstracted with my  books. It was my passion to bring together the knowledge of different  topics.

2. Which language(s) do you wish you could spend more time practising?

This  is one subject which sometimes makes me think that being a polyglot  complies with the Argentinian saying that goes “Quien mucho abarca poco  aprieta” (roughly translatable as ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’).  I have less practice in German and Hebrew given that I have just  started learning Hebrew on my own. English is almost a daily language  for me. I read English almost on a daily basis since I adopted the  language as a kid.

3. What are some languages you’d like to learn in the future?

Japanese  is one of the languages that would be in my horizon, just like Turkish  or Chinese. I hope that the countries do not evolve their languages  commercially too fast so that I can catch up with them.

4. So let’s be honest, what’s the sexiest language?

The  sexiest language, in my humble opinion, is the language that makes you  marvel at the pronounciation together with the style of composition. In  my opinion, I find Greek pronounciation very sexy. But in the end all of  the languages are sexy if one is able to live with pleasure its cadence  and rhythm. Well used, the language can give you an infinite source of  interest and charm. Although it is hardly everything there is, one can  affirm that learning a language is a question of liking and taste. A  language makes your mind crack like a nut every time you encounter  something new.

5. What’s the greatest pleasure you get from speaking so many languages?

Although  many people find pleasure in socializing and making friends (these are  some of the advantages of learning a foreign language) with the central  aim of building their language, I personally find pleasure in studying  the context of the languages per se, be it the grammar or the style of  each language. I can speak many languages and I guess it is the case of  so many youngsters but I personally strive to get a good comprehension  of the language which I speak. I personally feel that learning a  language gives you a distinct pleasure of feeling the adrenaline each  time you open a book. Once a person doesn’t know you, you can ask him or  her to guess in which language you will be speaking.

6. Some people say the world is really just going to have a few languages left in a 100 years, do you think this is really true?

The  world has existed for a long time with languages as a social cohesive  important factor. It is quite a preposterous idea that languages are  bound to disappear. There are languages which die and leave their  imprint on the world over which they have ruled but this doesn’t mean  all the languages will disappear. Life is too strong to be held between  limits. The tongues of people need to move and speak. Speaking comes to  represent the outpouring and output of thousands of people. In my  opinion, it is rather illogical for languages to fade out given that  they are always actualizing and updating with loanwords and similar  items. IT can be supposed that languages are to lengthen their  existence.

7. What is your message to young (and not so young) people out there who are interested in studying multiple languages?

It  is really difficult to advise or give one’s piece of advice to those  who are learning languages. I think in those elderly people who are  there trying to improve their memory issues and I cannot but feel proud  of my efforts and my attempts at learning so many languages, together  with my colleagues of HYPIA. My experience is one of great fruitful  encounters with different languages. Language learning may not be for  everyone but it is a weapon of equality and freedom. People who learn  languages are better positioned in life, with a different outlook of  life. People who learn different languages get to understand the brains  of thousands of people speaking a language. People learning different  languages hit it off and go on well with each other. People who learn  different languages cannot be warned of anything. Everything is a  discovery and an attempt at self-knowledge.

Nahuel is also a HYPIA Scholar. Below is an excerpt from his Scholar interview.

1. HYPIA Research revolves around three main, interrelated activities: a monthly study group (to discuss relevant articles/chapters and videos), an annual conference (to present your own ideas about them) and the publication of selected proceedings from that conference. Ideally, we would be interested in accepting applicants that are able and willing to participate in all 3. On a scale from 1 (most likely) to 10 (less likely), how likely are you commit to this endeavor?

3  (close to most likely).

2. What are your main areas of research interest? Please, rank the following from 1 (most interesting to you) to 5 (less interesting).

(3) Multilingualism

(5) Language ideologies

(1) Formal linguistics

(3) Sociolinguistics

(4) Minoritized languages and/or language revitalization

3. Which three linguistic concepts do you wish you could spend more time discussing as part of HYPIA Research?

Pro-drop language characteristic, complementation in syntactic analysis, quasi-passive.

4. What is unique about your language-related research?

I am a translator of English and Spanish. I have preferred literature over scientific research. Later on I combined the science of literature with translation activity.

5.  Please, let us know your related academic credentials, if any.
Legal language translator (USAL - Universidad del Salvador). Major in Contrastive Linguistics.