Pensamientos - Thoughts (18): A los pocos días de estrenarme como periodista en «El Correo Gallego», me..
The sentences I am going to post are by my one and only José Luis Alvite
, as sarcastic and ironic as usual
Instead of posting this a killer thread, I thought I might post one sentence every other day or so.
I would like you to post the translation and your opinion about the sentence. I will correct the translation, and if you post an opinion in Spanish correct major grammar mistakes. You can post in English, but let's get a lot of opinions on these controversial sentences.
And remember:
Alvite is sarcastic, always pessimistic, nothing is what it looks like
Here goes number 17.
A los pocos días de estrenarme como periodista , me di cuenta de que me había enrolado en un dudoso negocio en el que sólo podría tener la completa seguridad de que el dinero no me deformaría en absoluto los bolsillos. Había sido periodista mi abuelo y lo eran mi padre y mi tío, de modo que me pareció la cosa más natural del mundo dedicarme a un oficio en el que me podría permitir el ejercicio de un trabajo digno sin verme obligado a llevar al mismo tiempo una vida decente.
8 Answers
Here's my attempt, it's idiomatic rather than literal.
Within a few days of making my debut as a journalist, I realised that I had become involved in a questionable business and that the only thing I could be sure of was that the money was unlikely to push my pockets out of shape. My grandfather, my father and my uncle had all been journalists, so it seemed the most natural thing in the world to dedicate myself to a profession in which I could carry out a decent job of work without finding myself at the same time obliged to carry out a decent life.
Ah, the opinion on the text: He's being ironic about the profession and saying at the same time, with a play on words that being committed to a "decent job of work" in no way means that he has to commit himself to a "decent life". So he implies he's a bit louche and unashamed of that. There's also the implication that while some professions may expect a certain moral tone, journalism isn't one of them so it's a little put down of journalism itself as well. Oh, and the money isn't much.
A los pocos días de estrenarme como periodista , me di cuenta de que me había enrolado en un dudoso negocio en el que sólo podría tener la completa seguridad de que el dinero no me deformaría en absoluto los bolsillos. Había sido periodista mi abuelo y lo eran mi padre y mi tío, de modo que me pareció la cosa más natural del mundo dedicarme a un oficio en el que me podría permitir el ejercicio de un trabajo digno sin verme obligado a llevar al mismo tiempo una vida decente.
Within a few days of my debut as a journalist, I noticed that I had signed up for a uncertain business in which I could only have the complete certainty that money would absolutely not deform my pockets. My grandfather had been a journalist and so had my father and my uncle, so it seemed to me the most natural thing in the world to dedicate myself to a job that could allow me to do dignified work without seeing myself as obligated to live a decent life at the same time.
Me gusta la última frase. ¿Él se dedica mucho a sus vicios, no? Y está comentando que su abuelo, padre y tío tampoco vivieron una vida decente.
A few days after starting work as a journalist, I realized that I had joined a dodgy business in which the only thing that I could be sure of was that I would never make a fortune. My Grandfather had been a journalist, as were my Father and my Uncle, so it seemed the most natural thing in the world to me to make my living at a trade which would allow me to do a job worth doing without finding myself obliged at the same time to lead a respectable life.
¿Dice aquí que todos los periodistas son unos pícaros? Creo que podría tener razón
Is he saying here that all journalists are rogues? I think he could be right
A los pocos días de estrenarme como periodista , me di cuenta de que me había enrolado en un dudoso negocio en el que sólo podría tener la completa seguridad de que el dinero no me deformaría en absoluto los bolsillos. Había sido periodista mi abuelo y lo eran mi padre y mi tío, de modo que me pareció la cosa más natural del mundo dedicarme a un oficio en el que me podría permitir el ejercicio de un trabajo digno sin verme obligado a llevar al mismo tiempo una vida decente.
Within a few days of my debut as a journalist, I realized that I had joined a doubtful business where I could be completely sure that money would not be in any way bulging out of my pockets. My grandfather having been a journalist and as was my father and my uncle, it was the most natural thing in the world for me to go into a business that would allow me to have a dignified job without seeing me obligated to live a decent life at the same time.
Ser -- periodista es un trabajo perfecto para Alvite porque puede llevar una vida sin mucha limitación y el trabajo no asfixia su liberdad. Alvite es libre para hablar de cualquiera cosa, no importa cuán polémica es el tema, y al mismo tiempo mantiene su puesto "digno." ¿Qué otro trabajo va a permitir eso?
From the early days when I first started as a journalist, I realized that I had enlisted in a dubious business in which I could only have the complete security of knowing that the money could not absolutely warp my pockets. My grandfather had been a columnist as were my father and my uncle, so to me it appeared to be the most natural thing in the world to dedicate myself to an occupation which would permit me the exercise of a dignified job without being obligated to carry on a decent life at the same time.
Mis pensamientos:
Es posible que esté diciendo que estaba ya deformada y más dinero no podría deformarlo. (cannot be understood, what was deformado?) Hubo visto a su abuelo, padre y tío comportarse de una manera depravada y se dio cuenta de que el periodismo sería un trabajo ideal para él, así. El periodismo era un trabajo que sería lo permite entregar una persona públicamente y otra privadamente. -----sorry, hide, last part cannot be understood.
It is possible that he is saying that he was already warped when he became a journalist and that having more money couldn’t have warped him any further. He had seen his grandfather, father and uncle carry on in a depraved manner and he realized that journalism would be an ideal job for him as well. Journalism was a job that would permit him to present one persona publicly and another privately.
A los pocos días de estrenarme como periodista , me di cuenta de que me había enrolado en un dudoso negocio en el que sólo podría tener la completa seguridad de que el dinero no me deformaría en absoluto los bolsillos. Había sido periodista mi abuelo y lo eran mi padre y mi tío, de modo que me pareció la cosa más natural del mundo dedicarme a un oficio en el que me podría permitir el ejercicio de un trabajo digno sin verme obligado a llevar al mismo tiempo una vida decente.
A few days into being a journalist I realised that I had landed in a dubious business in which I would have the complete satsifaction of having guilt-free money in my pockets. My grandfather, my father and my uncle were journalists as well and because of this I understood that it was the most natural thing on earth to pursue worthwhile employment while the same time having no obligation to spend my time wisely.
My interpretation: Alvite has followed the family tradition and become a journalist. He is able to earn a decent living (being judgmental of others through journalism) while at the same time living a less-than-perfect life himself.
Within a few days after starting to work (or launching me as) a journalist, I realised that I had enrolled myself in a dubious business in which I could only have a complete certainty that money absolutely woldn't deform my pockets. Having been a journalist my grandfather, and so were my father and my uncle, it seemed to me the most natural thing in the world to dedicate myself to a position in which I would be able to practise an honorable job without being forced to live a decent life at the same time.
Es probable que en España el trabajo de periodista esté infravalorado y mal pagado también. Así que si alguien decide ser periodista a pesar de esto, debería esperar vivir de su entusiasmo la mayor parte del tiempo.
(Cuando era -- niña quería ser periodista, pero mis padres sacaron esta idea de mi cabeza)
It is likely that in Spain a journalist job is underrated and underpaid too. So if someone decides to be a journalist after all, one should expect to live out of enthusiasm most of the time.
(When I was a girl, I wanted to be a journalist, but my parents took that idea out of my head)
Here's my attempt (better late than never, right). Not cheating by looking at y'all's first.
Within a few days of my debut as a journalist, i realized that I had enlisted in a doubtful business, with only one absoute certainty: that my pockets would definitely not be mishapen by an excess of money. My grandfather had been a journalist, and my father and uncle were also, so that it seemed to me the most natural thing in the world to choose a career in which I might permit myself to practice a worthy profession, without finding myself obligated, at the same time, to lead a respectable life.
Oh, I forgot I was supposed to comment.... El ultimo comentario coincide perfectamente con lo que ya sabemos de su personalidad. Que es un poco ecentrico, y que le encanta poder seguir siendo así. Ser periodista le permite hacer eso, y al mismo tiempo evitar la aparecia de respetabilidad cuando le conviene tenerlo.
