EDNote: Apologies to all for this post's delay; it had deployed
protective mimicry in my in-box. ~SB
-------- Original Message --------
Dear Matt,
it seems to me that this joke (if it is a joke) as many
such jokes in Nabokov's work is half-serious, and you
both can be right. I mean, that some sarkasm (in this
case directed to "real" academics and their work) may
be intended. While your objections concerning the
feasibility (and reason) of such translation may
seem well justified, it doesn't mean that some attempts
didn't exist in reality. First, there were many studies
of influence of Scandinavian languages on English
(in the context of PF Zemblan may be one) and
of many waves of conquest in historical times (Brits,
Danes). Second, there was this "linguistic" and
"scholarly" style in writing fiction, most famous
author coming to my mind is Tolkien, do not his
minor writings contain something on names? As
I know, he contributed to Oxford dictionnary.
What did Nabokov know and (possibly) say about him in
time of PF and later?
Best,
Sergei
>
> > Stan: I think we're not on the same page here. There is no
"Book of Names"
> > in Pale Fire. After Kinbote confirms the meaning of kinbote
(king's
> > destroyer) Shade says that CK is the author of "a remarkable
book on
> > surnames," of which there is an English translation. The
clear (at least
> > to
> > me) implication here is that CK's book is a scholarly (Oxford
UP!) work
> > that
> > examines the etymologies and origins of family names. VN
probably had
> > something like Baring-Gould's "Family Names and Their Story"
in mind,
> > since
> > that is where he himself gleaned the names and/or backstories
for names
> > like
> > Lavender, Bretwit(z), Fyler, Campbell/Beauchamp, Lukin, and
> > Shalksbore/Shakespeare. I have that book in front of me, so I
can furnish
> > another example or two:
> >
> > Crick (A.S. cric), a creek; not usual as a suffix but found
as Creech,
> > Evercreech, Cricklade.
> >
> > Now, since the whole connection between Crick and creek is
based on the
> > sound of the word, how would one translate that into another
language and
> > still have it make sense? I suppose you could leave "creek"
there, then
> > give
> > the translation? Tedious! Or how about this one:
> >
> > Dale (O.N. dalr), Swaledale, Nithsdale, Borowdale. But Dalton
does not
> > signify the tun in the dale, but the tun divided in two by a
brook. In one
> > of the Robin Hood ballads we have: "By the faith of my body,"
then said
> > the
> > young man, / "My name is Allen a Dale." Dale is often "dall";
Tindall
> > stands
> > for Tyne-dale. Udall is the yew-dale. Sometimes Dale is
corrupted into
> > "dow"
> > or "daw," as Lindow or Lindaw.
> >
> > All kinds of problems arise here. What do you do with tun?
What about the
> > dale, small d? And if yew is "tas" in your language, will it
make sense
> > that
> > it comes from Udall?
> >
> > The whole project seems sufficiently unlikely to me. So much
so that it
> > makes for a good joke that we may miss if we too blithely
throw up our
> > hands
> > and say anything is possible.
> >
> > Best,
> > Matt