Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0017087, Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:13:04 -0300

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Re: THOUGHTS re: stranger-danger; midges-midgets
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Re: [NABOKV-L] THOUGHTS re: stranger-danger; midges-midgetsStan K-B: Midgets and midges are essentially "close" synonyms for small entities[...] Common usage emerged to favor 'midge' for insects (in particular the Chironomid) and 'midget' for dwarf humans and other species. Nevertheless, BECAUSE LANGUAGES WORK THAT WAY*, 'midget' has evolved idiomatic usages as noun and adjective for anything tiny or insignificant.[...] Imagine my shock on reading the word GENITAL only to discover the word was in fact GENIAL... we are back to those verbal coincidences and how much significance they hold.[...]
* There's a strong metaphorical force at work which is essentially playful and inventive even at the everyday common-language-user level. Of course, we admire VN so much because he magnifies that force in dazzling ways and unexpected directions.

JM: When we consider everyday language as "playful and inventive", or depersonalize "verbal coincidences", we are neglecting the possibility that what is then happening lies only in the eyes of the beholder - not in any word per se.
I'm sure SKB is jesting when suggesting a "strong metaphorical force at work" ( a trap for the orthodox Freudian?).
After all, quite recently he advised us to: "Recall Saussure's key notion that the mapping from signifier to signified is quite arbitrary...It's fine to indulge in puns and word games as long as you don't start attaching mystical significance to accidental resonances and anagrams..."

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