Subject
Re: QUERY: J Mello re: Fiume, Riviera, "flumine"
From
Date
Body
This is clearly a part of the plot to tangle me in my own and BB's
words. I have said
elsewhere that our author treats language as a game with secret rules:
and on top of
that he cheats. I shall therefore reveal what I have to reveal. If you
have any desire
for clarity and truth, logoff (note my clever use of Russian!)
immediately. There
are at least two approaches to answering the question as stated above,
the first
being the political side. The country was named for the nuts, not the
other way
around, and it will pay us all to re-read what we learned about Borromeo
when
we did our nice close reading of Transparent Things, as this will let us
make use of
what we learned there of Gabriele d"Annunzio (especially as a military
activist) and
of word play (as suspicions of D'A's relations with his sister probably
don't apply
to the two works under discussion here). Ready?
Thus, the word "fiume" is the basic italian word for "river". This is
what makes the
consenting reader equate it in meaning with Spanish "rio": and he will
have quickly
followed this line of logic by associating "alto" = "tall" with Spanish
"grande" ,
etymologically equivalent of French "grand" meaning 'large', especally
"tall"
("O, qu'il est grand!" meaning essentially, "My, how tall he is." This
leads the
reader quickly to associaate, "rio grande" with "ri'alto", incorporating
the [fi]
of "fiume' in this fluminous and fulminous brew. These word
associations are
at the basis of a game called by linguists,"folk etymology" that knows
radishes
are so named from being "reddish" , and that asparagus has something to do
to do with sparrows. But "rialto" (which word supplies Venetian place name
nothing to do with rivers, being named "raised place" from the architectural
aspect of this shopping district, from the Italian verb, "rialzare", "to
lift" or "raise"
(actually the Latin term "perfect passive participle" appeals to me more)
So how did d'Annunzio get his admission ticket here?
It was he who (besides having concocted a gaudy residence on the northern
Italian (sort of) lake, where he evidently was visited by Goethe (who
also sus
pected of illicit sexual relations (and who formed a sort of mutual
admiration
society with Lort Byron) organized a military expedition that (temporarily)
united the Croatian town of Fiumi withits "rightful" mother country,
Italy. An
Anschluss that still appeals to Italian of the MSI persuasion. But then
they
still lust for Nice.
I assume that covers most of the questions that have been raised (!) here.
And it's all true, I tell you, all true. Although I have little hope
that that aspect
of my disquisition will prevail. If my words perish on line, please send a
copy to Don Johnson and one to DVN. And of course to any Dutch
Brazilians, an ethnic group with which I claim an affiliation based on a
German preacher who ended up in Flatbush.
John
herezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzj
Nabokv-L wrote:
>
> Subject:
> Fw: [NABOKV-L] EDITORIAL and DN re Blog on R. Rosenbaum; pun from J Rea
> From:
> "jansymello" <jansy@aetern.us>
> Date:
> Sun, 2 Mar 2008 02:49:49 -0300
>
> To:
> "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>
>
>
> SB wrote:In an attempt to limit mailbox clutter... I do not
> particularly encourage further submissions on this topic (R.R's).
> I would like to praise John Rea's puns, though... when from speck he
> carried us to the French lard [as the French might put it, "L'ard pour
> l'ard" ], thereby recommending the avoidance of "tit for tat" - if I
> understood the meaning of his French concoction.
>
> In the outline of the plot of TOOL purpotedly presented by Lara
> Delage-Toriel I found a reference to a blending of Flora and Laura
> into "Flaura".
> Boyd on "Spring in Fialta" informs of a similar sounding construction.
> Fialta, a fictive place, is compounded by Adriatic "Fiume" and Crimean
> "Yalta", ie, Fi+Alta.
> I wondered about the choice of Fiume (close to Abbazia, where the
> Nabokov's spent the summer in 1904, in the Dalmatian Riviera). Perhaps
> John Rea's linguistic talents can be called in again:
> Is there any link between the words Fiume, Riviera and the latin
> "flumine" ( river)? If his answer is affirmative perhaps Fiume, in
> Fialta, might doubly stress the relation bt. Yalta and the
> French Riviera.
>
> Search the Nabokv-L archive with Google
> <http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en%0A>
>
> Contact the Editors <mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by
> both co-editors.
>
> Visit Zembla <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm>
>
> View Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/%7Esblackwe/EDNote.htm>
>
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
words. I have said
elsewhere that our author treats language as a game with secret rules:
and on top of
that he cheats. I shall therefore reveal what I have to reveal. If you
have any desire
for clarity and truth, logoff (note my clever use of Russian!)
immediately. There
are at least two approaches to answering the question as stated above,
the first
being the political side. The country was named for the nuts, not the
other way
around, and it will pay us all to re-read what we learned about Borromeo
when
we did our nice close reading of Transparent Things, as this will let us
make use of
what we learned there of Gabriele d"Annunzio (especially as a military
activist) and
of word play (as suspicions of D'A's relations with his sister probably
don't apply
to the two works under discussion here). Ready?
Thus, the word "fiume" is the basic italian word for "river". This is
what makes the
consenting reader equate it in meaning with Spanish "rio": and he will
have quickly
followed this line of logic by associating "alto" = "tall" with Spanish
"grande" ,
etymologically equivalent of French "grand" meaning 'large', especally
"tall"
("O, qu'il est grand!" meaning essentially, "My, how tall he is." This
leads the
reader quickly to associaate, "rio grande" with "ri'alto", incorporating
the [fi]
of "fiume' in this fluminous and fulminous brew. These word
associations are
at the basis of a game called by linguists,"folk etymology" that knows
radishes
are so named from being "reddish" , and that asparagus has something to do
to do with sparrows. But "rialto" (which word supplies Venetian place name
nothing to do with rivers, being named "raised place" from the architectural
aspect of this shopping district, from the Italian verb, "rialzare", "to
lift" or "raise"
(actually the Latin term "perfect passive participle" appeals to me more)
So how did d'Annunzio get his admission ticket here?
It was he who (besides having concocted a gaudy residence on the northern
Italian (sort of) lake, where he evidently was visited by Goethe (who
also sus
pected of illicit sexual relations (and who formed a sort of mutual
admiration
society with Lort Byron) organized a military expedition that (temporarily)
united the Croatian town of Fiumi withits "rightful" mother country,
Italy. An
Anschluss that still appeals to Italian of the MSI persuasion. But then
they
still lust for Nice.
I assume that covers most of the questions that have been raised (!) here.
And it's all true, I tell you, all true. Although I have little hope
that that aspect
of my disquisition will prevail. If my words perish on line, please send a
copy to Don Johnson and one to DVN. And of course to any Dutch
Brazilians, an ethnic group with which I claim an affiliation based on a
German preacher who ended up in Flatbush.
John
herezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzj
Nabokv-L wrote:
>
> Subject:
> Fw: [NABOKV-L] EDITORIAL and DN re Blog on R. Rosenbaum; pun from J Rea
> From:
> "jansymello" <jansy@aetern.us>
> Date:
> Sun, 2 Mar 2008 02:49:49 -0300
>
> To:
> "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>
>
>
> SB wrote:In an attempt to limit mailbox clutter... I do not
> particularly encourage further submissions on this topic (R.R's).
> I would like to praise John Rea's puns, though... when from speck he
> carried us to the French lard [as the French might put it, "L'ard pour
> l'ard" ], thereby recommending the avoidance of "tit for tat" - if I
> understood the meaning of his French concoction.
>
> In the outline of the plot of TOOL purpotedly presented by Lara
> Delage-Toriel I found a reference to a blending of Flora and Laura
> into "Flaura".
> Boyd on "Spring in Fialta" informs of a similar sounding construction.
> Fialta, a fictive place, is compounded by Adriatic "Fiume" and Crimean
> "Yalta", ie, Fi+Alta.
> I wondered about the choice of Fiume (close to Abbazia, where the
> Nabokov's spent the summer in 1904, in the Dalmatian Riviera). Perhaps
> John Rea's linguistic talents can be called in again:
> Is there any link between the words Fiume, Riviera and the latin
> "flumine" ( river)? If his answer is affirmative perhaps Fiume, in
> Fialta, might doubly stress the relation bt. Yalta and the
> French Riviera.
>
> Search the Nabokv-L archive with Google
> <http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en%0A>
>
> Contact the Editors <mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by
> both co-editors.
>
> Visit Zembla <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm>
>
> View Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/%7Esblackwe/EDNote.htm>
>
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm