Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0004725, Fri, 28 Jan 2000 08:39:27 -0800

Subject
On problem of word-for-word translation. (fwd)
Date
Body
From: sersak@chat.ru


Another question to Sergei Il\'in.

Why did you transform Shade\'s daughter (my darling) into Death in
your translation \"Pale Fire\" on Russian?

Is it a vexatious lapsus only?

I\'m reasonably sure that we survive
And that my darling somewhere is alive,
As I am reasonably sure that I
980 Shall wake at six tomorrow, on July
The twenty-second, nineteen fifty-nine. . . . (68-69)

I\'a veruiu razumno smerti nam / I\'m reasonably sure we should not
Ne sleduet boiatsia, - gde-to tam / be afraid of death -- somewhere
there
Ona nas zhdet, kak veruiu, chto snova / (She) It waiting us, as I
am sure that again
980 I\'a vstanu zavtra v shest\', dvadtsat\' vtorogo / 980 I Shall wake
at six, on July
Iiulia, v piat\'desiat deviatii god, / The twenty-second, nineteen
fifty nine. . . .
I veriu den\' ne tiagostno proi\'det.

Apropos.
For Russian reading nabokovians.
Welcome to http://sersak.euro.ru/