Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0025535, Fri, 11 Jul 2014 06:39:58 +0000

Subject
Re: A problem in a translation: "Crack of light" - "short circuit
of light"
Date
Body
My guess is simply that the translator must have had in mind the intensity of the flash (and the noise) that you often get from a short circuit.

If the translator thought that VN's "crack" was intended to convey the idea both of light and of sound, the use of "short circuit" would perhaps convey both meanings.

Barrie Akin


On 10 Jul 2014, at 19:59, "Mary H. Efremov" <mbutterfly549@AOL.COM><mailto:mbutterfly549@AOL.COM>> wrote:

crack of dawn, crack of light suggests an onset, a beginning


-----Original Message-----
From: Jansy Mello <jansy.mello@OUTLOOK.COM><mailto:jansy.mello@OUTLOOK.COM>>
To: NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU><mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>>
Sent: Wed, Jul 9, 2014 10:40 pm
Subject: [NABOKV-L] A problem in a translation: "Crack of light" - "short circuit of light"


Today I came across a most curious translation of a line from S,M:
“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that… our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.”

“Nossa existência não é mais que um curto circuito de luz entre duas eternidades de escuridão.” Literally: “our existence in nothing more than a short circuit of light between two eternities of darkness.”
http://www.cultive-ler.com/2014/07/frase-com-vladimir-nabokov.html

Instead of “a brief crack of light” “a short-circuit of light” was chosen and it’s not totally incorrect…
Any thoughts?


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