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[Fwd: Re: VN's LOLITA translation: Discussion questions]
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> Well in that case.......
>
> Did VN obey his precepts with regard to literal translation in his own
> Russian translation of Lolita?
No.
> How does Nabokov's Russian style at its richest compare with his English
> style at its best?
I don't think it's valid to draw such comparisons. However, if forced
to state my own vague opinion, I would say that in his best English
style
I feel much more strongly the (successful) search for the right word. In
Russian the search is also there, but more internalised. Nabokov's own
dictum that his works are meditated upon and thought out down to every
word rings truer about his English works to me. It doesn't make the
English style stilted, or artificial, in any way. This feeling, however,
probably stems at least partly from the curcumstance of my native
language
being Russian and from my extratextual knowledge of Nabokov's life.
----------------------------------------------
DBJ: It is my impression that VN's English writing (especially the later
stuff) is superior to his Russian IN TERMS of LANGUAGE -- perhaps with
reservations for BEHEADING & GIFT. His Russian is not as "mannered" as
the English but then the Russian vocabulary ofen doesn't permit the
degree of exactitude of English with the latter's much larger
vocabulary.
-----------------------------
> How hard is it to imagine English translations of Nabokov's Russian
> novels which read less like translations and more like original works of
> literature?
Very hard.
------------------------
DBJ: I don't think the Enlish versions of N's novels read like
translations. It's more that the language is exotic, i.e., Nabokovian.
------------------------------
Anatoly Vorobey,
mellon@pobox.com http://pobox.com/~mellon/
"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly" - G.K.Chesterton
> Well in that case.......
>
> Did VN obey his precepts with regard to literal translation in his own
> Russian translation of Lolita?
No.
> How does Nabokov's Russian style at its richest compare with his English
> style at its best?
I don't think it's valid to draw such comparisons. However, if forced
to state my own vague opinion, I would say that in his best English
style
I feel much more strongly the (successful) search for the right word. In
Russian the search is also there, but more internalised. Nabokov's own
dictum that his works are meditated upon and thought out down to every
word rings truer about his English works to me. It doesn't make the
English style stilted, or artificial, in any way. This feeling, however,
probably stems at least partly from the curcumstance of my native
language
being Russian and from my extratextual knowledge of Nabokov's life.
----------------------------------------------
DBJ: It is my impression that VN's English writing (especially the later
stuff) is superior to his Russian IN TERMS of LANGUAGE -- perhaps with
reservations for BEHEADING & GIFT. His Russian is not as "mannered" as
the English but then the Russian vocabulary ofen doesn't permit the
degree of exactitude of English with the latter's much larger
vocabulary.
-----------------------------
> How hard is it to imagine English translations of Nabokov's Russian
> novels which read less like translations and more like original works of
> literature?
Very hard.
------------------------
DBJ: I don't think the Enlish versions of N's novels read like
translations. It's more that the language is exotic, i.e., Nabokovian.
------------------------------
Anatoly Vorobey,
mellon@pobox.com http://pobox.com/~mellon/
"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly" - G.K.Chesterton