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Dmitri Nabokov on pronunciation of "Nabokov"
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Subject: pronunciation
Dear Friends,
Since the pronunciation question has come up again, let me provide a simplified off-the-Nabocuff reminder:
"Vladimir": as in "redeemer," which VN himself suggested. This is about as close as one can get to rhyming with the Russian in manageable American English, if one does not strive for the (short) rolled Russian "r".
"Nabokov": as in "that joke of yours." I use "of yours" here for context in order to take as much stress as possible away from the "ov" syllable, for which "uh" alone is not an adequate illustration in informal spoken English, when no emphasis or exaggerated clarity is called for. Perhaps an even more successful example is "Nabokv-L", which lacks even the phantom of a vowel to fiddle with between "k" and "v", even if it goes just a bit too far (one may miss that phantom a little in the mute gap).
VN was not pedantic about the stressed "o" in the second syllable, and himself used the "joke" variant when conversing with Anglophone blokes. The effort made by some assiduous Americans to approximate the authentic Russian "o" can verge on an affinity with "aw", of which one should steer clear. Prof. Stephen Parker has worked hard at this, and comes very near to the real deal, with only a very faint hint of "aw." Brian Boyd is also extremely close.
The French insist upon accenting the final syllable of the first and last names, and on ending the latter with a double "f" sound, "Nabokoff". Most émigré Russian names originally ending in the Russian "ов" were once spelled that way in French, and the French language itself offers no euphonious alternative. Nevertheless, most of my family long ago reverted to "Nabokov" in French. The Italians, whose vowels are more flexible, ought to do better, but generally do not. Either they stick with the French-style last-syllable stress for the surname, or they stress the first syllable as in "Nahbokov", which is as incorrrect as the Anglophone variant -- an accented "Nab" as in "nab that thief." Martin Amis tells me that people won't understand about whom he is talking unless he deliberately says it that way -- and, I confess, I too sometimes opt for "Nab" if I expect a glint of recognition in my interlocutor's eye. There are other variants: I even have a generally literate army buddy who, after nearly half a century, calls me "Nibbakov." The Italians press embellishes my first name with a superfluous "i" after the "D" almost as often as the American one -- but never, ever, is the name of the hockey forward Dmitri Nabokov misspelled.
Has this helped, or have I simply added to the confusion?
Greetings to all,
DN
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
Dear Friends,
Since the pronunciation question has come up again, let me provide a simplified off-the-Nabocuff reminder:
"Vladimir": as in "redeemer," which VN himself suggested. This is about as close as one can get to rhyming with the Russian in manageable American English, if one does not strive for the (short) rolled Russian "r".
"Nabokov": as in "that joke of yours." I use "of yours" here for context in order to take as much stress as possible away from the "ov" syllable, for which "uh" alone is not an adequate illustration in informal spoken English, when no emphasis or exaggerated clarity is called for. Perhaps an even more successful example is "Nabokv-L", which lacks even the phantom of a vowel to fiddle with between "k" and "v", even if it goes just a bit too far (one may miss that phantom a little in the mute gap).
VN was not pedantic about the stressed "o" in the second syllable, and himself used the "joke" variant when conversing with Anglophone blokes. The effort made by some assiduous Americans to approximate the authentic Russian "o" can verge on an affinity with "aw", of which one should steer clear. Prof. Stephen Parker has worked hard at this, and comes very near to the real deal, with only a very faint hint of "aw." Brian Boyd is also extremely close.
The French insist upon accenting the final syllable of the first and last names, and on ending the latter with a double "f" sound, "Nabokoff". Most émigré Russian names originally ending in the Russian "ов" were once spelled that way in French, and the French language itself offers no euphonious alternative. Nevertheless, most of my family long ago reverted to "Nabokov" in French. The Italians, whose vowels are more flexible, ought to do better, but generally do not. Either they stick with the French-style last-syllable stress for the surname, or they stress the first syllable as in "Nahbokov", which is as incorrrect as the Anglophone variant -- an accented "Nab" as in "nab that thief." Martin Amis tells me that people won't understand about whom he is talking unless he deliberately says it that way -- and, I confess, I too sometimes opt for "Nab" if I expect a glint of recognition in my interlocutor's eye. There are other variants: I even have a generally literate army buddy who, after nearly half a century, calls me "Nibbakov." The Italians press embellishes my first name with a superfluous "i" after the "D" almost as often as the American one -- but never, ever, is the name of the hockey forward Dmitri Nabokov misspelled.
Has this helped, or have I simply added to the confusion?
Greetings to all,
DN
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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