Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0012579, Fri, 21 Apr 2006 14:30:28 -0400

Subject
Re: Preparation H in Pale Fire (VN and linguistics)
Date
Body




-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
Behalf Of NABOKV-L
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 1:57 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Preparation H in Pale Fire (VN and linguistics)



[EDNOTE. Stan Kelly-Bootle responds here to Jansy Mello's earlier email
on purloined "letters" in PF. --SES]



JM (if you'll forgive the initial formality?): love VN's "cosmic" ->

"comic" transformation. Joyce had his "funeral" -> "funferal."



Some Medieval soi-disants etymologists "literally" believed that

"lignum" must be related to "ignis" since "fire" sort of resided in the
"wood."



Spoilsport Saussure urges caution: the mapping from signifier to

Signified is entirely arbitrary. VN, contra Saussure, seems to _see_
words

Themselves as direct, howbeit "shadowy," links to an underpinning
reality. Shadows

certainly distort and hide aspects of the objects casting them, but, as

in Plato's caves, VN's word-shadows are far from arbitrary.



Can someone[s] point me to relevant VN sources? I'm especially

interested in VN's reaction, if any, to Chomsky's spin on "universal &

transformational grammar." This could add to the previous exchanges on
VN's views on

"stream of consciousness" narrative.



skb



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


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




Attachment