Subject
Dmitri Nabokov on Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali
e trano t'amesti!"
e trano t'amesti!"
From
Date
Body
MessageEDNOTE. DN is not only the English translator of _Beheading_ (during VN lifetime) but the INTO Italian of _Transparent Things_.
----- Original Message -----
From: Dmitri Nabokov
To: 'D. Barton Johnson'
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 12:56 PM
Subject: FW: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
Dear Don,
For Charles Byrd:
No, the brother is only singing untranslatable mock-Italian. With some adjustment, the phrase could be made to sound remotely like "Strangely and badly I loved you!" I struggled a good bit with the thing when I was translating Invitation. It is clearly not French, and I doubt the Onegin reference. Barabtarlo's conjecture is ingenious.
Greetings,
DN
Don:
I continue to receive highly insulting mail from Livry. I see no action has been taken with regard to my letter.
D.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Klein [mailto:sk@starcapital.net]
Sent: jeudi, 18. mars 2004 15:51
To: Dmitri Nabokov
Subject: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
From: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@cox.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 3:33 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Byrd" byrdc@uga.edu
I remember that Gennady Barabtarlo decoded the line, sung by one of Marthe's brothers in "Invitation to a Beheading," "Mali e trano t'amesti!" (103) as an anagram of the Russian "Smert' mila; eto taina!" but I can't seem to come up with a literal English translation of the line as it originally appears. This is Italian, isn't it?
It would be great if you or anyone on the Nabokov list could translate the song lyric into English for me.
Many thanks,
Charles Byrd
University of Georgia
----- Original Message -----
From: Dmitri Nabokov
To: 'D. Barton Johnson'
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 12:56 PM
Subject: FW: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
Dear Don,
For Charles Byrd:
No, the brother is only singing untranslatable mock-Italian. With some adjustment, the phrase could be made to sound remotely like "Strangely and badly I loved you!" I struggled a good bit with the thing when I was translating Invitation. It is clearly not French, and I doubt the Onegin reference. Barabtarlo's conjecture is ingenious.
Greetings,
DN
Don:
I continue to receive highly insulting mail from Livry. I see no action has been taken with regard to my letter.
D.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Klein [mailto:sk@starcapital.net]
Sent: jeudi, 18. mars 2004 15:51
To: Dmitri Nabokov
Subject: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
From: D. Barton Johnson [mailto:chtodel@cox.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 3:33 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali e trano t'amesti!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Byrd" byrdc@uga.edu
I remember that Gennady Barabtarlo decoded the line, sung by one of Marthe's brothers in "Invitation to a Beheading," "Mali e trano t'amesti!" (103) as an anagram of the Russian "Smert' mila; eto taina!" but I can't seem to come up with a literal English translation of the line as it originally appears. This is Italian, isn't it?
It would be great if you or anyone on the Nabokov list could translate the song lyric into English for me.
Many thanks,
Charles Byrd
University of Georgia