-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] monte-fonte
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 00:54:01 +0100
From: skb@BOOTLE.BIZ
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>, "Fet, Victor" <fet@MARSHALL.EDU>
References: <7FC9A22EE387144C81AD865F2D2C23978B0521@MUXC07.marshall.edu>

A wonderful reply, Victor. Polyglots are awesome creatures to those of us reared
monolingually who struggle to gain some degree of fluency in other languages.
Many of us can acquire the basic grammars and manage to read 'foreign' texts
with painful dictionary hunting. Yet the super multi-fluency of our favourite
author is beyond fathomage. The most baffling challenge, as we've often
discussed, is mastering the ever-changing domain of idioms and word-play. 

Carroll wrote "reeling and writhing and feinting in coils" (echoing the lessons
in reading, writing, and painting in oils." How did VN tackle this?

PS: Loved yr Sheep-Cloning 'operetta.'

Stan Kelly-Bootle 





Quoting "Fet, Victor" <fet@MARSHALL.EDU>:

> >>>>Is it fanciful to suppose VN was familiar with such wordplay?
> 
> He had to be, because he translated "Alice in Wonderland" ! 

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