-------- Original Message --------
Subject: monte-fonte, Mock Turtle studies, and VN improving on LC
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 22:37:28 -0400
From: Fet, Victor <fet@marshall.edu>
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
References: <44E51972.3020108@utk.edu>

Not to spill out too much Carrolliana into Nabokoviana (although as Russians say, one "can't spoil kasha [buckwheat groats] with butter"), but briefly:

Alice suffered not less than seven translations (if this word is applicable to non-translatable texts like Alice, Ulysses, or Ada) into Russian since 1890s.

Some were intentionally Russified, Nabokov's (or to be exact Sirin's) 1920s among those; it is also probably one of the best translations.  

Mock Turtle's 'lessons' of "reeling and writhing" are rendered by VN in a precise switch-pun of one sound - VN selected Russian words for reading and writing and switched one sound among them, creating a nonsense.

"CHITAT' I PISAT'" (=to read and write) became "CHESAT' I PITAT'" (=to scratch and feed).

In 1960s translation of N. Demurova, instead of CHITALI I PISALI (read and wrote), pupils in Mock Turtle's school CHIKHALI I PISHCHALI (sneezed and squeaked) (again only one sound switch).
Another modern translation by B. Zakhoder had: CHIKHAT' I PIKHAT' (to sneeze and push), two words are rhyming.
These renderings are also ingenious but more "childish" and less "strange" than VN's, and original 'read and write' are less traceable behind sneezes, squeaks, and pushes.

Also, only VN reciprocally switched exact sounds "T" and "S", thus making his switch-pun MORE PRECISE than Carroll's.  

VN in fact used a precise Spoonerism (compare to classical "our queer old Dean"; "tease my ears"; etc), which brings us back to mucking around the fountain.
 

Victor Fet





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