IV translation: Pierre

[Max Nemtsov]

yes, that's what i meant in the previous missive, more or less
the idea is to lose as little as we possibly can while translating such 
polyphonic and multilayered texts. sometimes it's a real triumph when we 
find out that we can convey 9-10 out of those 17 meanings into another 
language (not a bad result, actually). 2 out of 3 would be excellent )) 
it is only rare when we have 100 % hits, alas
i mean difficult cases, of course
Mx

On 09.05.2012 23:21, Paul Mackin wrote:
> On 5/9/2012 2:50 PM, Bled Welder wrote:
>> You see, how do you know if he intended what, anyway.
>>
>> Or I think a big one is, what if the writer conceives something, jots it
>> down, then five minutes later realizes it means multiple other things
>> than what he first thought. Does that count?
>>
>> Just because we can all agree that there is at least seventeen levels of
>> pun going on in one single crack, does it mean that all seventeen were
>> intended, or even thought of?
>
> Sometimes, when reading an English translation of a novel, you come 
> across what seems like it should be an important sentence--but the 
> sentence falls completely flat, doesn't resonate, doesn't have any 
> overtones. You realize, of course, that you are missing a lot of what 
> the original author wrote, possibly a pun, conscious or unconscious, 
> humorous or not necessarily so, but important, and alas irretrievable. 
> This kind of loss may not be the fault of the translator, often is 
> not.  It's just the way language works.
>
> Dang.
>
> P
>
>
>>
>> > Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 14:32:12 -0400
>> > Subject: Re: IV translation: Pierre
>> > From: richard.romeo at gmail.com
>> > To: max.nemtsov at gmail.com
>> > CC: mackin.paul at verizon.net; pynchon-l at waste.org
>> >
>> > could be simply doc doesnt know what the capital of south dakota is.
>> > let s not over analyze everything
>> >
>> > On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 2:22 PM, Max Nemtsov <max.nemtsov at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > > hm, interesting results
>> > > http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/33/messages/458.html
>> > > thanks a load, Paul
>> > > Mx
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On 09.05.2012 22:07, Paul Mackin wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> On 5/9/2012 12:53 PM, Max Nemtsov wrote:
>> > >>>
>> > >>> p. 39
>> > >>> "Ask you something, Doc?"
>> > >>> "Long as it ain't the capital of South Dakota, sure."
>> > >>>
>> > >>> colleagues, are there any special jokes re Pierre I'm not aware 
>> of,
>> > >>> apart from different pronunciations of the name or the fact 
>> that it's
>> > >>> too difficult to name, being obscure in California or something?
>> > >>> again, your suggestions will be much appreciated
>> > >>>
>> > >>
>> > >> You might want to google "lucky pierre."
>> > >>
>> > >> it has a sexual meaning, which I forget at the moment.
>> > >>
>> > >> P
>> > >>
>> > >
>