IV in Russian - Vocab word count

[Matthew Cissell]

For the words.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8013859.stm



________________________________
 From: Charles Albert <cfalbert at gmail.com>
To: Max Nemtsov <max.nemtsov at gmail.com> 
Cc: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 8:52 PM
Subject: Re: IV in Russian
 


Te salutamus!

I recall from my brief fling with the yazik, that it has a very small root vocabulary. Assuming that current "word count" is a function of root vocabulary, I would think that translating the Popeian/Nabokovian version of English favored by Pynchon must raise the stakes for a translator by orders of magnitude.

Further, I recall reading somewhere that James Joyce is believed to have possessed the largest "working vocabulary" in English in recorded history at 40,000 words. Let's discount that by 15% for Pynchon, putting him in the nabe of 34,800. Along comes Max Nemtsov, non-native English enthusiast. I'm guessing Max is possessed of a working vocabulary, in Russian, of around 30,000. Max whips out a translation of Bleeding Edge in a matter of months.

Is Max G*d? And if so, must I avert my eyes when addressing you?

love,
cfa


On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 9:09 AM, Max Nemtsov <max.nemtsov at gmail.com> wrote:

Dear colleagues,
>this is just to inform everyone interested that IV will be published in Russian in late summer - early fall, in my humble translation.
>here's the link to the cover: http://spintongues.livejournal.com/385558.html
>
>a-and the next step will be V. - the Russian publisher hired me to do the new translation, it's going to be the third one into Russian
>no rest for the wicked
>Mx
>
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