GR translation: We have to play the patterns.

[Mike Jing]

Again, point well taken.  Of course I am not looking for a word for word
translation of the book.  But until I have a good grasp of certain key
words and phrases, any translation is impossible.  And after all is said
and done, short of giving up, I will still have to come up with a word or
phrase for the translation.  I do try my best not to miss the forest for
the trees, though.

As for GR not being translatable, it can be argued that the same is true
for many other works of literature, the classic Chinese novel A Dream of
Red Mansions/The Story of the Stone 《红楼梦》, for example.  But that didn't
stop people from trying.  There are no less than nine English translations
for it alone.  All I can do is to try my best.


On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 9:49 PM, <bandwraith at aol.com> wrote:

> Absolutley agree. Very ironic that Slothrop "escapes" to the Outside, only
> to find that people are playing the patterns as much on the outside as on
> the inside, only difference is- Maybe he is not as much the center of
> attention, but just one of several foci of interest in the Zone, My
> comments about inside/outside control and the piano were meant to bring to
> mind Saure and Gustav.
>
> While I admire Mike, my own feelings are that GR is untranslatable, and
> that any attempt- well worth the effort even if impossible- should focus
> more on capturing the ideas and themes (that's right, the patterns
> themselves) rather than word for word literalness. So this particular
> phrase has got to be especially meaningful for any would be translator.
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: Markekohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
> To: Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> Cc: bandwraith <bandwraith at aol.com>; Pynchon Mailing List <
> pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Thu, Mar 7, 2013 8:21 am
> Subject: Re: GR translation: We have to play the patterns.
>
>  Not much for the translation but just a pointing to:  TRP playing
> within" free" here....that deep
> Question.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 7, 2013, at 12:15 AM, Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>   That's quite correct.  However, please keep in mind that my primary
> concern is the translation.
> So it's useful to see what it means for different people, so that I can
> choose the best word in Chinese that has the right connotations.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 7:52 AM, <bandwraith at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> It depends on the answer to the preceding question- "Who knows?" Who is
>> who? Is trajectory- rocket, character, narrative, historical, etc.-
>> controlled internally or externally? Locally or more universally? Frame,
>> reference, p.o.v. are all in play here. Is there a piano player or is this
>> tune being produced by a player piano? Anybody's guess. Do the rats control
>> the experiment or are they being controlled? And what about that hand with
>> the light touch on the Ouija's planchette? The text is filled with these
>> little paranoid angles. My own preference- no one (except maybe The Shadow,
>> and she ain't about to reveal herself any time soon) knows.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> To: Pynchon Mailing List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> Sent: Wed, Mar 6, 2013 2:42 am
>> Subject: GR translation: We have to play the patterns.
>>
>>  It dawns on Slothrop, literally, through the yellowbrown window shade,
>> that this is his first day Outside. His first free morning. He doesn’t have
>> to go back. Free? What’s free? He falls asleep at last. A little before
>> noon a young woman lets herself in with a passkey and leaves him the
>> papers. He is now an English war correspondent named Ian Scuffling.
>> “This is the address of one of our people in Zürich. Waxwing wishes you
>> good luck and asks what kept you so long.”
>> “You mean he wants an answer?”
>> “He said you’d have to think about it.”
>> “Sa-a-a-ay.” It’s just occurred to him. “Why are all you folks helping me
>> like this? For free and all?”
>> “Who knows? We have to play the patterns. There must be a pattern you’re
>> in, right now.”
>>
>>  What is the meaning of "play the patterns"?
>>
>>
>
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