November 06, 2006

LO-LI-TA BLIND.

My recent post on blind translations has inspired a blog dedicated to retranslating the Spanish translation of Lolita into English, blind. It starts:

Lolita Lou, stay my vitals, forgo them strangers. Oh my peccadillo, ah my white. Lo-li-ta: the poon-tardy lollygagger by way of the Jedi, able ho hasty pussy on the terse dented boards: Lo. Li. Ta.

Here Lo, sensual-mental Lo, poor lamental Lo Aucoin, does stab derecho with her metered-oak wintry-chawed stature. Sober and pine for Daddy, and call Satan. Here's Lo Aucoin leaving applestains on pants, here's Dolly to scale, here's Dolores Aucoin firmbaby.

Fun!

Posted by languagehat at November 6, 2006 12:25 PM
Comments

I think even Nabokov would appreciate the beauty and phrasing of


"the poon-tardy lollygagger "

Magnificent!

Posted by: The County Clerk at November 6, 2006 07:02 PM

In a similar vein, here's a blog (http://tamiltransliterations.blogspot.com/) that does blind transliterations of Tamil proverbs.

Posted by: dinesh rao at November 6, 2006 07:04 PM

riverrun, past Eve and Adams, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth, Castle and Environs.

Posted by: chris y at November 7, 2006 06:36 AM

The result is strikingly similar to a schizophrenic's word salad. I'm met people who have talked like this with no poetic ambitions.

Posted by: Christopher Culver at November 7, 2006 12:44 PM

How horrible.

Posted by: Tatyana at November 7, 2006 02:01 PM

Rather good!

Posted by: James Crippen at November 7, 2006 09:32 PM