"The Vane Sisters" by V. Nabokov : Translation and Analysis

                                                                   Fyodorova  Mariya    

                                                    Victorovna,

                                                                   11 Form

                                                           Children’s Creativity  Centre

                                                           Pervomaisky

                                                                   Teacher: Lyubina  Elena

                                                                         Anatolyevna

                                            2005

                               Pervomaisky

                                      CONTENTS:

1. Introduction :                                                                   p .3

1. idea of translation “The Vane Sisters”

2. great translators into Russian

3. Nabokov as a translator.

      2. Rules of Translation.                                                           p. 3 – 4

3. Nabokov’s Style.                                                               P. 5 –7

4. Linguistic-Cultural Guide.                                                 P. 8 – 10

5. List of Literature.                                                              P. 11

        6. “The Vane Sisters” ( translation of chapters 1-2 )

             Vladimir Nabokov and his creative heritage has begun to be studied rather recently. That's why  we put quite a modest and definite purpose - we would like the pupils of the same age to get acquainted  with one of  the writer's work. Nabokov's creativity  enriched the Russian and American literature of the passed century.  

             As for the story, it was written in English and it has never been translated into Russian. So the second goal was to  understand, whether Nabokov's , written in English, as original as the stories written by him in Russian. More over,  the personality of the writer seems very interesting to me. I am astonished with his love and tenderness to the family, his warm and reliable attitudes with parents.  I can't help admiring his surprising  ability to languages. And at last, I find his erudition exciting. And if I  translate Nabokov's story "The Vane Sisters" I think, that  the personality of this writer will become more understandable for me.

          At our English classes, according to school program, we have been involved in translation of adapted  texts. Leaving school, it's high time to translate original English texts.

Fiction has been translated into Russian for a long time intensively. Among translators it is necessary to name many  writers. The first  well-known translator in Russia was Lomonosov who showed the Russians the beauty of  odes "Monument" by poet Goratsi. One more outstanding translator was V.A.Zhukovsky who presented the poem "Odisseya” by  Homer ,ballads of German poets Fredric Shiller, Iogann Wolfgang Gyote and the English poet Robert Saute to  the Russian reader. This list can be continued with  Pushkin, I.S.Turgenev, M.Y.Lermontov, F.M.Dostoevsky. The ХХ-th century was famous with V.Y.Bryusov's translations , I.A.Bunin’s " The Song of Hiawatha", B.L.Pasternak’s “ Faust” and the sonnets of Shakespeare, V.Gyote and lyrics of the Georgian poets.

      If to glance at  treasury of Russian translations we may say, that these translations enriched Russia.

      V.V.Nabokov, whose story  "The Vane Sisters" is an object of my investigation, was sure to be a very talented  translator. He enriched not only the Russian literature, translating the works from English into his mother language, but also American one, translating verses of Russian poets and writers into English.

      To tell the truth, it’s my first experience as a translator of a story in the original. I tried to do my best to have an adequate translation . First, I  addressed to the” Encyclopedic dictionary of a young literary critic ", to the article “Translation art ". What conclusions have  arrived to?

       Art translation, both poetic, and prosaic is no doubt art. Art is a fruit of creativity. And creativity is incompatible to literalism. The Russian literature of the eighteenth century clearly proved it. It defined accuracy of literal, interlinear from accuracy of art. It is quite understandable, that art accuracy enables the reader to deal with ideas and the author’s mood, evidently to present all his style system in the original; that only art accuracy does not embellish and does not worsen the author.

        Life experience is necessary for translators as well as writers and their impressions.

       The language of the translator should comprise different levels: the language of simple people and the literary language in its historical development if necessary full of alive speech. Only those translators can be successful,  who feel the language.

        Literal background knowledge plays  an important role in the work of a translator. For the translator an ideal is to merge with the author. It demands  invention, resource, visual acuity, hearing. Opening creative individuality of the author, the translator opens his individuality.

There are definite rules of belles-lettres translation. For example, in a pupil’s book in literature for the sixth form one can read:

    1) The translator must know the language, he deals with, deeply.

    2) It is necessary to remember that belles-lettres translation can not be the translation of art. An exact, literal copy of this or that product of poetry  is the most inexact of all translations.

    3) The translator should know his native language perfectly:

    а) Rich thesaurus is necessary for the translator for not to make word –for-word translation

    b) Not to destroy the style of the text. it is necessary to be very cautious.

    c) Good aesthetic taste is necessary for the translator. He  should have the feeling of  rhythm.

    d) Each phrase must be of the foreign origin submitting the laws of its  syntax and intonation.

    e)The translator must know the laws proverbs and sayings are translated. So, for example, having read the proverb " It’s no use crying over spoilt milk. ", nobody will understand, that it is the English proverb, and its sense is in the words " What is done cannot be done ".

     K.I.Chukovsky in the book " High art " told about the principles of translation. One of the chapters began with the words: " In belles-lettres translation it is required to use not only an image and ideas of the translated author, not only his subject circuit, but also his literary manner, his creative personality, his style. If it is not done, translation does not suit anywhere. "

" Everything, that I have, is my style. " This Nabokov's recognition  is essentially important for the translator, because  it points out an idea, that during translation one must  go not from the contents, but from  the writer's style. To understand Nabokov's style , I  addressed to E.V.Tikhomirova's and O.D.Filatova's article  " Practical recommendations on V.V.Nabokov's story "  Cloud, Lake,  Tower. " There are some reference points:

        1) Themes and problems Nabokov dwelt upon as a rule are apolitical: what is discussed at all corners is not interesting to him. "The Vane Sisters " is  an example of it.

          2) The story opens a surprising picture of spring dripping. The hero tries to communicate with icicles, as with alive essences. Such wonderful aliveness of landscapes is one of the  features of Nabokov's style.

        3) " Nabokov's mirrors " is an echo of reflections. Mirrors create a harmonious picture of the world. Searchers for this harmony and the hero of the story  "The Vane Sisters" observed icicles. To my mind, diamond icicles is a version of " Nabokov's mirrors ".

        Harmony is frequently broken by disharmony. This story is not an exception: there is an adversative union but, an overlapping way to harmony which is searched by the story-teller. The sense of disharmony in the story arises with the appearance of the old familiar story-teller. This is the beginning of the  Vane’s sisters tragedy.      

       4) Nabokov’s portraits are original. For example,  the portrait of the younger sister Sybil. Translation of this pаrt  turned out to be the most  interesting and difficult at the same time  to interpret in Russian.

         This portrait includes only three offers: the last includes seven printed lines.

         Nabokov’s style  assumes, that the portrait should characterize not so much external, but inner world of the hero. Even Sybil’s description  speaks about her deep feelings more and emphasizes her charm as a female: she keeps to d definite style in clothes, her gestures are negligent, graceful (“.She came in on high heels, with a suitcase, dumped it in a corner       where several other bags were stacked, with a single shrug slipped her fur coat off her thin shoulders, folded it on her bag.”)   The second time we come across with Sybil  is when she is  disfigured by suffering (“cubist” model of a person: an open mouth, dark eye-lids,  grey or white complexion she has a problem with her skin ). If the hero is dear to the writer he is sure to be noticed  by his eyes - a mirror of his soul. Here is how this detail is depictured in Sybil’s  portrait :”. so childishly slight in close-fitting gray, and kept observing that carefully waved dark hair, that small, small-flowered hat with a little hyaline  veil as worn that season, and under it her small face broken into a cubist pattern by scars due to a skin disease, whose charm was further impaired by her having painted everything that could be painted, so that the pale gums of her teeth between cherry-red chapped lips and the diluted blue ink of her eyes under darkened lids were the only  visible openings into her beauty.”

5) Originality of details is another  feature of Nabokov’s style.

          In D.’s portrait  there is no detail speaking about his soul. But the grotesqueness of the instructor is shown in triple usage of the  word “still” (He was still young, still brash, still shifty, still married to the gentle, exquisitely pretty woman....). The hero is deprived not only internal shape, but even a name.

6) Lexical and grammatical features of the text are closely connected to the concept of style. Syntax of the story “The Vane Sisters” is rather complicated: the text consists of compound sentences. Very often they are rather long and have gerund constructions, participles, conditional sentences of four  types. For me as a translator it was necessary  using rich grammatical  opportunities of the Russian language, to demonstrate  this feature of the writer’s style. E.g. “This twinned twinkle was delightful but not completely satisfying; or rather it only sharpened my appetite for other tidbits of light and shade, and I walked on in a state of raw awareness that seemed  to transform the whole of my being into one big eyeball rolling in the world’s socket.” – “ Это сверкание было очаровательным, это мерцание было восхитительным, но чего-то в нём не хватало, или вернее только усиливало мой аппетит на другие лакомые кусочки света и тени; и я инстинктивно смутно ощущал будто всё моё существо превратилось в одно большое глазное яблоко, утопающее в мировой глазной впадине.”

       7) Lexical filling of the text is very original. It includes:

       а) words and the expressions typical of informal speech: "Say"  instead of " I say ", " Just like her! " instead of ”It looks like her!”.

       b) a set of adjectives of emotionally - estimated character E.g. “ Everything seemed blurred, yellow-clouded, yielding nothing tangible”.

       c) set phrases. They have the national specificity determined by features of the American variant of the English language. Their translation has caused special difficulties.

       This story contains fine material for acquaintance with phraseology of the English language.

       The author widely uses phrase verbs without which the English speech is practically impossible: " take down ", " make out ", " go on ", " to stand out ", " come in ", " walk up ", " come out ", " be over ", “kicked out”.

        d) use of complex or compound words : “goose - flash, highball, her thirty-two-year-old-face, small-flowered, drip-dripping, clear-cut, unhappy, dutiful, carefully, happily, display, conscientiousness, wearily.”

        e) Nabokov’s style is rich in epithets - art definitions which help to present a subject more precisely: " night had fallen without sound or snow ", " a family of brilliant icicles drip-dripping from the eaves of a house ".

        f ) Favourite means of the writer is the logic chain of attributes : “Erect, dark headed shapes of dead snow; carefully waved dark hair.”

        g ) The author frequently uses comparisons: " like cold uncooked liver " - unusual, as a cold unprepared liver.

         While translating it is  important to find the most adequate object of comparison used in the native language. Complexity very often consists in discrepancy in different languages.

           h)There was a rhythm, an alternation in his story: “drip-dripping”, “I walked up, and I walked down, and I walked straight”

         8) Grammatical aspect.

         While translating this text it was necessary to take into account the following moments:

         а) Models of negative offers. In the English language they have some certain specificity. Sometimes the Russian translation is made  without denying.

          b) For the English speech restraint  is characteristic in terms of the opinion.

          c) For expression of the request or the offer in the English speech the structures are widely used: Do you think we can.?, Why don’t we.?

          9) There are different means of graphic registration, which are used in the story: italics, capital  letters, abbreviations.

          Having investigated the text and studied Nabokov’s style, lexis, grammar, I want to tell that the theme of this story, as well as many other stories of his is about “little” people.

          10) The idea of life and death seems to be the main in the story. The personage’s moods have changed quickly: first, he is shown as a life-lover, to whom everything is important ( the sun,  icicles, spring streams ) and then he is depicted as a man, suffering badly from the young woman’s death.              

          11) Background knowledge.

Once Nabokov underlined that understanding of literature of another culture is impossible without commentaries. When he translated «Евгения Онегина» into English in 1975, he made huge commentaries ( about 1100 pages ). K. Chuckovsky, who had it occasionally, was astonished by the work : “I’ve got a two-volumed “Eugine Onegin”. It’s a very interesting work.... His commentaries are very biting caustic.” We share Nabokov’s  opinion of the necessity of linguistic and cultural guide and offer it for 2 chambers only. Why? The entries contained are those which, for an American, contain certain overtones or connotations- as often as not social, political or historical – which may not be detected by a non-English speaker. Such words and phrases  as are included are those which are regularly met in all kinds of writing – from literature to the press – and which are heard in every day speech at all levels and ages of society. Even in America itself there are areas where the speech or writing of one element of the society may be poorly comprehended by the members of another. Such a disparity in communication is evident, for example, in the difference between the language of the so-called “Popular press” and that of the “Heavies”, or by the failure of many young people to communicate fully with their parents.

                           LINGUISTIC  AND  CULTURAL  GUIDE

Compunctious зд. день, когда человек может избавиться от угрызений

                               совести,  сходив в церковью

girl’s college         колледж – самостоятельное высшее учебное заведение.        

                              В этом закрытом заведении обучаются только девушки.

Eaves                    архит. Свес крыши, венчающий карниз

Jut                        выдаваться, выступать

Blocks                  преим. амер.   квартал

Kelly Road         название  улицы

Instructor          преподаватель высшего учебного заведения в Америке

Jot                      йота, ничтожное количество;

Thaw                 оттепель, таяние;

Tidbits               разг. Лакомый кусочек

parking meter   счётчик на стоянке

ruddy                красный, красноватый

tawny                рыжевато-коричневый, коричнево-жёлтый

sidewalk           амер.  тротуар

loiter                слоняться без дела

tramp               пешая прогулка

Albany             г. Олбани, адм. ц. штата Нью-Йорк

Boston             capital and largest city of Massachusetts. It is also New

                         England’ largest city, its chief cent of commerce and industry,

                         its leading seaport, and a major educational and cultural centre.

Buoyant           жизнерадостный, весёлый

Platitude          банальность, пошлость

Brash               порывистый

Shifty               хитрый, ловкий

Raised desk     стол преподавателя в американских колледжах всегда

                         приподнят, находится на возвышенности

Mail them their grades  результаты экзаменов студентам сообщаются по

                         почте с указанием оценки и места по количеству набранных

                         за экзамен баллов и примечаний преподавателя.

Hyaline            прозрачный

Chapped          потрескавшийся

Legibility         разборчивость

Conscientiousness добросовестность

Highballs         амер. разг. хайбол ( виски с содовой водой и льдом)

Bandy              обсуждать

Wench             девка ( особо о  проститутке)

Snap                ломаться

Tumbled         помятый

Led me upstairs to a chilly little bedroom  - она повела меня на второй

                                       этаж.... ( традиционно жилище американцев    

                                      состоит из 2 этажей. На втором этаже        

                                      располагаются спальни, ванная, гардеробная )

A sympathetic Irish neighbor       видимо, ирландцы отличаются особым

                                      добродушием и умеют сочувствовать соседям

                    LIST    OF    LITERATURE

1. Энциклопедический словарь юного литературоведа.

М. Педагогика, 1988.

2. В мире литературы 6 класс:

Учебная хрестоматия для общеобразовательных учебных заведений. Автор – составитель А. Г. Кутузов. – М: Дрофа 1997 год.

3. Е. В. Тихомирова, О. Д. Филатова . Практическое  занятие по рассказу В. В. Набокова     «Облако, озеро, башня» - В. Ж. «Литература в школе»1994.

4. Русская литература 11 класс . Учебное пособие для общеобразовательных учебных  заведений .  Автор – составитель В. В. Агеносов. М: Дрофа 2001.

5. В. В. Набоков « Рождество».Cобрание сочинений в 4-х томах. Том 1 Москва: Правда,1990
6. В. В. Набоков « Облако, озеро, башня».  Cобрание сочинений в 4-х томах. Том 4.  Москва: Правда,1990    
7. English. # 22 , 1999.     100 years of Vladimir Nabokov. The Vane Sisters.
8. V. K. Muller. English – Russian Dictionary. Moscow. 1978
9. A.V.Kunin. English-Russian Dictionary of Phraseological Units. Moscow. 1955
10. Britain. Linguistic-Cultural Dictionary. Moscow. 1978
11. Е. В. Беспальчикова. Обучение анализу текста. Иностранные языки в школе. № 2  2002
12. Юдина Т.П. Некоторые вопросы обучения переводу в лингвистическом лицее.  Иностранные языки в школе. № 1   2003
13. Журнал «Переводчик» # 2,3,4, 2004
14. Лингвистический энциклопедический словарь.- Моска: Советская энциклопедия, 1990