Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Curiouser and Curiouser in Translation

#wordnerd #polyglot #bats


In the October 29, 2015, Wall Street Journal there is an article by Edward Rothstein titled "Curiouser and Curiouser in Translation." The article especially interested me because "Alice in a World of Wonderlands" is on my Very Short List of books that I have most loved and that have most influenced me.


If I must choose a favorite from the translations cited, I award my coveted Curiouser and Curiouser Translation  Prize to:


Twinkle, twinkle little bat!
How I wonder where your're at!

The rendition of the translation into Slovenian reads:


Along the lake
Near Mt. Triglav
A pot drifts...

I think Lewis Carroll would have appreciated this curious translation.

And we wonder why there are rifts between nations caused by misunderstanding.





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