From nicholas@uci.edu Fri Oct 12 17:42:13 2001 Return-Path: X-Sender: nicholas@uci.edu X-Apparently-To: lojban@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 13 Oct 2001 00:42:12 -0000 Received: (qmail 65060 invoked from network); 13 Oct 2001 00:35:29 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by 10.1.1.221 with QMQP; 13 Oct 2001 00:35:29 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO e4e.oac.uci.edu) (128.200.222.10) by mta1 with SMTP; 13 Oct 2001 00:35:29 -0000 Received: from localhost (nicholas@localhost) by e4e.oac.uci.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA29338; Fri, 12 Oct 2001 12:46:34 -0700 (PDT) X-Authentication-Warning: e4e.oac.uci.edu: nicholas owned process doing -bs Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 12:46:34 -0700 (PDT) X-Sender: To: Cc: Nick NICHOLAS Subject: Re: metre for hamlet Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII From: Nick NICHOLAS I have indeed said that I would not look kindly on a prose translation of Hamlet. I think that's taking the easy way out, and losing too much of the ethos of the work. That said, I don't think it's tenable to translate English pentameter into Lojban pentameter. Lojban is a *lot* wordier than English, and it might be argued that triple metres fits its natural rhythm better. (Triple metres have doggerel associations in English, but that's neither here nor there.) The result of translating English pentameter into Esperanto pentameter is telegraphese; and Esperanto is nowhere near as prolix as Lojban can be. (Yes, you could compact Lojban Inuit-style by making each sentence a single lujvo; but I don't think even Michael would willingly do that.) You may want to consider the Esperanto alexandrine (v/v/v/v v/v/v/v). That said, yes, redundant terminators (and variant lujvo) are fair game. Btw, nalmu'u .e lenu *cmecusku* ku, to scan. But you want my brutishly honest opinion? Don't do a metrical translation. At least, not yet. Get an entire act of Hamlet out in prose, and then come back to it. My suspicion is, Hamlet and Lojban both being what they are, you'll have trouble enough as is. If you want to be pure :-) , go to a prose scene; no shortage of those. -- == == == == == == == == == == == == == == == == == == == Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept. [http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/god_clarifies_dont_kill.html] Nick Nicholas. nicholas@uci.edu http://www.opoudjis.net