Translation of Flora/Fauna

[Chernetsky, Vitaly A. Dr.]

Dear Colleagues,

I think Emily Saunders has just put us in the right direction. I believe that these two names of birds could be neologisms created by the author of this story. Consider the numerous names for post-apocalyptic flora and fauna that one finds on the pages of Tat'iana Tolstaia's _Kys'_ (including the novel's title, aptly rendered by Jamey Gambrell as _The Slynx_ in the English translation) as an analogy to what I'm suggesting.

Best wishes,
Vitaly Chernetsky

________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Emily Saunders [emilka at MAC.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:04 AM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Translation of Flora/Fauna

For what it is worth:  a Google search in Russian for nochnaya ptitsa
kovyrun turned up a 1979 children's book called "Do Svidania, Ovrag",
which happened to mention both nochnaya ptitsa kovyrun and ptitsa
chernukha.  If this is not the work of literature being translated,
perhaps the sideline information may help in choosing an appropriate
English equivalent:

"По краям оврага растут кусты и деревья. На деревьях живут
птицы-чернухи. Их домики похожи на корзины, ни крыш, ни дверей."

I don't think ducks nest in trees, so perhaps not the diving duck
option.

"Стрекочут кузнечики, квакают лягушки, и
ленивый болотный дух плывёт по оврагу от их хозяйства.
Ночная птица-ковырун завела свою трескотню и начала подпрыгивать
в воздухе. Притихли чернухи в гнёздах. "

I should mention that these bits come from a story about homeless dogs
living on the edge of town, so the birds in question are not out of the
far away forest, but live close to people.  Or at least they do in this
story.

Regards,

Emily Saunders

On Sep 18, 2007, at 9:45 AM, Meredig, John wrote:

> Oh my God, it's actually happened in my lifetime--my dissertation has
> become RELEVANT! It was a linguistic analysis of Russian bird names,
> with data gleaned from a number of sources, some of them quite
> obscure--but of course it is far from being comprehensive (if such a
> thing is even possible when dealing with folk names and such). In any
> case, no luck, unfortunately, on nochnaya ptitsa-kovyrun. However,
> here are some possibilities for chernukha:
>
> In general, chern' (fem.), chérnet' (fem.), chernúkha, chernúshka, and
> chernýsh can refer to various diving ducks of the genus Aythya, such
> as Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula),
> Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), and Ferruginous Pochard (Aythya
> nyroca). All of these birds have a significant amount of dark plumage.
> A number of these names can also refer to the Scoters: Black Scoter
> (Melanitta nigra) and White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca: this is
> the "obyknovennyy turpan" listed by Paul below). These birds are
> pretty much all black. Chernýsh is also attested for the male Black
> Grouse (Lyryrus tetrix), Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus), and Black
> Lark (Melanocorypha yeltoniensis).
>
> Cheers!
> John Meredig
> jm3 at evansville.edu
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
> [mailto:SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Paul B. Gallagher
> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 9:21 PM
> To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Translation of Flora/Fauna
>
> Followup to yesterday's posting:
>
> In this case...
>
>>> Two types of birds:
>>>
>>> nochnaya ptitsa-kovyrun
>>> ptitsa-chernukhi
>
> Would this be appropriate for your context?
>
> <http://www.poimai.ru/pticy/article507.html>
> Обыкновенный турпан
>
> Называется местами также свирок, турпан, тюльпан, чернуха, черная утка
> и головень. Это весьма крупная утка с массивным туловищем, очень
> большими лапами и относительно короткой шеей. Клюз у турпана широкий,
> с широким ноготком и небольшим вздутием у основания. Вес селезня
> иногда превышает 1700 граммов, самка несколько мельче. ...
>
> --
> War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
> --
> Paul B. Gallagher
> pbg translations, inc.
> "Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
> http://pbg-translations.com
>
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