gender in translation

[John Dunn]

There is, I would imagine, a thesis to be written comparing the humorous use of linguistic and paralinguistic devices in English and Russian.   It strikes me that in English word-play tends to be an end in itself, and I am not sure whether that is true to the same extent in Russian.

As for rhyme, I tend to think that the English-language light verse tradition, including such 19th-century practitioners as Thomas Hood (with his fondness for punning rhymes) and W.S. Gilbert, has a lot to answer for.  It is difficult nowadays to use rhyme in English for anything other than humorous effect, which is why I have serious reservations about rhymed translations of Russian poetry.

John Dunn.

 

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