Platonov - Semyon - заквокнешь

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all, 

Many thanks to everyone who replied about this.  Here is an off-list response that I found convincing.

> Robert, to my Southern Russian ear this verb sounds like "закиснуть"
> -- to sour. This relates best to the third meaning in Dal', "ворчать"
> (which we might translate as grumble or perhaps...kvetch?)

And someone else has just pointed out that Yevgeny Yablokov, in "Na beregu neba" explains another instance of this verb in Platonov as follows:
А ты что заквок? — Заквок — загрустил, скис: от «кваситься», «кваснуть» — киснуть (см.: Даль 1979 — 1980, т. 2, с. 103). 

All the best,

Robert

>> Dear all,
>> 
>> A woman is giving birth.  She has said that she does not want to give birth
>> ever again.  The old village midwife replies "И-их, дочка, рожать не будешь,
>> замутнеешь, погниешь, заквокнешь вся -- не вспомнишь,  что  жизнь  прожила,
>> злобой  подернешься...
>> 
>> This verb is often translated as "cackle"  Dal' also gives "Стонать, охать;
>> ворчать..." .  This seems the most relevant.  But the sentence as a whole
>> remains horribly difficult to translate.  At present we have:"Oh, my
>> daughter, if you stop having kids you'll cloud over, you'll start to rot,
>> you'll do nothing but moan and groan. You'll forget you've lived a life, and
>> you'll crust over with spite.  Better to suffer and know that you're living
>> a life!"

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