Subject
Re: VN PRONUNCIATION (fwd)
Date
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Whew! That was a short roller-coaster ride, and I'm glad to be safely back on
the ground where I started, wiser with the good old squawk now prompting
VlaDImir NaBOKov.
Thanks, Earl Sampson.
Mary Krimmel
mary.krimmel@sdcs.org
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From mary.krimmel@sdcs.org Mon Oct 20 10:57:51 1997
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 97 09:20:40 -0700
Thank you, also, Hans Geuns, for setting me straight on the difference between
gawk and squawk and giving the original VN source. I guess that the rhyme's the
same, but the suggested sound of the heron's silent or quiet expression is
certainly different. I can't remember ever observing or hearing a heron at
night, but see that here's a small, but typical, example of VN's marvelous
awareness and marvelous picking of the right word.
Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds gives an impressive variety of voices
to herons from coos to croaks; the black-crowned night heron has "A flat
*quok!* or *quark!*, most often heard in evening." The Audubon Field Guide has
a similar variety; here the least bittern's voice is "A low, very rapid
*coo-coo-coo-coo*, given most often at night ..."
My misremembering the verse is a bit discouraging. Is it possible that someone
else (maybe a student of VN) misremembered and published the error?
Anyway, I'm squared (not gared!) away now on a couple of points, thanks to this
list.
Mary Krimmel
mary.krimmel@sdcs.org