crack of dawn, crack of light suggests an onset, a beginning


-----Original Message-----
From: Jansy Mello <jansy.mello@OUTLOOK.COM>
To: NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Wed, Jul 9, 2014 10:40 pm
Subject: [NABOKV-L] A problem in a translation: "Crack of light" - "short circuit of light"

 

Today I came across a most curious translation of a line from S,M:
“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that… our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.”

 
“Nossa existência não é mais que um curto circuito de luz entre duas eternidades de escuridão.”  Literally: “our existence in nothing more than a short circuit of light between two eternities of darkness.”
http://www.cultive-ler.com/2014/07/frase-com-vladimir-nabokov.html
 
Instead of “a brief crack of light” “a short-circuit of light” was chosen and it’s not totally incorrect…
Any thoughts?
 
 
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Google Search
the archive		 Contact
the Editors		 NOJ Zembla Nabokv-L
Policies		 Subscription options AdaOnline NSJ Ada Annotations L-Soft Search the archive VN Bibliography Blog

All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.