In The Cyberiad, how did the letter n manifest in Polish?
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The short story “How the World Was Saved”, from Stanislaw Lem’s The Cyberiad, opens as follows:
One day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with n. When it was ready, he tried it out, ordering it to make needles, then nankeens and negligees, which it did, then nail the lot to narghiles filled with nepenthe and numerous other narcotics. The machine carried out his instructions to the letter. Still not completely sure of its ability, he had it produce, one after the other, nimbuses, noodles, nuclei, neutrons, naphtha, noses, nymphs, naiads, and natrium.
This paragraph seems highly coupled to the English language, but the book was originally published in Polish. Do all these words also start with n in Polish? Did the original use a different letter? What choices did the translator have to make, and did this change the meaning of the text?
translation stanislaw-lem
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
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jl6
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up vote
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The short story “How the World Was Saved”, from Stanislaw Lem’s The Cyberiad, opens as follows:
One day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with n. When it was ready, he tried it out, ordering it to make needles, then nankeens and negligees, which it did, then nail the lot to narghiles filled with nepenthe and numerous other narcotics. The machine carried out his instructions to the letter. Still not completely sure of its ability, he had it produce, one after the other, nimbuses, noodles, nuclei, neutrons, naphtha, noses, nymphs, naiads, and natrium.
This paragraph seems highly coupled to the English language, but the book was originally published in Polish. Do all these words also start with n in Polish? Did the original use a different letter? What choices did the translator have to make, and did this change the meaning of the text?
translation stanislaw-lem
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
4
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
2
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
The short story “How the World Was Saved”, from Stanislaw Lem’s The Cyberiad, opens as follows:
One day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with n. When it was ready, he tried it out, ordering it to make needles, then nankeens and negligees, which it did, then nail the lot to narghiles filled with nepenthe and numerous other narcotics. The machine carried out his instructions to the letter. Still not completely sure of its ability, he had it produce, one after the other, nimbuses, noodles, nuclei, neutrons, naphtha, noses, nymphs, naiads, and natrium.
This paragraph seems highly coupled to the English language, but the book was originally published in Polish. Do all these words also start with n in Polish? Did the original use a different letter? What choices did the translator have to make, and did this change the meaning of the text?
translation stanislaw-lem
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
The short story “How the World Was Saved”, from Stanislaw Lem’s The Cyberiad, opens as follows:
One day Trurl the constructor put together a machine that could create anything starting with n. When it was ready, he tried it out, ordering it to make needles, then nankeens and negligees, which it did, then nail the lot to narghiles filled with nepenthe and numerous other narcotics. The machine carried out his instructions to the letter. Still not completely sure of its ability, he had it produce, one after the other, nimbuses, noodles, nuclei, neutrons, naphtha, noses, nymphs, naiads, and natrium.
This paragraph seems highly coupled to the English language, but the book was originally published in Polish. Do all these words also start with n in Polish? Did the original use a different letter? What choices did the translator have to make, and did this change the meaning of the text?
translation stanislaw-lem
translation stanislaw-lem
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
edited 15 hours ago
Jenayah
11.2k46088
11.2k46088
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
asked 15 hours ago
jl6
1513
1513
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
jl6 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
4
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
2
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago
add a comment |
4
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
2
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago
4
4
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
2
2
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
The translator for this, alas paywalled, version seems to have selected similar items in Polish beginning with the letter n (thread for needles, etc)
Konstruktor Trurl sporządził raz maszynę, która umiała robić wszystko
na literę n. Kiedy była gotowa, na próbę kazał jej zrobić nici, potem
nanizać je na naparstki, które też zrobiła, następnie wrzucić
wszystkie do sporządzonej nory, otoczonej natryskami, nastawniami i
naparami. Wykonała polecenie co do joty, ale ponieważ nie był jeszcze
pewny jej działania, kolejno musiała zrobić nimby, nausznice,
neutrony, nurty, nosy, nimfy i natrium. Tego ostatniego nie umiała, i
Trurl, bardzo zmartwiony, kazał się jej tłumaczyć.
Constructor Trurl once made a machine that was able to do everything
as a letter n. When it was ready, he tried to make her a thread, then
thread it on thimbles, which she did, then throw it all into the
burrow, surrounded by showers, settings and infusions. She commanded
it to the letter, but since he was not yet sure of its operation, she
would have to make nimbs, ear-rings, neutrons, currents, noses, nymphs
and natrium. She could not do the latter, and Trurl, very worried,
told her to explain why.
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
The translator for this, alas paywalled, version seems to have selected similar items in Polish beginning with the letter n (thread for needles, etc)
Konstruktor Trurl sporządził raz maszynę, która umiała robić wszystko
na literę n. Kiedy była gotowa, na próbę kazał jej zrobić nici, potem
nanizać je na naparstki, które też zrobiła, następnie wrzucić
wszystkie do sporządzonej nory, otoczonej natryskami, nastawniami i
naparami. Wykonała polecenie co do joty, ale ponieważ nie był jeszcze
pewny jej działania, kolejno musiała zrobić nimby, nausznice,
neutrony, nurty, nosy, nimfy i natrium. Tego ostatniego nie umiała, i
Trurl, bardzo zmartwiony, kazał się jej tłumaczyć.
Constructor Trurl once made a machine that was able to do everything
as a letter n. When it was ready, he tried to make her a thread, then
thread it on thimbles, which she did, then throw it all into the
burrow, surrounded by showers, settings and infusions. She commanded
it to the letter, but since he was not yet sure of its operation, she
would have to make nimbs, ear-rings, neutrons, currents, noses, nymphs
and natrium. She could not do the latter, and Trurl, very worried,
told her to explain why.
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
The translator for this, alas paywalled, version seems to have selected similar items in Polish beginning with the letter n (thread for needles, etc)
Konstruktor Trurl sporządził raz maszynę, która umiała robić wszystko
na literę n. Kiedy była gotowa, na próbę kazał jej zrobić nici, potem
nanizać je na naparstki, które też zrobiła, następnie wrzucić
wszystkie do sporządzonej nory, otoczonej natryskami, nastawniami i
naparami. Wykonała polecenie co do joty, ale ponieważ nie był jeszcze
pewny jej działania, kolejno musiała zrobić nimby, nausznice,
neutrony, nurty, nosy, nimfy i natrium. Tego ostatniego nie umiała, i
Trurl, bardzo zmartwiony, kazał się jej tłumaczyć.
Constructor Trurl once made a machine that was able to do everything
as a letter n. When it was ready, he tried to make her a thread, then
thread it on thimbles, which she did, then throw it all into the
burrow, surrounded by showers, settings and infusions. She commanded
it to the letter, but since he was not yet sure of its operation, she
would have to make nimbs, ear-rings, neutrons, currents, noses, nymphs
and natrium. She could not do the latter, and Trurl, very worried,
told her to explain why.
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
The translator for this, alas paywalled, version seems to have selected similar items in Polish beginning with the letter n (thread for needles, etc)
Konstruktor Trurl sporządził raz maszynę, która umiała robić wszystko
na literę n. Kiedy była gotowa, na próbę kazał jej zrobić nici, potem
nanizać je na naparstki, które też zrobiła, następnie wrzucić
wszystkie do sporządzonej nory, otoczonej natryskami, nastawniami i
naparami. Wykonała polecenie co do joty, ale ponieważ nie był jeszcze
pewny jej działania, kolejno musiała zrobić nimby, nausznice,
neutrony, nurty, nosy, nimfy i natrium. Tego ostatniego nie umiała, i
Trurl, bardzo zmartwiony, kazał się jej tłumaczyć.
Constructor Trurl once made a machine that was able to do everything
as a letter n. When it was ready, he tried to make her a thread, then
thread it on thimbles, which she did, then throw it all into the
burrow, surrounded by showers, settings and infusions. She commanded
it to the letter, but since he was not yet sure of its operation, she
would have to make nimbs, ear-rings, neutrons, currents, noses, nymphs
and natrium. She could not do the latter, and Trurl, very worried,
told her to explain why.
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
The translator for this, alas paywalled, version seems to have selected similar items in Polish beginning with the letter n (thread for needles, etc)
Konstruktor Trurl sporządził raz maszynę, która umiała robić wszystko
na literę n. Kiedy była gotowa, na próbę kazał jej zrobić nici, potem
nanizać je na naparstki, które też zrobiła, następnie wrzucić
wszystkie do sporządzonej nory, otoczonej natryskami, nastawniami i
naparami. Wykonała polecenie co do joty, ale ponieważ nie był jeszcze
pewny jej działania, kolejno musiała zrobić nimby, nausznice,
neutrony, nurty, nosy, nimfy i natrium. Tego ostatniego nie umiała, i
Trurl, bardzo zmartwiony, kazał się jej tłumaczyć.
Constructor Trurl once made a machine that was able to do everything
as a letter n. When it was ready, he tried to make her a thread, then
thread it on thimbles, which she did, then throw it all into the
burrow, surrounded by showers, settings and infusions. She commanded
it to the letter, but since he was not yet sure of its operation, she
would have to make nimbs, ear-rings, neutrons, currents, noses, nymphs
and natrium. She could not do the latter, and Trurl, very worried,
told her to explain why.
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
edited 10 hours ago
Community♦
1
1
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
answered 14 hours ago
Valorum
385k10028013036
385k10028013036
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
add a comment |
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
3
3
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
Just to add - the last thing the machine was supposed to do was "nic" - nothing.
– Yasskier
13 hours ago
add a comment |
jl6 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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4
Douglas Hofstadter’s monumental (and English language despite its title) work on translation Le Ton Beau de Marot discusses (among many many other things) the issues with translating this specific short story.
– Mike Scott
15 hours ago
2
I cannot say anything about the original, but when it were translated to Swedish everything created begun with the letter i, probably because the last one was 'inget' = nothing. It is likely that the English translator did something similar and used whatever letter that fit best.
– Bjorn Eriksson
14 hours ago