Jabberwocky

[scrabulista]

This is for Callaina.

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/iabervocius.html

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

If you're considering Greek versions, and you weren't, Ronald Knox deserves a mention. If only for translating 'the vorpal blade went snicker-snack' into ἔσνιξεν, ἐξέσναξεν εὐκόπνῳ ξίφει.

 

[Callaina]

Difficult as this sort of thing must be, in its own way, to translate (or "translate"), it probably helps that one can pick vowel quantities for half the words more or less at will.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Resurrecting, because I was thinking about translations of this poem in general, and for the first time I actually looked at Callaina 's link. A bit puzzled by the second one (& Hassard is a great name), because it appears to be in elegiac couplets, but I can't get the first line to scan without adding a syllable, unless I've got something wrong. Also, there are people who may not have been around at the time of the surprisingly (I'd have thought) short-lived thread, like Bitmap, who may know versions in their own language or have opinions on the subject in general.

 

[Bitmap]

I've never even heard of that poem, sorry!

 

[Dantius]

but I can't get the first line to scan without adding a syllable, unless I've got something wrong.

briligi must be 3 longs

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Ah, of course. Seems counterintuitive somehow.

 

[Dantius]

Yes, it seemed weird to me as well.

 

[Bitmap]

Lol, same.

 

[Pacifica]

A word that would give me trouble to pronounce, for sure (words with many long vowels are the worst...).