Translation of Lolita

Lolita by: Vladimir Nabokov

Лолита, свет моей жизни, огонь моих чресел. Грех мой, душа моя. Ло-ли-та: кончик языка совершает путь в три шажка вниз по нѐбу, чтобы на третьем толкнуться о зубы. Ло. Ли. Та.

Она была Ло, просто Ло, по утрам, ростом в пять футов (без двух вершков и в одном носке). Она была Лола в длинных штанах. Она была Долли в школе. Она была Долорес на пунктире бланков. Но в моих объятьях она была всегда: Лолита.

Translation #1: Lolita, sun of my life, fire of my loins. Sin my, soul my. Lo-le-ta: Tip of the tongue makes way in the three steps down to be pushed on the third of the teeth. Lo. Le. Ta.

She was Lo, Simple Lo, in the morning, feet five (without two inches and in one sock). She was Lola in long pants. She was Dolly in school. She was Delores on the dotted line. But in my arms, she was always: Lolita.

• This is an extremely literal interpretation of the text. Russian is a very interesting language, in the sense that it is extremely difficult to properly translate into English. Nabokov originally wrote Lolita in English, and later translated the infamous work into his native tongue, Russian. In reading my literal translation of the text, it is very obvious to the reader that it does not make much sense. For instance, take the sentence: “Tip of the tongue makes way in the three steps down to be pushed on the third of the teeth.” This sentence is a demonstration of a literal translation of Russian, that lacks meaning and the essence of Nabokov was trying to portray.

Translation #2: 

Lolita, Light of my life, Fire of my loins. My sin, My Soul. Lo-Le-Ta: Tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Le. Ta.

She was Lo, Simply Lo, in the morning, Four foot ten and in a single sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly in school. She was Delores on the dotted line. But in my arms, she was always: Lolita.

• This translation is less literal than the first. Although very similar to its literal counterpart, it reads much smoother and does a better job at capturing the essence of Nabokov. In my second translation of the text, I focused on making sure that the words flowed cohesively, and that the sentence made sense as a whole. I also tried to think back to reading Lolita, and attempting to emulate the emotion and essence of Nabokov’s writing.