Suddenly, he leaned and politely asked me to lend him an object which, at the moment of naming it, he fumbled for the right word. I understood at once the phrase the obscurity of which had dissipated. Remembering my encounter, I began to reflect. Did the extent of my thought depend on my vocabulary and if so, were these words the ones that contained a wit?
I'd translate that:
"il buta sans parvenir à le prononcer" as:
"he got mixed up pronouncing it"
Also there are too many commas in the last sentence and an extra "thus". I think it should read:
"Did the extent of my thought depend on my vocabulary and if so, were these words the ones that contained a wit?"
How about this version instead of "he got mixed up pronouncing it": "...an object which, at the moment of naming it, he fumbled for words with." It's more clear, isn't it?
The last sentence
"Did the extent of my thought depend on my vocabulary and if so, were these words the ones that contained a wit?" is OK now.
Thank you!
My French is not good enough for me to evaluate this one, but are we sure "l'esprit" refers to "wit"? I somehow get the feeling that the author is wondering whether, since his thoughts depended on the words he knew, the words themselves sort of contained his mind, his intellect, his thoughts so to speak.
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本翻译"仅需意译"。
认可或编辑 - 2009年 三月 4日 22:17
