# Lewis carrols's "JABBERWOCKY" Is It translateable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026 "2005-02-26T17:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/21 "2005-02-28T00:12:35Z")
> [@](#): > > There are French and German translations presented in Gödel, Escher, Bach that are interesting to read. Hofstadter got his translation from Martin Gardner’s **The Annotated Alice** (I assume they appear in the updated **More Annotated Alice** and I know they’re in the third installment, **The Complete Annotated Alice** (which isn’t)). Gardner also mentions two Latin translations (“Gabberbochus”), but for some reason desn’t reproduce them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/22 "2005-02-28T00:28:08Z")
> [@](#): > > The only real question is whether he intentionally wrote it so that it fit the tune of Greensleeves, or if that is simply a coincidence. Haven’t you noticed? _Everything_ fits the tune of Greensleves. _Alas, my love, you’ve done me hurt You’ve sewn green sleeves on my purple shirt And, what’s worst of all, You went and made me wear it_ (with apologies to whatever Doper I stole that from years ago) And may I add, **Washoe** , that the line “And have you killed the Jabberwock? / It’s Miller time, my boy!” is absolutely inspired :D. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/23 "2005-02-28T00:34:00Z")
> [@nocturnal\_tick](#): > > Of course I knew it was fabricated…honest… No cause for embarrassment. I spent a good 15 minutes Googling it before I realized that my chain was being yanked. And being the huge fan of clergy molestation humor that I am, I also felt a twinge of disappointment when I realized it wasn’t true. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/24 "2005-02-28T00:42:33Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > And being the huge fan of clergy molestation humor that I am, I also felt a twinge of disappointment when I realized it wasn’t true. 😃 Actually, I was trying to convey that the full version was Carrol’s confession of how he had failed his strong and pure father, signified by the priest. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/25 "2005-02-28T03:45:29Z")
I believe that in Stephen King’s _From a Buick 8_ the slithy toves, borogoves, mome raths, jubjub birds, frumious bandersnatches, and a tum tum tree all made appearences. The Jabberwock wasn’t killed, however. He made an early appearance, left a portal, but then disappeared in a gas station bathroom. Curiously, the underlying theme and plot is the same as Jabberwocky (the son and father thing). Maybe I’m reading into it a little bit and perhaps it is an unconscious coincidence on King’s part, or maybe an intentional inclusion from his subconcious, but the creatures that came from the Buick could easily be named from within Jabberwocky. Anybody else notice this? Think maybe this book is King’s salute to Jabberwocky? ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/26 "2005-02-28T04:53:33Z")
Well, for you computer geeks out there, here’s the [Actionscript](http://www.turdhead.com/index.php?p=21) translation. ---
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/27 "2005-02-28T10:07:08Z")
[This page](http://www.cd.chalmers.se/~jessica/Jabberwock/) includes 40 non-English translations. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/28 "2005-02-28T10:29:22Z")
You can’t accurately translate it, but you can _glark_ it - gubblick may contain many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but the overall pluggandisp can be glarked from context ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/29 "2005-02-28T17:26:51Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > I believe that in Stephen King’s _From a Buick 8_ the slithy toves, borogoves, mome raths, jubjub birds, frumious bandersnatches, and a tum tum tree all made appearences. The Jabberwock wasn’t killed, however. He made an early appearance, left a portal, but then disappeared in a gas station bathroom. Curiously, the underlying theme and plot is the same as Jabberwocky (the son and father thing). > Maybe I’m reading into it a little bit and perhaps it is an unconscious coincidence on King’s part, or maybe an intentional inclusion from his subconcious, but the creatures that came from the Buick could easily be named from within Jabberwocky. > > Anybody else notice this? > Think maybe this book is King’s salute to Jabberwocky? Sorry, I maybe should have used a spoiler box for this. Seriously though, it is uncanny that in King’s _From a Buick 8_… [SPOILER] There are 6 unidentified and unnamed other-dimensional creatures that are “teleported” through the buick 8. In my mind, they could correlate as follows… 1. The “fish thing”= slithy tove 2. The “bat thing with the dead eyes”= mome rath 3. The “bird thing”= jubjub bird 4. The “plant thing”=tum tum tree 5. The “tendrillated, telepathic, acid spitting thing”= frumious bandersnatch 6. The “beetle things”=borogoves Coincidence or one of King’s gleeful, smirking, secrets?[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026/30 "2005-02-28T17:35:07Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The only real question is whether he intentionally wrote it so that it fit the tune of Greensleeves, or if that is simply a coincidence. OK … I know this poem by heart (I often recite it in an “English accent” to entertain children when I am babysitting), and now I am singing the damn thing. I’ll never get it out of my head. First “Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening,” and now “Jabberwocky.” Bastards! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lewis-carrolss-jabberwocky-is-it-translateable/292026.md?page=1)