# Afroth, aclang



## Andreea Mihaela

Hei.
Din urmatoarea fraza nu gasesc cuvintele explicate nicaieri.. 'afroth' 'aclang' <<<separate question on string-taut moved *HERE*>>>, ma puteti ajuta, please?  thanks in advance
 He had learned the knack of versifying, and ground out quires of couplets after the fashion of the day, *afroth *with _Joves_ and _Jupiters_, *aclang* (3) with jarring rhymes, and string-taut with similes stretched to the snapping-point


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## irinet

Hi,
Where is this text taken from?
a) John Barth's novel
b) other source

I do not know whether this link can give you a hint or not, but you can check it out until you may get another input to your question:

https://www.google.ro/url?sa=t&sour...FqQ5lvIWIbm740jsA&sig2=vGbk4xyvpDNO_QqCfEOYfw


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## Andreea Mihaela

irinet said:


> Hi,
> Where is this text taken from?
> a) John Barth's novel
> b) other source
> 
> I do not know whether this link can give you a hint or not, but you can check it out until you may get another input to your question:
> 
> https://www.google.ro/url?sa=t&sour...FqQ5lvIWIbm740jsA&sig2=vGbk4xyvpDNO_QqCfEOYfw



Yes, it is from John Barth's novel.
I checked the link but couldn't find the adequate terms in romanian and hoped someone would clarify it for me  
Thanks a lot for your answer!


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## irinet

Can you give more details about the quotation like, _chapter_?


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## Andreea Mihaela

irinet said:


> Can you give more details about the quotation like, _chapter_?


I do not know the chapter.
The quote is from a fragment my teacher assigned me to translate : 

IN THE LAST YEARS of the Seventeenth Century there was to be found among the fops and fools of the· London coffeehouses one rangy, gangling flitch (1) called Ebenezer Cooke, more ambitious than talented, and yet more talented than prudent, who, like his friends-in-folly, all of whom were supposed to be educating at Oxford or Cambridge, had found the sound of Mother English more fun to game with than her sense to labor (2) over, and so rather than applying himself to the pains of scholarship, had learned the knack of versifying, and ground out quires of couplets after the fashion of the day, afroth with _Joves_ and _Jupiters_, aclang (3) with jarring rhymes, and string-taut with similes stretched to the snapping-point.


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## irinet

I am just wondering if it's *a *froth, and* a *clang like, _a clang of the bell_...?!

Is it possible for '*a'* to be an article rather than _an affix_?!

Anyway, there may follow other answers to your post soon.


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## Trisia

Like the dictionary definition linked to in the other thread that irinet mentioned states, _a-_ is a predicative prefix (Wikipedia calls it a predicative adjective with progressive aspect) that can mean "in a state of", in such a manner/condition.

*a-*
_prefix_ \ə\

_1_ :  on :  in :  at _abed_
_2_ :  in (such) a state or condition _afire_
_3_ :  in (such) a manner _aloud_
_4_ :  in the act or process of _gone a-hunting_ _atingle_
Now, while some words thus created have entered the usual vocabulary (e.g. _aloud_, _arise_, _afloat_) and are easily found in dictionaries, for the rest of them you can try to figure out which word they come from.

*afroth *- a- plus froth (foam). I'd probably think of it as "bubbling with..." or "sprinkled with" and would expect the "poems" they wrote were filled with interjections such as "By Jove!". Your choice of translation here, I'd probably say something along the lines of _mustind de/presărate cu invocări la adresa lui Zeus_

*aclanc *- clanging is a rather unpleasant sound, and their rhymes intentionally produce a similar effect on the reader. Not sure what I'd use, perhaps "clănțănind"? Rimelor le-aș zice "distonante" sau mai degrabă "stridente" aici.


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## Andreea Mihaela

Trisia said:


> Like the dictionary definition linked to in the other thread that irinet mentioned states, _a-_ is a predicative prefix (Wikipedia calls it a predicative adjective with progressive aspect) that can mean "in a state of", in such a manner/condition.
> 
> *a-*
> _prefix_ \ə\
> 
> _1_ :  on :  in :  at _abed_
> _2_ :  in (such) a state or condition _afire_
> _3_ :  in (such) a manner _aloud_
> _4_ :  in the act or process of _gone a-hunting_ _atingle_
> Now, while some words thus created have entered the usual vocabulary (e.g. _aloud_, _arise_, _afloat_) and are easily found in dictionaries, for the rest of them you can try to figure out which word they come from.
> 
> *afroth *- a- plus froth (foam). I'd probably think of it as "bubbling with..." or "sprinkled with" and would expect the "poems" they wrote were filled with interjections such as "By Jove!". Your choice of translation here, I'd probably say something along the lines of _mustind de/presărate cu invocări la adresa lui Zeus_
> 
> *aclanc *- clanging is a rather unpleasant sound, and their rhymes intentionally produce a similar effect on the reader. Not sure what I'd use, perhaps "clănțănind"? Rimelor le-aș zice "distonante" sau mai degrabă "stridente" aici.



Thank you, thank you very much, Trisia!


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## irinet

Explicația deosebită a Trisiei mi-a amintit de nişte versuri ale Anei Blandiana, cu o puternică rezonanță şi, într-o oarecare măsură, poate similare cu sunetul pe care-l cauți:

"Nu îndrăznesc să-nchid o clipă ochii
de teamă
să nu zdrobesc între pleoape lumea,
să n-o aud sfărmându-se cu zgomot
ca o alună între dinţi..." (*Ochiul Închis*)

M-au făcut, de exemplu,  să mă gândesc la alt verb decât _mustind_.
Poate că _scrâşnind _merge mai bine cu stilul peiorativ şi cu *rimele* care pot fi* discordante*.
Binențeles că nu ştiu dacă analogia făcută de mine e cea potrivită, însă poate după verificarea temei, te vei întoarce aici cu un răspuns fiindcă m-ai făcut curioasă în ceea ce-l priveşte pe J. Barth!


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## Andreea Mihaela

Va multumesc din suflet! Cu siguranta voi reveni cu un raspuns 

<<separate question on "long-billed" moved *HERE*
MOD note: please start a new thread for each separate question. Thank you!>>


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