The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen | Mary Norris

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

I have spent the past 38 years trying to be invisible.

Provela sam proteklih 38 godina, pokušavajući da budem nevidljiva.

I'm a copy editor.

Ja sam lektorka.

I work at The New Yorker,

Radim u "Njujorkeru",

and copyediting for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop

a lektorisanje za "Njujorker" je poput pozicije šortstopera

for a Major League Baseball team:

u bejzbol ekipi iz prve lige:

every little movement gets picked over by the critics --

svaki i najmanji pokret zapažaju kritičari -

God forbid you should commit an error.

ne dao vam bog da pogrešite.

Just to clarify: copy editors don't choose what goes into the magazine.

Samo da razjasnimo: lektori ne odlučuju šta će da bude objavljeno u novinama.

We work at the level of the sentence,

Mi radimo na nivou rečenice,

maybe the paragraph,

možda pasusa,

the words, the punctuation.

reči, interpunkcije.

Our business is in the details.

Mi se bavimo detaljima.

We put the diaeresis, the double dot, over the "i" in "naïve."

Stavljamo dijarezu, duplu tačku, iznad "i" u "naïve".

We impose house style.

Mi namećemo stil izdavačkoj kući.

Every publication has a house style.

Svaka publikacija ima svoj stil.

The New Yorker's is particularly distinctive.

Naročito se ističe "Njujorkerov".

We sometimes get teased for our style.

Ponekad nas zadirkuju zbog stila.

Imagine -- we still spell "teen-ager" with a hyphen,

Zamislite - i dalje pišemo "tin-ejdžer" sa crticom,

as if that word had just been coined.

kao da je ta reč upravo skovana.

But you see that hyphen in "teen-age"

Ali vidite crticu u "tin-ejdž"

and that diaeresis over "coöperate,"

i dijarezu iznad "coöperacije,"

and you know you're reading The New Yorker.

i znate da čitate "Njujorker".

Copyediting at The New Yorker is a mechanical process.

Lektorisanje za "Njujorker" je mehanički postupak.

There is a related role called query proofreading,

Imamo srodnu ulogu koja se zove recezent,

or page-OK'ing.

iliti odobravalac stranica.

Whereas copyediting is mechanical,

Dok je lektorisanje mehaničko,

query proofreading is interpretive.

recenzije su interpretativne.

We make suggestions to the author through the editor

Pravimo sugestije za autora preko urednika

to improve the emphasis of a sentence

da popravi emfazu u rečenici

or point out unintentional repetitions

ili ukazujemo na nenamerna ponavljanja

and supply compelling alternatives.

i nudimo ubedljive alternative.

Our purpose is to make the author look good.

Naša svrha je da učinimo da pisac dobro izgleda.

Note that we give our proofs not directly to the author,

Imajte na umu da mi korekcije ne dajemo direktno piscima,

but to the editor.

već uredniku.

This often creates a good cop/bad cop dynamic

Ovo često stvara dinamiku dobrog i lošeg policajca

in which the copy editor -- I'll use that as an umbrella term --

u kojoj je lektor - koristiću to kao okvirni termin -

is invariably the bad cop.

bez izuzetka loš policajac.

If we do our job well, we're invisible,

Ako dobro odradimo posao, nevidljivi smo,

but as soon as we make a mistake,

ali čim napravimo grešku,

we copy editors become glaringly visible.

mi lektori postajemo upadljivo vidljivi.

Here is the most recent mistake that was laid at my door.

Evo najskorije greške koja mi je servirana.

[Last Tuesday, Sarah Palin, the pre-Trump embodiment

[Prošlog utorka, Sara Pejlin, pretrampovsko otelotvorenje

of populist no-nothingism in the Republican Party,

populističke bez-ništavnosti iz Republikanske partije,

endorsed Trump.]

podržala je Trampa.]

"Where were The New Yorker's fabled copy editors?" a reader wrote.

"Gde su bili 'Njujorkerovi' čuveni lektori?" pisao je čitalac.

"Didn't the writer mean 'know-nothingism'?"

"Zar pisac nije mislio 'neznalice'?"

Ouch.

Joj!

There's no excuse for this mistake.

Nema izgovora za ovu grešku.

But I like it: "no-nothingism."

Ali mi se sviđa: "bez-ništavnosti".

It might be American vernacular for "nihilism."

Može da bude američki žargon za "nihilizam".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Here, another reader quotes a passage from the magazine:

Ovde, drugi čitalac citira pasus iz novina:

[Ruby was seventy-six, but she retained her authoritative bearing;

[Rubi je imala 76 godina, ali je zadržala autoritativno držanje;

only her unsteady gait belied her age.]

samo je njen nesiguran hod maskirao njene godine.]

He added:

Dodao je:

"Surely, someone at The New Yorker knows the meaning of 'belied,'

"Sigurno neko u 'Njujorkeru' zna značenje reči 'maskirao',

and that it is the opposite of how it is used in this sentence.

a ono je suprotno tome kako je iskorišćeno u ovoj rečenici.

Come on! Get it together."

Ma hajde! Saberite se."

Belie: to give a false impression.

Maskirati: odavati lažni utisak.

It should have been "betrayed."

Trebalo je da stoji "odavao".

E.B. White once wrote of commas in The New Yorker:

E. B. Vajt je jednom pisao o zarezima u "Njujorkeru":

"They fall with the precision of knives outlining a body."

"Padaju preciznošću noževa koji ocrtavaju telo."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And it's true -- we get a lot of complaints about commas.

A to je istina - primamo mnogo žalbi zbog zareza.

"Are there really two commas in 'Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard'?"

"Da li stvarno postoje dva zareza u 'Martina Lutera Kinga, mlađeg, bulevaru'?"

There may not be on the sign, but yes, that is New Yorker style for "Jr."

Možda nema na ploči, ali da, to je "Njujorkerov" stil za "mlađi".

One wag wrote:

Jedan vragolan je napisao:

["Please, could you expel, or, at least, restrain,

["Molim vas, možete li da oterate, ili, bar, da obuzdate,

the comma-maniac, on your editorial staff?"]

zaluđenika zarezima, iz vašeg uredništva?"]

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Ah, well.

Pa, dobro.

In this case, those commas are well-placed,

U ovom slučaju, zarezi su dobro upotrebljeni,

except that there should not be one

osim što je suvišan onaj

between "maniac" and "on."

između "zarezima" i "iz".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Also, if we must have commas around "at least,"

Takođe, ako moramo da imamo zareze oko "bar",

we might change it up by using dashes around that phrase:

mogli bismo da ih zamenimo koristeći crtice oko te fraze:

"... -- or, at least, restrain --"

"...- ili, bar, obuzdate -"

Perfect.

Savršeno.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Then there's this:

Zatim imamo sledeće:

"Love you, love your magazine,

"Volim vas, volim vaše novine,

but can you please stop writing massive numbers as text?"

ali možete li, molim vas, da prestanete da slovima ispisujete ogromne brojeve?"

[two and a half million ...]

[dva i po miliona...]

No.

Ne.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

One last cri de coeur from a spelling stickler:

Jedan skorašnji vapaj pravopisnog cepidlake:

["Those long stringy things are vocal cords, not chords."]

["Te duge trakaste stvari su vokalne žice, ne žbice."]

The outraged reader added,

Zgroženi čitalac je dodao,

"I'm sure I'm not the first to write

"Siguran sam da nisam prvi koji pišem

regarding this egregious proofreading error,

zbog ovih nečuvenih lektorskih grešaka,

but I'm equally sure I won't be the last.

ali sam jednako siguran da neću biti poslednji.

Fie!"

Uf!"

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I used to like getting mail.

Nekad sam volela da dobijam pisma.

There is a pact between writers and editors.

Postoji dogovor između pisaca i lektora.

The editor never sells out the writer,

Lektor nikad ne izdaje pisca,

never goes public about bad jokes that had to be cut

nikad u javnosti ne iznosi nebuloze koje su morale da budu izbačene

or stories that went on too long.

ili priče koje su se odužile.

A great editor saves a writer from her excesses.

Sjajan lektor spašava pisca od njegovih ispada.

Copy editors, too, have a code;

Lektori takođe imaju kodeks;

we don't advertise our oversights.

ne reklamiramo naše previde.

I feel disloyal divulging them here,

Osećam se nelojalno dok ih ovde otkrivam,

so let's have look at what we do right.

pa osvrnimo se na naše uspehe.

Somehow, I've gotten a reputation for sternness.

Nekako sam dobila reputaciju zbog strogosti.

But I work with writers who know how to have their way with me.

Ali radim s piscima koji znaju da izađu na kraj sa mnom.

I've known Ian Frazier, or "Sandy," since the early 80s.

Poznajem Ijana Frejzijera, iliti "Sandija" od ranih '80-ih.

And he's one of my favorites,

I on mi je jedan od omiljenih,

even though he sometimes writes a sentence

iako ponekad piše rečenice

that gives a copy editor pause.

koje nateraju lektora da se zamisli.

Here is one from a story about Staten Island

Evo jedne iz priče o Staten Ajlandu

after Hurricane Sandy:

nakon uragana Sendi:

[A dock that had been broken in the middle and lost its other half

[Pristanište koje je puklo po sredini i izgubilo svoju drugu polovinu

sloped down toward the water,

naginjalo se prema vodi,

its support pipes and wires leaning forward

njegove noseće cevi i žice su se naginjale napred

like when you open a box of linguine and it slides out.]

kako rezanci klize kad otovrite kutiju.]

(Laughter)

(Smeh]

This would never have got past the grammarian in the days of yore.

Ovo nikad ne bi moglo da prođe kod lingvista starog kova.

But what could I do?

Ali šta sam mogla?

Technically, the "like" should be an "as,"

Tehnički, "kako" bi trebalo da bude "kao",

but it sounds ridiculous,

ali zvuči smešno,

as if the author were about to embark on an extended Homeric simile --

kao da se pisac sprema da ukrca na produženo homerovsko poređenje -

"as when you open a box of linguine."

"kao kad otvorite kutiju rezanaca."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I decided that the hurricane conferred poetic justice on Sandy

Odlučila sam da je uragan izvršio poetsku pravdu nad Sandijem

and let the sentence stand.

i pustila sam da rečenica ostane.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Generally, if I think something is wrong,

Generalno, ako smatram da nešto nije dobro,

I query it three times.

proverim to tri puta.

I told Sandy that not long ago in a moment of indiscretion and he said,

Saopštila sam to nedavno Sandiju u trenutku nesmotrenosti i on je rekao:

"Only three?"

"Svega tri puta?"

So, he has learned to hold out.

Te je naučio da se uzdržava.

Recently, he wrote a story for "Talk of the Town,"

Nedavno je napisao priču za "Gradsku priču",

that's the section at the front of the magazine

to je rubrika na prvoj strani časopisa

with short pieces on subjects ranging from Ricky Jay's exhibit

gde su crtice o raznim temama, od izložbe Rikija Džeja

at the Metropolitan Museum

u muzeju Metropolitan

to the introduction of doggie bags in France.

do predstavljanja restoranskih kesa u Francuskoj.

Sandy's story was about the return to the Bronx

Sandijeva priča je bila o povratku u Bronks

of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

sutkinje vrhovnog suda Sonje Sotomajor.

There were three things in it that I had to challenge.

Tu sam tri stvari morala da dovedem u pitanje.

First, a grammar query.

Prvo, gramatika.

The justice was wearing black and Sandy wrote,

Sutkinja je bila u crnom i Sandi je napisao:

[Her face and hands stood out like in an old, mostly dark painting.]

[Njeno lice i ruke su štrčali kako na staroj, uglavnom mračnoj slici.]

Now, unlike with the hurricane,

Sad, za razliku od uragana,

with this "like," the author didn't have the excuse

piscu za ovo "kako" nije bio izgovor

of describing hurricane damage.

opis štete od uragana.

"Like" in this sense is a preposition, and a preposition takes an object,

"Kako" je u ovoj rečenici predlog, a predlog zahteva objekat,

which is a noun.

to jest imenicu.

This "like" had to be an "as."

Ovo "kako" je moralo da bude "kao".

"As in an old, mostly dark painting."

"Kao na staroj, uglavnom mračnoj slici."

Second, a spelling issue.

Zatim pitanje pisanja reči.

The author was quoting someone who was assisting the justice:

Pisac je citirao nekoga ko je pomagao sutkinji:

["It will be just a minute.

["Uskoro počinjemo.

We are getting the justice mic'ed,"]

Ozvučavamo (mic'ed) sutkinju.]

Mic'ed?

Mic'ed?

The music industry spells it "mic"

U muzičkoj industriji pišu "mic"

because that's how it's spelled on the equipment.

jer tako piše na opremi.

I'd never seen it used as a verb with this spelling,

Nikad ga nisam videla ovako napisanog u službi glagola

and I was distraught to think that "mic'ed"

i bila sam uzrujana mišlju da bi "mic'ed"

would get into the magazine on my watch.

moglo da završi u novinama pored mene žive.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

New Yorker style for "microphone" in its abbreviated form is "mike."

"Njujorkerov" stil za "mikrofon" u skraćenom obliku je "mike".

Finally, there was a sticky grammar and usage issue

Na kraju, imali smo zeznuto pitanje gramatičke upotrebe

in which the pronoun has to have the same grammatical number

u kojem zamenica mora da bude istog gramatičkog broja

as its antecedent.

kao i prethodna reč.

[everyone in the vicinity held their breath]

[svako u blizini su držali njihov dah]

"Their" is plural and "everyone," its antecedent, is singular.

"Oni" je množina, a "svako" joj prethodi i u jednini je.

You would never say, "Everyone were there."

Nikada ne biste rekli: "Svako su bili tu".

Everyone was there. Everyone is here.

Svako je bio tu. Svako je ovde

But people say things like, "Everyone held their breath" all the time.

Ali ljudi stalno govore stvari poput: "Svaki su držali njihov dah."

To give it legitimacy,

Da bi to ozakonili,

copy editors call it "the singular 'their,'"

lektori to zovu "jednina od 'oni'"

as if calling it singular makes it no longer plural.

kao da nazivajući ga jedninom prestaje da bude množina.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It is my job when I see it in print to do my best to eliminate it.

Moj je posao, kad ga vidim na papiru, da dam sve od sebe da ga eliminišem.

I couldn't make it, "Everyone held her breath,"

Nisam mogla "Svaka je držala njen dah",

or "Everyone held his breath,"

ili "Svaki je držao njegov dah",

or "Everyone held his or her breath."

ili "Svaki/a je držao/la njen ili njegov dah."

Whatever I suggested had to blend in.

Šta god da bih predložila moralo je da se uklopi.

I asked, through the editor,

Pitala sam preko urednika,

if the author would consider changing it

da li bi pisac razmislio da to izmeni

to "All in the vicinity held their breath,"

u: "Svi u blizini su držali njihov dah",

because "all" is plural.

jer je "svi" u množini.

Nope.

Ne.

I tried again: "All those present held their breath?"

Pokušala sam ponovo: "Svi prisutni su držali njihov dah?"

I thought this sounded vaguely judicial.

Pomislila sam kako ovo zvuči blago sudski.

But the editor pointed out

Ali je urednik istakao

that we could not have "present" and "presence"

da ne možemo da imamo "prisutni" i "prisutnost"

in the same sentence.

u istoj rečenici.

When the final proof came back,

Kad je poslednja korektura stigla,

the author had accepted "as" for "like,"

pisac je prihvatio "kao" umesto "kako"

and "miked" for "mic'ed."

i "miked" umesto "mic'ed".

But on "Everyone held their breath," he stood his ground.

Ali se držao: "Svako su držali njihov dah".

Two out of three isn't bad.

Dve od tri nije loše.

In the same issue,

U istom broju,

in that piece on doggie bags in France,

u tom članku o restoranskim kesama u Francuskoj,

there was the gratuitous use of the f-word by a Frenchman.

Francuz je ničim izazvano upotrebio reč na j.

I wonder, when the mail comes in,

Pitam se, kad stigne pošta,

which will have offended the readers more.

šta je više uvredilo čitaoce.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)