A question of meaning

14 years ago

Happy Easter/Passover everyone!

I have been absent from this forum for a while now, as I have had to cut down on my online activities because of academic obligations. I am taking university courses in terminology and literary translation and I hope the native speakers of English on this board can help me with a translation problem. The problem, such as it is, is that I and my translation instructor have a different understanding of a particular turn of phrase. It isn't hugely important for the overall translation, but I'd like to clear it up.

The wording in question comes from a ghost story by M.R. James, 'Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad'. It appears in bold in the following passage:

"He lighted one match after another to help him to see of what nature the hole was, but the wind was too strong for them all. By tapping and scratching the sides with his knife, however, he was able to make out that it must be an artificial hole in masonry. It was rectangular, and the sides, top, and bottom, if not actually plastered, were smooth and regular. Of course it was empty."

How do you understand the wording in bold? Is the hole not plastered but smooth enough to be, or can it mean "possibly even plastered"? From the basic meaning of the words it might be the former, but from the context it might be the latter. What do you think?

Thanks for any insight you can give me into this.

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Comments (12)

J C
14 years ago
Hi netla!

I understand it as meaning "possibly even plastered." The speaker can't see well enough to say for certain that it is plastered, but as far as he can tell, it looks like it is.

That is one of my very favorite stories. Scary!
rosefolly
14 years ago
Happy to hear from you Netla! I hope you can join us from time to time once again. I always enjoyed your comments.

As for the phrase, I think it would be a subtle point even for a native English speaker. My interpretation in reading this is would be that it is just as good as plastered, or the same result as if plastered. It would not for me preclude the possibility of it being plastered, but the writer himself cannot determine whether or not it is.

I'd look forward to hearing others' opinions.

Rosefolly
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veer
14 years ago
Netla (good to see you back) I think it can mean both. The surround of the hole is so smooth that it could have been plastered, or 'as good as' plastered.
In 'English' English we use the word actually very loosely. It is one of those extra words we throw in to a sentence, which often does little to the meaning except for making that sentence one word longer.
Does that make sense? or "Does that make actual sense?"
vickitg
14 years ago
Hi Netla - Good to have you back, even if it is temporary for the moment.

My take, like Rosefolly's; the wall might be plastered and it might not -- either way, it's as smooth as if it were plastered.

Just curious:what was your interpretation?
Kath
14 years ago
I agree with the others - it's possibly plastered, but if not, it feels as smooth as if it were.
mudlady_gw
14 years ago
I have never read this story before and I have two different reactions. First, could it be an error in printing--does it appear in all editions? Second,if the change in type is deliberate the author is clearly trying to make the reader consider the importance of the bold words. Is the smoothness some sort of clue the author is trying to communicate?
ccrdmrbks
14 years ago
Hi Netla-I have been away for a while as well-work!

I think the phrase means that the hole was as smooth and even as if it had been plastered, even if it was not in reality covered in a coating.
colleenoz
14 years ago
Hi Netla, To me the meaning is what others have been concluded, that it is so smooth and even it could be plastered, but the protagonist can't tell for sure whether it is or it isn't. I think the phrase "if not actually plastered" is used to emphasise the hole's artificiality- that it couldn't possibly be this smooth and regular if it was a naturally occurring hole. It also evokes the sense that the hole was deliberately created for a purpose.
Oddly enough, this short story is in a collection I was reading and had just got up to :-)
netla
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for your input, everyone. What you have written so far tends to confirm my understanding, i.e. that the hole might even be plastered but he can't really tell - after all, he is touching it with the blade of his knife and not his hand. (mudlady, sorry, I should have made it clear that the bold lettering is mine, not the author's).

Thanks for the help, and if anyone else wants to add an opinion, please go ahead.

I finish school around the first week in May and hope to return here for more regular visits.
J C
14 years ago
We've really had fun with this, haven't we? I think the author was trying to communicate that the space was man-made rather than occurring naturally.

I love M.R. James - his stories stand the test of time.
netla
Original Author
14 years ago
M.R. James' ghost stories have a lovely old-time fireside storytelling flavour to them, and as a matter of fact they were apparently originally written to be read aloud to his friends and family.

By the way, I also translated 'The Mezzotint', which is possibly even creepier than 'Whistle...".
yoyobon_gw
14 years ago
To me it would suggest that the patch was appearing, in every way, as though it was plastered (if not actually) but was , in fact, not.

A question of meaning

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