（続）光あれ

先ほどのTimeの記事のタイトルはLet there be lightでした。聖書の創世記でも特に有名なフレーズですよね。英文和訳を敵対視する人もいますが、こういうフレーズを「光あれ」と訳せる人は聖書の知識もしっかりあると分かります。



（KJV）
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

（共同訳）
初めに、神は天地を創造された。
地は混沌であって、闇が深淵の面にあり、神の霊が水の面を動いていた。
神は言われた。「光あれ。」こうして、光があった。
神は光を見て、良しとされた。神は光と闇を分け、
光を昼と呼び、闇を夜と呼ばれた。夕べがあり、朝があった。第一の日である。


今回のケースではLet there be lightとそのまま使っていましたが、David CrystalさんのBegatによるとLet there be flightや Let there be fightなどいろいろなバリエーションの言葉遊びがあるようです。

Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language (2010/11/05) David Crystal 商品詳細を見る

The best evidence that an expression has been fully assimilated into a language is when it generates creative, playful alternatives. The availability in English of many words rhyming with light has made this an enormously productive area. Several blog reports on airline delays are headed Let there be flight. An astronomy site mourning the loss of dark skies in cities begins Let there be night. Boxing and wrestling sites go for Let there be fight. And what do you make of the following: Let there be height? An article on new architectural styles. Let there be blight? A report on agricultural diseases. Let there be Knight? A piece about fashion photographer Nick Knight. Google was often bemused when I searched for such strings. Did you mean to search for 'Let there be light'?, it asked me wistfully.

この本では、Several blog reports on airline delays are headed Let there be flight.とflightが遅れて飛べない状況を表すときにユーモラスにLet there be flight.使っていましたが、Google検索で見つけた自転車旅行の報告ではまた別の意味で使っていました。

LET THERE BE FLIGHT
October 11, 2014

Along the way back, I stopped at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. If I wasn’t going to fly today then at least I would visit the site where powered flight originated. And I have to say the site was very inspiring. I can only imagine the excitement they must have felt during those initial flight attempts. After wandering around the site for about 90 minutes, I really wanted to fly. But since that wasn’t really an option, I got back on the bike and hit the road again.

ライト兄弟による人類初フライトの地ですから、こちらのLet there be flightの方がオーソドックスな使い方かもしれません。