перелетят границы

19:58 Apr 22, 2010 

граница n to start
gener. border; frontier; boundary; verge

14:03 Apr 22, 2010 

I don't propose to get rid of either "birds" or "words." In fact, I also think it would be better to retain "borders" than to switch it to "boundaries." I just don't think that birds/words sound nice _right_ next to each other, and with the "surp" of "surpass" - even less so. Not all rhymes are equal, when it comes to beauty. I love Dante's classification in "De Vulgari Eloquentia," where he calls the most beautiful Italian words "combed."

13:48 Apr 22, 2010 

I think it's important to preserve the simile. To change either birds or words, though they rhyme in English (which some might consider an asset in terms of krasota)would be to do a disservice to the source text. Defy is preferable not so much because of the -er, -er, -er repetition as because of the strength of expression it offers over surpass .

04:48 Apr 22, 2010 

Still, it needs to be pronounceable, as well as to meet the "красивое" standard. Try to say "birds, words surpass" in such a way that you don't twist your tongue, and it comes out beautiful. Or, for a laugh, imagine the narrator of the old Down East "Bert & I" series delivering that line.

02:45 Apr 22, 2010 

along the same lines as Olga, i.e., that "Like birds, words surpass boundaries," but I like "defy" better. Either is good, but I definitely think you need to retain the comparison—and the closer, the better.

20:57 Apr 21, 2010 

Just be careful, because "words/birds" could sound a bit heavy and artificial. At least to my ear. That's why, although I offered one "like birds, words" version, I prefer the one where "words" and "birds" are a bit farther apart. They still echo each other, but it's not so ponderous.

20:08 Apr 21, 2010 

Спасибо за предложенные варианты! Очень важно, чтобы в тексте звучало Words like birds