having had to take up another language.

被迫学习另一种语言
Nabokov will say that his private tragedy is that, let's see:

纳博科夫断言他的个人悲剧就是我们来看一下
[His] private tragedy, which cannot, and indeed should not,

他的个人悲剧即是必须放弃自己的母语
be anybody's concern, is that I had to abandon my natural idiom,

不会也不应和其他任何人有关
my untrammeled, rich, and infinitely docile Russian tongue

放弃那自由不羁变化丰富且易于驾驭的俄语
for a second-rate brand of English devoid of any of those apparatuses--

转而学习缺少一切精巧结构的二流的英语语言
the baffling mirror, the black velvet backdrop,

那变换的镜子黑天鹅绒的布景
the implied associations and traditions--

那含蓄的指称和传统
which the native illusionist, the frac-tails flying,

当地的魔术师拖着扫帚的飞行
can magically use to transcend the heritage in his own way.

都能够以某种神奇的方式超越文化遗产本身
Here, being in exile prevents Nabokov from making that knight's move.

流放的事实使得纳博科夫不能完成跨越式前进
And you might think about that homophobic attitude to a Proustian past,

你们可能会想到他对普鲁斯特曾持有的恐惧同性恋态度