I think that translating Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark without significant losses is almost impossible. But here is an example where a translator managed to preserve the possibility to construct a portmanteau word (in line 009) from two other words (in line 010).
In Lewis Carroll, Alice, Band 3, Die Jagd nach dem Schnark (2013, ISBN 978-3-8442-6493-7, p. 16), Günther Flemming‘s translation into German of The Hunting of the Snark has no maker of Bonnets and Hoods in line 010. Instead, line 010 describes an activity of the Boots, who is introduced in line 009 (translated as But). Flemming’s translation allows to construct the portmanteau “But” from “Bonnie wie Hut“. However, the lines 009 and 010 lost their ambiguity. Using “Einer” instead of “Er” would have maintained the ambiguity.
Günther Flemming’s translation:
009 Die Crew war komplett, sie umfasste ‘nen
But —
010 Er machte soB onnie wie Hut —
011 Einen Beistand im Schlichten von ihrem Disput —
012 Einen Broker, der schätzte ihr Gut,013 Einen Billard-Markeur mit enorm sichrer Hand,
014 Der vielleicht hätt’ verdient noch viel mehr —
015 Ein Bankier jedoch nahm jeden Penny zum Pfand
016 Für sein eigenes hohes Salär.
Lewis Carroll’s original (with a non-sequential interlaced portmanteau):
009 The crew was complete: it included a
Boots —
010 A maker ofB onnets and Hoo ds —
011 A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes —
012 And a Broker, to value their goods.013 A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
014 Might perhaps have won more than his share —
015 But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
016 Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Günther Flemming isn’t active in the Internet anymore. But I am happy to have had a nice email exchange with him (2026-01-04).