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31 reviews for:
English as She Is Spoke: The Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
Pedro Carolino
3.86 AVERAGE
31 reviews for:
English as She Is Spoke: The Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
Pedro Carolino
3.86 AVERAGE
From the blurb: In 1855, when José da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino wrote an English phrasebook for Portuguese students, they faced just one problem: they didn't know any English. Even worse, they didn't own an English-to-Portuguese dictionary. What they did have, though, was a Portuguese-to-French dictionary, and a French-to-English dictionary...
I remain somewhat convinced that this a prank, but the title page does list the early publication date.
This book is funny on two levels, first the fact that a linguist wrote this awful translation ("Listen to the birds gurgling."), and second that, even if it were accurate, it is terribly dated (one list of words includes servants, including, "Woman Who Irons the Linens.") Painful conversations to woo women, tell the police you aren't responsible for a bar fight, describe a horse and rider accident, and explain your hotel room is vermin-ridden are worth the time to decipher.
I remain somewhat convinced that this a prank, but the title page does list the early publication date.
This book is funny on two levels, first the fact that a linguist wrote this awful translation ("Listen to the birds gurgling."), and second that, even if it were accurate, it is terribly dated (one list of words includes servants, including, "Woman Who Irons the Linens.") Painful conversations to woo women, tell the police you aren't responsible for a bar fight, describe a horse and rider accident, and explain your hotel room is vermin-ridden are worth the time to decipher.
funny
This is like a pocket-sized coffee table book. You can just flip it open randomly every once in a while and you'll be sure to be rewarded with something entertaining. Reading it straight, I found, makes you lose perspective on how wild the book actually is. I've been reading it in bits and pieces instead.
I don't think grammar mistakes by non-fluent speakers are inherently funny, in fact rather the opposite, but this book is unique. It's famous for being so bad that it's good, and has been considered so for a long time. Explaining the joke usually kills it, but I can't help but wish that Mark Twain or his contemporaries had made an annotated version of the book just pointing out all their favorite bits. I'd love to know what most tickled people in the 1850s/60s, compared to my lens as a modern reader. I have to imagine there are jokes I'm missing, mistranslations or mix-ups that I can't grasp as well as people 60 years ago.
That's not to say this is a subtle book. Its errors are unmissable eyesores on each and every page. The book is also fun if you know a little bit about grammar in the pertinent/related languages, since you can play detective at how exactly the author--Carolino; Da Fonseca is probably innocent--came to make the errors that he did. (This edition includes the original Portuguese, helpfully.) Some errors are rather logical (e.g., double negatives are different in English vs Portuguese) so I feel sympathetic. But others are utterly confounding. You just look at something like "He is very weet personate" and wonder how on earth he got there from "é múito bem feito".
The other delight of the book is that even outside the shoddy translations, the phrasebook has chosen some inexplicable "common phrases" to translate. Perhaps this is me missing some historical and cultural context, but I can't imagine that of all the possible phrases, "I have put my stockings outward" or '"One's find-modest the young men rarely" would be top of the heap in terms of usefulness. I get the feeling that even if the translations were accurate, one could still get some amusement from what the book considers to be essential to the reader's lexicon; e.g., being extraordinarily rude to a barber for not sharing enough hot goss. It conjures to mind a very hapless man with perhaps too much money wandering about England yelping things like "He does me some kicks" and "i am very unhappy alwes i lose".
I don't think grammar mistakes by non-fluent speakers are inherently funny, in fact rather the opposite, but this book is unique. It's famous for being so bad that it's good, and has been considered so for a long time. Explaining the joke usually kills it, but I can't help but wish that Mark Twain or his contemporaries had made an annotated version of the book just pointing out all their favorite bits. I'd love to know what most tickled people in the 1850s/60s, compared to my lens as a modern reader. I have to imagine there are jokes I'm missing, mistranslations or mix-ups that I can't grasp as well as people 60 years ago.
That's not to say this is a subtle book. Its errors are unmissable eyesores on each and every page. The book is also fun if you know a little bit about grammar in the pertinent/related languages, since you can play detective at how exactly the author--Carolino; Da Fonseca is probably innocent--came to make the errors that he did. (This edition includes the original Portuguese, helpfully.) Some errors are rather logical (e.g., double negatives are different in English vs Portuguese) so I feel sympathetic. But others are utterly confounding. You just look at something like "He is very weet personate" and wonder how on earth he got there from "é múito bem feito".
The other delight of the book is that even outside the shoddy translations, the phrasebook has chosen some inexplicable "common phrases" to translate. Perhaps this is me missing some historical and cultural context, but I can't imagine that of all the possible phrases, "I have put my stockings outward" or '"One's find-modest the young men rarely" would be top of the heap in terms of usefulness. I get the feeling that even if the translations were accurate, one could still get some amusement from what the book considers to be essential to the reader's lexicon; e.g., being extraordinarily rude to a barber for not sharing enough hot goss. It conjures to mind a very hapless man with perhaps too much money wandering about England yelping things like "He does me some kicks" and "i am very unhappy alwes i lose".
challenging
slow-paced
Lucky for me, I know English and don't live in 1860s Portugal to depend on this book to learn it. English as She Is Spoke is a bit of a meme in linguistic circles and Mark Twain's prologue lets us know that it was also a bit of a meme back when it first came out too, which is beautiful considering there was no internet to help the book's popularity. No, the popularity was exclusively thanks to how bad it is.
Needless to say, this phrasebook is completely useless for learning English but it brings me joy knowing it gave so many people (Mark Twain included) a good laugh. My rating of 3 is based on the fact that it's horrendous for learning the language (1) and absolutely, inadvertently hilarious (5). And rather than talking about it any more, I'll just copy some of my favorites from the book:
Phrases Familiares
Needless to say, this phrasebook is completely useless for learning English but it brings me joy knowing it gave so many people (Mark Twain included) a good laugh. My rating of 3 is based on the fact that it's horrendous for learning the language (1) and absolutely, inadvertently hilarious (5). And rather than talking about it any more, I'll just copy some of my favorites from the book:
Phrases Familiares
These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in mouth.
I have mind to vomit.
Since you not go out, I shall go out nor I neither.
Dialogos Familiares
Dialogue 18. For to ride a horse. Here is a horse who have a bad looks. He not sall know to march, he is pursy, he is foundered. Don't you are ashamed to give me a jade as like? he is undshoed, he is with nails up; it want to lead to the farrier. I forgot to buy gun-powder and balls. Let us prick. Go us more fast never I was seen a so much bad beast; she will not nor to bring forward neither put back.
Dialogue 32. The field. I do me extremely better since I have leave the town for to deliver me at the agriculture.
Anecdotas
A little master frizzeled, perfumed and covered of gold, had leaded to the church, for to marry, a coquethish to the dye glistening the parson, having considered a minute that disfigured couple, told him: "Now before to pronounce the conjungo, let avow me for fear of quiproquo, which from both is the bride?
A such gentleman, noble as the catholic king and as the pope, but poor as Job, was arrived for night into a France village where there is not that a single inn. As it was more midnight, he knock long to the door from that inn before to may awake the host; in end, he did get uphim, by dint of hubbut. "Who is there?" cry the host for window. "It is, told the Espagnishman, don Juan-Pedro-Hermandez-Rodriguez of Villa-Nova, conde of Badajoz, caballero de Santiago y d'Alcantara." The host was answered him immediately in shuting the window. "Sir, I feel too much, but we have not rooms enough for to lodge all these gentlemen."
funny
informative
medium-paced
I'll give no stars to this!
How can this guy do this? If he didn't know English why attempt to do something like this?
The result is hilarious but I wasn't able to read all of it! It's just so BAD!
I'm Portuguese and I had never even heard of this book ... it was some article on the web that brought this to my attention... We aren't all this this person, ok??? :D
How can this guy do this? If he didn't know English why attempt to do something like this?
The result is hilarious but I wasn't able to read all of it! It's just so BAD!
I'm Portuguese and I had never even heard of this book ... it was some article on the web that brought this to my attention... We aren't all this this person, ok??? :D
funny
I read an edition with a prologue by Mark Twain and highlights done by youtuber Rob Words, who was the reason I picked it up. The craziness of this book. Itdoes demonstrate how direct trenslation can make for a bad game of telephone.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Best 1855 publication I’ve ever read.
Wax my shoes.
Wax my shoes.
– What is there in new’s litterature?
– Little or almost nothing, it not appears any thing of note.
– And yet one imprint many deal.
– That is true; but what it is imprinted. Some news papers, pamphlets, and others ephemiral pieces: here is.
– But why, you and another book seller, you does not to imprint some good works?
– There is a reason for that, it is that you cannot to sell its. The actual-liking of the public is depraved they does not read who for to amuse one’s self ant but to instruct one’s.
смаки публіки воістину депрайвд: публіка бере португальсько-англійський розмовник фор ту ам'юз і ні разу не ту інстракт. але це справді вкрай ам'юзінг розмовник, провісник перекладних меню й інструкцій до виготовленого в китаї, що побачив світ за півтора століття до гуглтранслейту. всі «ice cream in the ass» і «various and confused pizzas» – це просто бліді епігони праці педро кароліно.
у кароліно, який узявся за писання португальсько-англійського розмовника, були дві проблеми: він нічого не тямив у англійській (злі язики кажуть, що в португальській теж небагато) і не мав португальсько-англійського словника. тому «english as she is spoke» – це зшита з португальсько-французького розмовника та французько-англійського словника радість серця, у якої видно, звідки ростуть ноги, але часом це тентаклі.
– Little or almost nothing, it not appears any thing of note.
– And yet one imprint many deal.
– That is true; but what it is imprinted. Some news papers, pamphlets, and others ephemiral pieces: here is.
– But why, you and another book seller, you does not to imprint some good works?
– There is a reason for that, it is that you cannot to sell its. The actual-liking of the public is depraved they does not read who for to amuse one’s self ant but to instruct one’s.
смаки публіки воістину депрайвд: публіка бере португальсько-англійський розмовник фор ту ам'юз і ні разу не ту інстракт. але це справді вкрай ам'юзінг розмовник, провісник перекладних меню й інструкцій до виготовленого в китаї, що побачив світ за півтора століття до гуглтранслейту. всі «ice cream in the ass» і «various and confused pizzas» – це просто бліді епігони праці педро кароліно.
у кароліно, який узявся за писання португальсько-англійського розмовника, були дві проблеми: він нічого не тямив у англійській (злі язики кажуть, що в португальській теж небагато) і не мав португальсько-англійського словника. тому «english as she is spoke» – це зшита з португальсько-французького розмовника та французько-англійського словника радість серця, у якої видно, звідки ростуть ноги, але часом це тентаклі.