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30 reviews for:
English as She Is Spoke: The Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
Pedro Carolino
3.85 AVERAGE
30 reviews for:
English as She Is Spoke: The Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English
Pedro Carolino
3.85 AVERAGE
funny
fast-paced
"This room is filled of bugs" is how I feel like I sound like every time I attempt to use conversational French 😀
I don't know about hilarious, considering the widely available bad translations we now have access to, but it certainly is funny.
For me personally, the context of the book is way funnier than its contents. How these two men thought this was a good idea is absolutely delightful. Bless their hearts.
For me personally, the context of the book is way funnier than its contents. How these two men thought this was a good idea is absolutely delightful. Bless their hearts.
Left in a hostel in Lisbon, which seems as good as any place.
Maybe the greatest piece of literature in the English language.
This book is absurdly hilarious, a fact which is compounded because this book was a sincere attempt to educate people. To quote Mark Twain's preface:
"There are sentences in the book which could have been manufactured by a man in his right mind, and with an intelligent and deliberate purposes to seem innocently ignorant; but there are other sentences, and paragraphs, which no mere pretended ignorance could ever achieve—nor yet even the most genuine and comprehensive ignorance, when unbacked by inspiration."
And now some of my favorite parts {plus commentary}:
"Colours.
White
Cray
Gridelin
Musk
Red" {who knew there were so few colours?}
"Chastisements.
A fine
Honourable fine
Bastinade
The dungeon
The iron collar
To decapitate
To empale
To strangle
To whip
The galleys
To stamp, to mark
To handcuff
Imprisonment
The torture rack
To break upon
Tho tear off the flesh
To draw to four horses." {This got real very quickly.}
From "Familiar Phrases:"
"Put your confidence in my." {In your what? Translation skills? I'd rather not.}
"Apply you at the study during that you are young." {Somewhere in this mess is a good piece of life advice.}
"These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in the mouth." {Was this a common expression in the 1800s?}
"Dry this wine." {?}
"He laughs at my nose, he jest by me." {Ok.}
"Till hither." {Till hither, indeed!}
"I have mind to vomit." {Same.}
"Take that boy and whip him to much.
Take attention to cut you self." {These two are really bad advice; do neither of them.}
"Dress my horse." {Yes, sir.}
From "Familiar Dialogues:"
"Your razors, are them well?
Yes, Sir.
Comb-me quickly; don't put me so much pomatum. What news tell me? all hairs
dresser are newsmonger.
Sir, I have no heared any thing." {Er...}
"Tongh he is German, he speak so much well italyan, french, spanish, and english, that
among the Italyans, they believe him Italyan, he speak the frenche as the Frenches
himselves. The Spanishesmen belie ve him Spanishing, and the Englishes, Englisman.
It is difficult to enjoy well so much several languages." {Especially if you learnt them from Senhor Carolinho.}
"Do you study?
Yes, sir, I attempts to translate of french by portuguese.
Do you know already the principal grammars rules?
I am appleed my self at to learn its by heart.
Do speak french alwais?
Some times; though I flay it yet.
You jest, you does express you self very well." {Sadly, he didn't "appleed" himself to learn English "its by heart."}
From "Idiotisms and Proverbs:"
"Take out the live coals with the hand of the cat" {I've no idea what this is suppose to mean.}
"He is not so devil as he is black." {Granted this book is from the late 1800s but still, this comment is just racist.}
"Burn the politeness." {Yes, burn the politeness, burn it.}
"There are sentences in the book which could have been manufactured by a man in his right mind, and with an intelligent and deliberate purposes to seem innocently ignorant; but there are other sentences, and paragraphs, which no mere pretended ignorance could ever achieve—nor yet even the most genuine and comprehensive ignorance, when unbacked by inspiration."
And now some of my favorite parts {plus commentary}:
"Colours.
White
Cray
Gridelin
Musk
Red" {who knew there were so few colours?}
"Chastisements.
A fine
Honourable fine
Bastinade
The dungeon
The iron collar
To decapitate
To empale
To strangle
To whip
The galleys
To stamp, to mark
To handcuff
Imprisonment
The torture rack
To break upon
Tho tear off the flesh
To draw to four horses." {This got real very quickly.}
From "Familiar Phrases:"
"Put your confidence in my." {In your what? Translation skills? I'd rather not.}
"Apply you at the study during that you are young." {Somewhere in this mess is a good piece of life advice.}
"These apricots and these peaches make me and to come water in the mouth." {Was this a common expression in the 1800s?}
"Dry this wine." {?}
"He laughs at my nose, he jest by me." {Ok.}
"Till hither." {Till hither, indeed!}
"I have mind to vomit." {Same.}
"Take that boy and whip him to much.
Take attention to cut you self." {These two are really bad advice; do neither of them.}
"Dress my horse." {Yes, sir.}
From "Familiar Dialogues:"
"Your razors, are them well?
Yes, Sir.
Comb-me quickly; don't put me so much pomatum. What news tell me? all hairs
dresser are newsmonger.
Sir, I have no heared any thing." {Er...}
"Tongh he is German, he speak so much well italyan, french, spanish, and english, that
among the Italyans, they believe him Italyan, he speak the frenche as the Frenches
himselves. The Spanishesmen belie ve him Spanishing, and the Englishes, Englisman.
It is difficult to enjoy well so much several languages." {Especially if you learnt them from Senhor Carolinho.}
"Do you study?
Yes, sir, I attempts to translate of french by portuguese.
Do you know already the principal grammars rules?
I am appleed my self at to learn its by heart.
Do speak french alwais?
Some times; though I flay it yet.
You jest, you does express you self very well." {Sadly, he didn't "appleed" himself to learn English "its by heart."}
From "Idiotisms and Proverbs:"
"Take out the live coals with the hand of the cat" {I've no idea what this is suppose to mean.}
"He is not so devil as he is black." {Granted this book is from the late 1800s but still, this comment is just racist.}
"Burn the politeness." {Yes, burn the politeness, burn it.}
funny
informative
medium-paced
According to Goodreads, 5 stars means "it was amazing", and this is, indeed, amazing. I enjoy reciting train wreck translations out loud, and I am tickled that they go so far back.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
This is hilarious, it brought me to tears (of laughter - obviously)!