English as She is Spoke
English as She is Spoke is a 19th century Portuguese-to-English phrasebook that has become a classic of absurdist humor, owing chiefly to the apparent fact that its writer had absolutely no knowledge of English. It is thought that for utterly obscure reasons its unknown author, Pedro Carolino, used a dictionary to translate Portuguese words to French, then a second dictionary to convert French to English, producing an incoherent but hilarious result. Mark Twain said of this book, "Nobody can add to the absurdity of this book, nobody can imitate it successfully, nobody can hope to produce its fellow; it is perfect." - Summary by J A Carter
Genre(s): Humor, Writing & Linguistics
Language: English
| Section | Chapter | Reader | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play 00 | Introduction and Preface | J A Carter |
00:15:33 |
| Play 01 | Vocabulary and Familiar Phrases | J A Carter |
00:14:05 |
| Play 02 | Familiar Dialogues | Elsie Selwyn |
00:21:23 |
| Play 03 | Familiar Letters, Anecdotes, Idiotisms, and Proverbs | Elsie Selwyn |
00:12:28 |