English as She is Spoke


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(5 stars; 4 reviews)

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 (1 hr 3 min)

Chapters

Introduction and Preface 15:33 Read by J A Carter
Vocabulary and Familiar Phrases 14:05 Read by J A Carter
Familiar Dialogues 21:23 Read by Elsie Selwyn
Familiar Letters, Anecdotes, Idiotisms, and Proverbs 12:28 Read by Elsie Selwyn

Reviews

Listen to Chapter one


(5 stars)

The preface and 2nd and 3rd chapters are alright. But the first chapter had me laughing so hard my sides hurt 😂