English as she is spoke: or, a jest in sober earnest

About this book

Creators: José da Fonseca (1788-1866) and Pedro Carolino "English as she is spoke; or, a jest in sober earnest" by Fonseca and Carolino is a Portuguese-English phrase book published in 1855. Intended as a practical conversational guide, it became instead a legendary monument to hilariously mistaken translation. The author appears to have used a French-English dictionary to translate a Portuguese-French phrase book, producing absurd results like "raining in jars" and "to craunch a marmoset." Mark Twain declared it perfect in its unintentional comedy, noting that "nobody can add to the absurdity of this book." (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading Level: Reading ease score: 85.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. Rights: Public domain in the USA. Downloads: 567

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