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Original Essays | February 8, 2012

Kent Hartman: IMG A Raider by Any Other Name

2 comments By Kent Hartman

Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college... Continue »
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    The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret

    Kent Hartman 9780312619749
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Other titles in the Collins Library series:

English As She Is Spoke (04 Edition)

by Jose Da Fonseca

English As She Is Spoke (04 Edition) Cover

ISBN13: 9781932416114
ISBN10: 1932416110
Condition: Student Owned
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Synopses & Reviews

Please note that used books may not include additional media (study guides, CDs, DVDs, solutions manuals, etc.) as described in the publisher comments.

Synopsis:

In 1855, when Jose 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. The linguistic train wreck that ensued is a classic of unintentional humor, now revived in the first newly selected edition in a century. Armed with Fonseca and Carolino's guide, a Portuguese traveler can insult a barber ("What news tell me? All hairs dresser are newsmonger"), complain about the orchestra ("It is a noise which to cleve the head"), go hunting ("let aim it! let make fire him"), and consult a handy selection of truly mystifying "Idiotisms and Proverbs."
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Shoshana, June 15, 2009 (view all comments by Shoshana)
If your favorite Monty Python sketch is "Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook" ("My hovercraft is full of eels"), you'll enjoy this English phrase book, written by a non-English-speaking fellow who used a Portuguese-French phrasebook and French-English dictionary to render what appear to be well-formed Portuguese sentences into inexplicable sentiments such as "He burns one's self the brains." Some of the errors make sense--they are literal translations of reflexive constructions, or homophones. Others defy easy explanation. While it may be true that "It must never to laugh of the unhappies," you may find this a difficult dictum to which to adhere in the face of these translations. I especially enjoy the section presenting anecdotes which are all but incomprehensible in the telling. Laughing of the unhappies, however, may bring about the uneasy realization that your attempts to speak another language probably sound exactly like this phrasebook.

You can learn to say "My hovercraft is full of eels" in many tongues, including Esperanto, at http://www.omniglot.com
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781932416114
Author:
Da Fonseca, Jose
Publisher:
McSweeney's Books
Editor:
Collins, Paul
Author:
Da Fonseca, Jos&#0233
Author:
Collins, Pedro Carolino and José Da Fonseca and Paul
Author:
Carolino, Pedro
Author:
Da Fonseca, José
Author:
Fonseca, Jose Da
Author:
Collins, Paul
Author:
da Fonseca, Jose
Subject:
Portuguese
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
Form - Essays
Subject:
HUMOR / Form/Essays
Subject:
Humor-Anthologies
Edition Description:
First Trade Paper Edition
Series:
Collins Library
Publication Date:
20040631
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Language:
English
Pages:
151
Dimensions:
8.28x5.44x.52 in. .60 lbs.
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English As She Is Spoke (04 Edition) Used Trade Paper
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$6.00 In Stock
Product details 151 pages McSweeney's Books - English 9781932416114 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by ,
In 1855, when Jose 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. The linguistic train wreck that ensued is a classic of unintentional humor, now revived in the first newly selected edition in a century. Armed with Fonseca and Carolino's guide, a Portuguese traveler can insult a barber ("What news tell me? All hairs dresser are newsmonger"), complain about the orchestra ("It is a noise which to cleve the head"), go hunting ("let aim it! let make fire him"), and consult a handy selection of truly mystifying "Idiotisms and Proverbs."
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