English as she is spoke

September 4, 2005 10:08 PM

English as she is spoke : Infamous as the world's most ludicrously inept foreign phrasebook, the misbegotten work of Jose da Fonseca and Pedro Carolino was revived in a new edition by the Collins Library in March 2002. Some background.
posted by dhruva (18 comments total)

via growabrain
posted by dhruva at 10:09 PM on September 4, 2005

Double post.
posted by smich at 10:14 PM on September 4, 2005

Sorry, that should have been this.
posted by smich at 10:15 PM on September 4, 2005

The story of Rindercella:

Once apon a time, in a coreign fountry, there lived a very geautiful birl; her name was Rindercella. Now, Rindercella lived with her mugly other and her two sad bisters. And in this same coreign fountry, there was a very prandsom hince.
posted by cenoxo at 10:16 PM on September 4, 2005

ah. well. delete away.
posted by dhruva at 10:16 PM on September 4, 2005

cenoxo - Spoonerisms? Note the second poem down.
(as Python did do this famous sketch, it's all fairly on the mark...)
Publisher (Michael Palin): I wish to plead incompetence.
posted by Zack_Replica at 10:35 PM on September 4, 2005

Hah! Fawlty Towers is my favorite Britcom (John Cleese on Manuel): "Never mind him, he's from Barcelona."
posted by cenoxo at 10:50 PM on September 4, 2005

My hovercraft is full of eels.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:06 PM on September 4, 2005

Let's boil the wolverines.
posted by sklero at 11:31 PM on September 4, 2005

Mentioned here as well.
posted by AwkwardPause at 11:51 PM on September 4, 2005

Drop your panties, Sir William, I cannot wait 'til lunchtime.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:05 AM on September 5, 2005

So that sharpen mouse pointer and forward, to the
running off!
Nine and one-half are hour music they await you!

Babelfish often has some goofy translations.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:05 AM on September 5, 2005

This isn't really a double, since the first post appears to contain only a broken link now.
posted by mek at 12:58 AM on September 5, 2005

Metafilter: let's boil the wolverines.
posted by spinifex23 at 1:07 AM on September 5, 2005

mek: Good point. I'm pretty hard on double posts in general, but Matt should either fix the link in the 2001 post or leave this one.
posted by languagehat at 6:32 AM on September 5, 2005

Please fondle my buttocks.
posted by jonmc at 7:24 AM on September 5, 2005

"It must never to laugh of the unhappies."

Words to live by.
posted by ancientgower at 11:14 AM on September 5, 2005

I will not buy this record. It is scratched.
posted by slixtream at 1:28 AM on September 7, 2005