English as She Is Spoke (1884) [pdf]

Post by raffraffraff » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:45 PM UTC

pxeger1 wrote: post #58

agentwiggles wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a similar vein, "do the needful" has become so entrenched in some of my friends' vernacular that it's now used almost completely unironically. Also, "like such as," from the old "Miss Teen USA" viral video, has stuck in my craw to the point that its use is unconscious (though still intended humorously).

These are a class of mistake mainly made by native English speakers, but I've ended up using words like "irregardless" and "misunderestimated" unironically because I used them ironically for so long that I forgot

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:53 PM UTC

marc_abonce wrote: post #56

asveikau wrote: post #14

I think this highlights some differences between now and the 19th century. Global communication and travel, to say nothing of media consumption, is much easier today. Many more Portuguese or Brazilian people have easy access to English. But back then, someone who didn't even speak English could publish this phrase book and appear credible.

This kind of thing still happens today. For example this reminded me of the Scots Wikipedia story, which took many years before being discovered: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24273851

Post by kwhitefoot » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 10:08 PM UTC

DiggyJohnson wrote: post #4

From the Wikipedia: > O novo guia da conversação em portuguez e inglez , commonly known by the name English as She Is Spoke , is a 19th-century book written by Pedro Carolino, with some editions crediting José da Fonseca as a co-author. It was intended as a Portuguese–English conversational guide or phrase book. However, because the "English" translations provided are usually inaccurate or unidiomatic, it is regarded…

Post by sauruk » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 10:15 PM UTC

nerdponx wrote: post #62

raffraffraff wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that pretty much how the Americanism "I could care less" originated?

Yes. Along similar lines, expect a spelling convergence of "wary" and "weary" in the next 5-10 years due to so many people not knowing the difference between the two, not bothering to check, and perpetuating confusion by using the wrong one in their own writing.

Post by kwhitefoot » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 10:20 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #19

gherkinnn wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I can't speak for Deepl, but Google remains terrible at idioms. Give the phrase "There's mud all over the shop." a try.

>Give the phrase "There's mud all over the shop." a try. // In which dialect of English is that an idiomatic expression? Never heard it before (en-gb native). What's the interpreted meaning??