English as She Is Spoke

English as She Is Spoke, first published in 1855, is a famously unintentional work of linguistic comedy. Created when Pedro Carolino attempted to write an English phrasebook using a Portuguese-to-French guide and a French-to-English dictionary—without speaking English—the result is a hilariously garbled and surreal misuse of the language. Filled with nonsensical phrases, botched idioms, and absurd dialogues, the book became a cult classic admired by Mark Twain. A monument to translation gone wrong, it is now read more for its humor than its instructional value.