Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-05
WRESTLING WITH ENGLISH.
The Sturdy Efforts of Foreigners to Maste
Our Idioms and Some Results.

The Sturdy Efforts of Foreigners to Master
Our Idioms and Some Results.
From the San Francisco Chronicle
The struggles Of foreigners with the English
language have become proverbial, especially
since there was given to the world that funniest
of all books, English She is Spoke" which,
as is well known, is q free translation OF the
real title, which was 1.-The New Guide to Portu-
guese and English" The popularity Of the
book WAS due chiefly to the fact that its author
had procured book of French colloquial dia-
logues, which, with the aid of dictionary, he
put word by word into English, though he knew
literally nothing of French.
Necessarily he carries over bodily idiom
after idiom, and as his knowledge Of English
was scarcely greater than his knowledge OF
French, the tumble and confusion that re-
shifted NAV be easily imagined. For example.
one of his familiar phrases Is: 1T must never
to laugh Of the unhappies." and another: He
burns oneself the brains" which any French
scholar will recognize at once as literal trans
lations, or rather Productions. The author
gives his readers the following humorous anec-
dote: "One-eyed was laid against q man which
had good eyes that he saw better than him.
The party was accepted. Il have gain over.
said the one eyed; why, see you two eyes,
and you not look me who oneg"
All Californians are familiar with Chinese
English and Of late have been made ac-
quainted with the attempts Of the japanese
to master the lntricacies of English, some OF
waich, by the way, are very amusing. The
Japanese. il is to be noted, are uniformly
| polite letter writer's, the kitchen boy who de-
sires leave Of absence or an increase in his
! wages approaching the subject with lavish
| ness of compliment and an extent OF circum-
| locution which would do honor to q trained
diplomatist.
India, however, if we may judge from a mum
Der Of recent publications on the subject OF
bobu English, rs it is commonly known, will
| have to be awarded the palm for queer En-
| glish. The East indian is ambitious and Is 1
| diligent student. but in many cases he becomes
enamored. seemingly. OF verbal forms and
niceties and us, words to the detriment o
| ideas. For example, a student during an ex
animation was required to write an essay upon
the horse, which he did in the following sum
mary fashion: 1.-The horse is q very noble AMI
NAL but when irritated he ceases to do so.
Henry Georges Progress and Poverty" wa
boiled down by another essayist in this way
1.-The rich man welters on crimson velvet
while the poor man snorts on flint"
The book of all East Indian books for ex
traordinary English is the memoir of Onoocoo
Chunder Mookerjee, judge of the high couI
Of India, published by his nephew shortly afte
the death Of his uncle. We can select only
few gems here and there to show the chGracte
and style Of this remarkable literary produt
ton. The learned judge was stricken with II
ness while on the bench. and bis biographt
saws: "An the well-known doctors Of Calcnt'
did what they could with their puissance an
knack of medical knowledge. but 1t proved afte
all as il to milk the ram. His wife and chi
dren had not the mournful consolation TO hes
: his last words; ne remained soto voce for
few hours and then went to God at abou
6p.m."
Such a distinguished man natural
charitable. and this is the way his eulogist sun
q up that side Of his character: The Hon b
Z Mookerjee did bleed freely, but he was not
leviathan on the ocean of iberality; the mo-
of assignment Of his charities was to such M
: as we truly wish aud recommend and exsust
tatc enthusiastically. He used to give month
to many relics who had no hob -baboy-hoy ey,
to support them and had no other source
sustenance left to them by their consort."