The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-06-21
WRESTLING WITH ENGLISH.
The Sturdy Efforts Of Foreigners to Mastea
Our Idioms and Some Results.

The Sturdy Efforts Of Foreigners to Maste.
Our Idioms and Some Results.
The struggles OF foreigners with the
English language have become pro-
verbal, especially since there was
given to the world that funniest of all
books, English AS She Is Spoke, -
which, as is well known, is a free trans
lation of the real title, which was the
New Guide to Portuguese and English "
The popularity of the book was due
chiefly to the fact that its author had
procured a book of French colloquial
dialogues, which, wi h the aid of die
tionary he put word by word into En-
glish, though he knew literally moth
ing of French.
Necessarily he carries over bodily
idiom after idiom, and as his knowl-
edge of English was scarcely greater
than his knowledge of French the
tumble and confusion that resulted
may be easily imagined. For example,
one of his familiar phrases is: 1T
must never to laugh of the unhappies, y
and another: HE burns oneself the
brains which any French scholar will
recognize at once as literal transla-
tions, or rather Productions. The au-
thor gives his readers the following hui
morous anecdote: ''One-eyed was laid
against man which had good eyes
that he saw better than him. The
party was accepted. I have gain over,
said the ene-eyed; why, see you two
eyes, and You not look me who one?''
All CalifOrnians are familiar with
Chinese English, and of late have been
made acquainted with the attempts OF
the Japanese to master the intricacieS
of English. some OF which. by the way,
are very amusing. The Japanese, II Is
to be noted, are uniformly polite letter
writer's. the kitchen boy who desires
leave of absence or an increase in his
wages approaching the subject with a
lavishneSs of compliment and an extent
of circumlocution which would do hon
or to trained diplomatist.
India, however, If we may judge from
number of recent publications on the
subject of Babu English, as it is com
monty known.will have to be awarded
the palm for queer English. The East
lllOldu IL DAllOuS diANt 10 a NtiAAS 81
student, but in many cases he becomes
enamored, seemingly, of verbal forms
and niceties, and uses words to the Diet
riment of ideas. For example, student
during an examination was required to
| write an essay upon the horse, which
he did in the following summary fash
ion: The horse is very noble animal,
/ Int bn aaaSpS n do Sh y
Henry Georges Progress and Poverty
was boiled down by another essayist in
this wav: The rich man welters on
crimson velvet, while the poor man
snorts on flint.
The book of all East India books for
extraordinary English Is the memoir OF
OnoocOo Chunder MOokerjee, judge OF
the high court Of India, published by
his nephew shortly after the death OF
his uncle. We can select only a few
gems here and there to show the char
acter and style of this remarl<a bic liter
arv production. The learned judge
was stricken with illness while on the
bench, and his biographer says: "AlI
! the well known doctors of Calcutta did
what they could with their puissance
and knacks of medical knowledge. but il
proved after all as if to milk the ram
! His wife and children had not the
mournful consolation 70 hear his last
words; he remained soto voce for few
| hours and then went to God at about
| p m"
Such distinguished man was natural
! ly charitable, and this is the way his
! eulogist sums up that side Of his char
acter: The Hon BILE Mookerjee die
| bleed freely, but he was not leviathar
| OF the ocean of iberality; the mode o.
/ assignment of his charities was to such
men as we truly wish and recommend
and exsuscitate enthusiastically. He
used to give monthly to many relics
/ who had no hobbaboy-hoy even to sup
port them, and had no other source o.
/ sustenance left to them by their con
| sort. San Francisco Chronicle