In 1883, Pedro Carolino published "
English As She Is Spoke", arguably the worst phrasebook ever written. Carolino's problem was that he spoke
Portuguese, some
French, and no
English, so his translations had to pass through a Portuguese to French dictionary and then through a French to English dictionary.
The results are hilariously bad; virtually every sentence in the text is fractured, and some make no sense whatsoever.
Mark Twain found the phrasebook to be particularly entertaining, and it was also included in "
The Incomplete Book of Failures" by
Stephen Pike.
Examples include:
To craunch the marmoset.
The stone as roll not heap up not foam.
Keep the chestnut of the fire with the cat foot.
Nothing some money, nothing of Swiss.