English as She Is Spoke · Chapter
Author's Preface explained
The author introduces a new guide for Portuguese and Brazilian youth, as well as foreigners, to learn the Portuguese language correctly.
What happens
The author introduces a new guide for Portuguese and Brazilian youth, as well as foreigners, to learn the Portuguese language correctly. The work is divided into two parts: a vocabulary of proper names and forty-three dialogues adapted to everyday life. The author emphasizes the importance of avoiding literal translations and includes a phraseology, letters, anecdotes, proverbs, and a coin index in this second edition. He criticizes previous works for their imperfections and lack of pronunciation guides, hoping his book will be accepted by students and youth.
Themes in this chapter
Linguistic Absurdity
The author's own language is filled with malapropisms and awkward phrasing, ironically undermining his goal of teaching correct Portuguese.
Education and Authority
The preface positions the author as an authority correcting the deficiencies of previous language guides, targeting the youth as the primary audience.
Characters to notice
- Senhor Pedro Carolino
The author of the guide, addressing the reader and explaining the purpose and structure of the book.
- Unknown Narrator
The voice of the preface, likely representing the author's perspective.
Key passages
“A choice of familiar dialogues , clean of gallicisms, and despoiled phrases, it was missing yet to studious portuguese and brazilian Youth; and also to persons of others nations, that wish to know the portuguese language.”
A selection of familiar dialogues, free from French influences and stripped of unnecessary phrases, was still lacking for studious Portuguese and Brazilian youth, as well as for people from other nations who wish to learn the Portuguese language.
The author states the need for a clean, practical language guide.
“We sought all we may do, to correct that want, composing and divising the present little work in two parts.”
We did everything we could to fill that gap by composing and designing this small work in two parts.
The author describes his effort to create the book.
“The Works which we were confering for this labour, fond use us for nothing; but those what were publishing to Portugal, or out, they were almost all composed for some foreign, or for some national little acquainted in the spirit of both languages.”
The works we consulted for this task were of no use to us; those published in Portugal or abroad were almost all written by foreigners or by locals who were not familiar with the spirit of both languages.
The author dismisses existing language guides as inadequate.
“It increase not to contain any of those Works the figured pronunciation of the english words, nor the prosodical accent in the portuguese; indispensable object whom wish to speak the english and portuguese languages correctly.”
None of those works include the phonetic pronunciation of English words or the prosodic accent in Portuguese, which are essential for anyone who wishes to speak both languages correctly.
The author criticizes previous works for lacking pronunciation guides.