From Margaret Marks's Transblawg I learned of the term effle, meaning "grammatical English which could never be uttered because it has little meaning and could never be put into a sensible context" (and derived from the abbreviation EFL 'English as a Foreign Language'). Now Margaret has added an entry providing some hilarious examples from a book called I am Learning Armenian, "prepared by Krikor Afarian (Teacher and Journalist), second edition 1978, Shirak Press, Beirut," beginning with "Yezneeg likes very much the meat of the hen" and ending with the very final-sounding "It's Dr. Kevorkian."
Posted by languagehat at December 20, 2003 10:48 PMMy hovercraft is full of eels.
Posted by: Rosanne at December 20, 2003 11:17 PMAnd this: Le sange est sur la branche.
Posted by: Rosanne at December 20, 2003 11:22 PMIonesco also wrote a French textbook with nonsense example sentences. I saw it once by for whatever reason couldn't buy it.
Posted by: zizka at December 21, 2003 12:54 AM"by" = "but"
Posted by: zizka at December 21, 2003 12:55 AMI mentioned the Ionesco play - I think you mean that - in a slightly earlier entry. It's 'The Bald Prima-Donna' / 'La Cantatrice Chauve'.
Posted by: MM at December 21, 2003 08:27 AMAnd I know it as "The Bald Soprano." Translated titles of works are a subject I'll have to do a post on one of these days.
Posted by: language hat at December 21, 2003 09:57 AMDear Margaret, Yours in one site I was thinking about visiting all the time. I am finally where I have always wanted to be. The 'template' is cool and I reckon you ar on to some good cut-n-paste job here. I appreciate it! I am going to be back here to get my homework. Keep up the post. I read your last post was recently ( Dec 20) so I can be sure you are not just flirting with a blog. Best!
Posted by: narendra at December 21, 2003 10:31 AMRanas amo, puella, sed non in urnam.
Posted by: noonless at December 21, 2003 12:21 PMIn the hideous Kuzovlyov texts they use out here in the sticks (called "Happy English" - oh, you have no idea), students get to make up their own effle with prefab chunks of sentences. I can't give you an example because the memories are too painful. I haven't been able to bear the sight of those things since after my first month of teaching.
Posted by: PF at December 21, 2003 07:44 PMThe important thing about effle is that it needs to be both effable and ineffable.
Posted by: John Hardy at December 21, 2003 09:38 PMForgot to tell you my favorite effle sentence, from my college Ancient Greek textbook:
When he speaks, the flies die on the walls.
I had to go to the dictionary for John's joke, but now: Ha!
Posted by: PF at December 22, 2003 12:46 AMI suppose you've all already read about anti-Effle? (The effle fully effed.)
Posted by: PF at December 23, 2003 04:19 AMHey! I recognize that ranas amo sentence! It's from... er... I don't remember which textbook, but one of the ones I read in Junior High... maybe Iulia? Latin For Americans? But that should be in urna or in urnis, with the ablative, not the accusative.
Posted by: Iustinus at December 23, 2003 11:14 PM