From: utzoo!decvax!yale-com!brunix!gh
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Title: Re: interlingual puns
Article-I.D.: brunix.1927
Posted: Sat Mar 12 15:21:20 1983
Received: Sun Mar 13 10:15:11 1983
References: uw-beave.393,floyd.1250

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned "macaronic verse" -- verse which appears
to be in one language, but which is actually in another.  The best known of
these is probably "Mots d'heure: gousses, rames" by Luis d'Antin van Rooten
(still in print, published by Penguin, $2.95).	I believe this was the first
such collection; it has been widely imitated in many languages.

The book purports to be a collection of French poems, complete with scholarly
annotations on the literal French.  However, if read out loud with a bad French
accent, they become something quite different!	A sample is given below.  I
won't give away its secret; anyone stumped by it can mail me for the answer.
The book's title gives a further clue.  (NB: You have to know French to
understand the humor in the footnotes.	But even if you don't, try speaking the
poem, and seeing if you can "get" it.)

	Graeme Hirst, Brown University Computer Science
	!decvax!brunix!gh	gh.brown@udel-relay


OH, LES MOTS D'HEUREUX BARDES

Oh, les mots d'heureux bardes
Ou` en toutes heures que partent. [1]
Tous guetteurs pour dock a` Beaune. [2]
Besoin gigot d'air
De que paroisse paire. [3]
Et ne pour dock, pet-de-nonne. [4]

NOTES:
1. Minstrels were no doubt a happy lot, and it is not surprising that France,
a cradle of wit and culture, could turn them out in such numbers that they came
and went on an almost predictable schedule.
2. Beaune: Town in the Cote-d'Or, pop. 11,000, famed for its wines and mustard.
It does not have a port; therefore, why should one watch its docks?  Certainly,
it does not have any particular renown as a center of contraband.
3. This must refer to the Cote-d'Or, a peerless parish indeed, rich in some of
the finest vintages of France, and if we are to believe the previous line, a
great lambing country.
4. Pet-de-nonne: An extremely light and fluffy pastry.	Although any decent
housewife would ask for them without hesitation at her favorite patisserie,
decency forbids a direct translation here.