Bookends: Un poco goes a lang Weg

Here esse un curiosité, and kein mistake. Diego Marani (above) esse eine Italianse writer and EU officialisto livingante in Brussels, qui invented der irreverente lingua des Europanto, ‘eine mix van differente linguas sonder grammatica und regulationes,’ as el puts it sichself.

Oui, c’est Franglais, aber more so and avec knobs on, und der late Kilomètres Kington ist doubtless revolvingante dans sa grave as I write. Marani, however, hast gehen even further que Kington and written un completa livre des short stories in diese bonkers lingua. Las Adventures des Inspector Cabillot (Dedalus, £6.99) features cette ‘autentiquo europeane polizei’ solvingante des crimes and fightingante contra der evil, tout dans la cause de harmonia Europische.

Das ist broad commedia rather than satirismo de la cutting edge, but c’est probablimente no bad chose, given the linguisti bold hurdlinos we have to jump through. (I appear to be morphing into Stanley Unwin.) Du will certischly requirer de foreign lingua previous si du wish to faire much sense of this, et il n’y a pas enough Latin pour meine personalische tastilla.

Sed ces histories are sehr entertainingante, et joyeux también in a funny sort of weg, avec a similar sort of freeform feel à les pirata historias de Gideon Defoe. Europanto esse ‘der jazz des linguas’, dixit Marani, und it’s probablino enjoyed in the identilische spirit. In small doses, in other words, with a large drink close at hand.