Tarzan English

Tarzan English (uncountable)

1. Tarzanese

   Synonyms: Tarzanese, Tarzan-speak

   • 1946 November 26, The Gateway, Omaha, page 2, column 3:

     This book, written in Tarzan English, is so vivid and moving that the reader is compelled to live each and every page in spite of himself.

   • 1949, Rebecca West, The Meaning of Treason, London: Macmillan and Co., page 257:

     After the trial was over Mr. Silvester sent to the War Office a letter which had been posted to him from Berhn, written in Tarzan English and signed Elsa Schutz.

   • 1962, Ruth J. Colvin, I Speak English, Santa Barbara: Bloomsbury, published 1986, page 21:

     In an effort to communicate with newcomers who understand and speak little English, we sometimes use "Tarzan English," that is, we chop our sentences short, in an effort to be understood.

   • 2015 June 26, “For the love of god, add manual refresh”, in Void Tools‎^[1]:

     P.S. Sorry for my tarzan english, not a native speaker.

   • 2017, Mario A. Tovar, Mexican American Psychology: Social, Cultural, and Clinical Perspectives, Literacy Volunteers of America, Incorporated:

     Terms like Tarzan English have been used to describe how some immigrant children communicate with English-speaking people. This form of communication consists of talking in a broken manner while mixing English and Spanish (e.g., phrases like "Me no speak English.").

   • 2017 February 20, “Language Learning: Is Fluency Worth It?”, in Listen and Learn Blog‎^[2]:

     In the smallish Thai city where I live, most ex-pats, foreigners or Farangs put little stock in learning Thai. The demographic is generally older, retired, western men who are generally married to middle-aged Thai women and communicate in Thainglish or Tarzan English as my little group of friends like to call it.