Thursday, June 15, 2006

how the oldest language on the planet is incomplete

i was walking behind two chinese gentlemen yesterday in chinatown. they were having either a loud intimate conversation or a loud disagreement. it's very difficult to figure out which. anyways, they're talking to each other in chinese, except for one word in english: schedule.

so it's like: djojw fioejnfowd dmeidnewon cndndfc schedule didweifcnw eiwjn dmewdfno schedule njsdnc.

there's no way that there's no chinese word for "schedule".

luckily enough, my cabdriver last night was chinese. so, of course, i asked him. and, after a nice pause, he answered, "no. there is no chinese word for schedule. at least, not quite".

that language is like 4000 years old. i can't believe that culture has gone on that long without schedules.

anyways, when i got out, my cabbie told me i should google "hong kong bus uncle". so i did. and it's fantastic.

which makes me wonder: is there a chinese word for lunatic?

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