"you have beautiful eyes" in different languages

Cafe Society
101

Logic:

p = you
q = beautiful eyes
p->q

p

.:q

102

How about C?


char *you;

int main(void)
{
   you = "beautiful eyes"

   return 0;
}
103

Take nothing for granted when it comes to cultural sensibilities and romance.

I can’t imagine a girl not being flattered by a comment about her eyes but I am talking from my cultural corner.

Just for example, a friend of mine (who had gained a few pounds) was given the following compliment in Alabama: “You so beautiful, you are fat, fat, fat like a piglet”.

104

Actually that means “you point to beautiful eyes”, like perhaps that girl over there. What you want is


char you[ 16 ];
try {
    strcpy( you, "beautiful eyes" );
} catch( CException * slap ) {
    try {
        throw new Compliment();
    } catch( ... ) {
        throw new Apology();
    }
}

:smiley: [sub]Granted I didn’t delete the slap, but then again who could?[/sub]

105

Pig Latin?
Youay avehay autifulbey eyesay.

106

Poor Liberal just can’t get no respect, even the new, gentler model. :wink:

(Just to clarify, I for one am glad he’s back.)

107

Hmmm. Doesn’t this literally mean “There is to you amazing eyes?”

eynayim is the dual, literally “two eyes”, same as Arabic.

108

But don’t ever use it! The female will detect your vulnerability and disembowel you with her d’k tahg.

109

I notice that German was one of the last languages to report in, and even then it took a couple of tries to get the grammar right. Sheesh!!! Ya lose one little war and all of a sudden ya ain’t worth jack shit!

110

Vietnamese (diminutive subject):

Ðôi măt cu[sup]?[/sup]a em đẹp quá

111

Well đẹp didn’t display properly (thank you Windows character map) but you can see what it should look like if you hit reply to post.

112

Almost the same. The Arabic dual of eyes is عينين ‘aynayn.

113

One Arabic expression I’ve heard is عيون الغزال ‘uyūn al-ghazāl, ‘eyes of the gazelle’.

Paying compliments across cultures can be tricky. David Crystal wrote in the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language that he was visiting an Arab country and was invited to dinner at someone’s house. Crystal praised the food as delicious. The host immediately apologized and called for all the food to be replaced at once. :confused:

114

Well, yes and no I guess – see also Johanna’s post #94 about the “have/exist” duality in Turkic languages. Literally, you’re right – “yesh” means “there exist(s).” But at least in modern Hebrew, ownership is most often (and most colloquially) conveyed by the phrase “yesh li” – literally “there exists for me,” but really just “I have.”

115

Could you write how you pronounce it?

116

Chat:
ur eys r BEAUTIFUL!!!11!!1one

MTV pimp my ride car owner:
Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Your eyes! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! your eyes are beautiful! Oh my god! I cant believe it! Oh my god! Oh my god!

Karl Childerish:
You have beautiful eyes. mm-hmm

117

Hey, we didn’t do Catalan!
Noia, quins ulls més bonics qu’hi tens! (probably contains misspellings; lit: girl, what beautiful eyes you have!)

or if it’s to a guy, Noi instead of noia.

118

In Dopersville:

ATMB: [Mein eyes (or Is this blue permanent?]](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=235695es)
Comments on Cecil’s Columns: Eyepoppin’ good
Comments on Staff Reports: A Site for sore eyes indeed
General Questions: Cat squinty eyes
Great Debates: For golden eyes only
Cafe Society: Blue eyes vs. brown eyes in music
In My Humble Opinion: Describe dark/evil eyes
MPSIMS: My eyes don’t match
The BBQ Pit: Fuck you, Bright Eyes

119

i’ll pwn j00 all with my leet-speak version:

j00 |-|4/e 8E4U+1phUl eY3$

120

Bulgarian:

Имаш красиви очи.
Imash krasivi ochi.