Another challenge:

In what language would "Have a nice voyage, Cheese! rhyme?

How about "What's happening, Butterfly?"

Feel free to add further examples.

"Bon voyage, fromage" is, of course, French.

Richard English

RATS!!

Shortly after I entered that post and left for several appointments that would keep me away from the computer for some time I realized that I had posed the question in such a way as to unintentionally give away a major hint. The way it was supposed to have read was "Have a nice trip, cheese!" Oh, well...

This was a question I wrote under the category of "Foreign Languages" for a trivia contest fundraiser that I hosted a few years back. I thought (and continue to think) that it was an absolute cracker but the general reception to it was a bit chilly, possibly because so few people answered it correctly.

So how about the butterfly, R.E.?

I can't help with the butterfly, but did you know that if you said, in French, "To the water it is the hour" you get "'ello sailor".

And if you spell out the word English word "socks", it is the exact pronunciation of the Spanish expression "Eso si que es" or "...That's how it is..."

Richard English

A mnemonic for a bit of japanese (a language I know only to the extent of fewer than twenty words) is "Itchy knee, son. She go." In japanese, the numbers "one two three four five" are pronounced "itchi knee son she go".

Spanish would be Que pasa, mariposa? if we forget upside-down question marks and accents...

quote:

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Originally posted by wordnerd:
In japanese, the numbers "one two three four five" are pronounced "itchi knee son she go".

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"Three" in Japanese is "san", pronounced "sawn".

Tinman

one = ichi
two = ni
three = san
four = shi
five = go
six = roku
seven = shichi
eight = hachi
nine = kyu
ten = jyu

(Learned this when my son took Karate)

I didn't suggest Spanish since this phrase is not, of course, a true rhyme. "...pasa..." does not rhyme with "...posa..."

Richard English

Quite right, R.E., and half credit to Arnie for getting the butterfly part correct.

The phrase in Spanish is "Que cosa, mariposa?" (literally "What thing, butterfly?") and is an idiom used in Mexico, mostly by children, if one of my language instructors from the early 80's is to be believed.

As macho as Spanish tends to be, I doubt I would use this phrase with another adult male for risk of appearing, at the very least, somewhat effeminate. As varied from one Spanish-speaking country to the next as that language is, to accidentally miscommunicate is as easy as ichi, ni, san (rhymes with "crayfish") so be warned.

quote:

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Originally posted by Morgan:
four = shi

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"Shi" also means "death". I've heard, but don't know, that some high-rise Japanese buildings don't have a fourth floor, much like many skyscrapers in the US supposedly omit the thirteenth floor. I guess every culture has their superstitions. "Yon" also means "four" and is sometimes used instead.

Tinman