You only need to answer "Yes" or "No"

So many courtroom drama plays out with the attorney questioning the witness... resulting in the witness rambling on and on and on.... to a point where the judge simply says "Just answer 'Yes' or 'No'."  But it ain't that simple bro..............

Currently reading a book called, "The Genius of Language: Fifteen Writers Reflect on Their Mother Tongue" where famous English writers evaluate the all-powerful English language in contrast with the language they grew up with.  Amy Tan - the author of Joy Luck Club (among others) - reflected on Chinese.  To which she so masterfully writes, "And so the language being compared is always in danger of being judged deficient or superfluous, simplistic or unnecessarily complex, melodious or cacophonous." That is so true on so many things in life... you pick a standard and you by default, that's what everything is measured against, right/wrong/indifferent.

Having been a Chinese/English or English/Chinese translator for years at church... there is the simplest of simple word that simply can't be translated.  As Cyrano de Bergerac and much later Steve Martin (in Roxanne says):

"There is a tiny word; it is not a noun, it is not a verb... ...it is not an adjective, I do not know what it is. But if you said it to me tonight, all this blackness would go away."

"What is that word, Chris??"

"Yes."

Now... try translating that into Chinese.  I dare ya....

And if you can't... here's why: https://mandarinhq.com/2016/05/say-yes-in-mandarin-chinese/

Mood: bumbleful