“I had only a smattering of Burmese, but even that seemd like a small victory over astounding linguistic odds. Burmese has the perverse syntax of Japanese and the tonal complexities of Chinese. Its writing system is based on a devilish series of interconnecting circles. Apparently, it is a great compliment to say to a Burmese person:

This means, ‘Your handwriting is so round.’”

—Andrew Marshall, The Trouser People: A Story of Burma: In the Shadow of the Empire, 2002.