My earlier post suggested that I'm quite happy with the American philosophy that everything can be done via the phone.
But this isn't always the case.
I find that America is full of those voice-automated businesses. People don't answer the phone anymore, machines do. And the machines don't speak my kind of English. And that is grossly inconvenient.
Ask my friends Kate and Stoney, and they'll tell you that the sound of me putting on foreign accents is enough to make your ears bleed. I'm terrible at them. But to deal with an American Cyborg down the phone means I have to put on the dodgiest American accent you've ever heard.
I have to roll my Rs; draw out my Os; and say the word 'period' instead of 'dot'. And because I don't know the worldwide airline alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta, Something, Foxtrot, Something with G), I am left sounding like a twit from "Wheel of Fortune". Example:
Me: J as in Jack; A as in umm, no wait - Antelope; C as in Cactus; K as in
Kaa...Ki.....no wait, I know this one...dammit.
I say, bring back people on the phones. Period. Exclamation point.
3 comments:
knew it wouldnt take long
before u had to affect an accent to make yourself understood
would like to see u roll
your r'ss !!
hee hee
Throw in a few "y'all's" and they will forgive anything. They will think you're from Georgia or Alabama or White Plains or Wisconsin or Idaho (or somethunk like that) ... they make allowances for their country cussins.
Well 2 of my new friends are from the South, so I'm sure they can help me perfect my drawl. But then again, you know how I am with accents...doesn't hurt to try, all the same.
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