(no subject)

[boogara.livejournal.com]

Okay, can we stop acting like 4chan please? It's been made clear time & time again that I'm in the wrong here...

This one's short, but still gets to me A LOT.

So, at my job, we handle dealer and supplier calls as well as x employee calls as well.

To make this short and sweet...

Dear People-From-Non-English-Speaking-English-Country,

You speak English. If you can't understand me when I say "S for Sam", don't yell into the phone. Don't get pissy either because you tell me on more than one occasion you can't hear me, so I figure speaking louder towards you would rectify the issue. Also, when I tell you that a particular ID I need from you is the ID you use to log into the x computer, don't continue to give me a website ID. Website != computer, thank you. One last thing...when I ask you to spell your ID/name/whatever phonetically, I mean to spell it phonetically...not like you're on speed or again in the fashion where I did not understand you the first time.

Your soon to be unemployed support

P.S.: If you're wondering 'bout the whole "Dear..." line, it's simple. Zed is not Z. Zed is a word, not a letter. Just like how "u" is not a word, but a letter. A is not the same as I. If you don't know a word for any of the letters in the alphabet, go back to pre-school, please.

Comments

[falnfenix]

i assume you're American?

the caller in question...might they have been speaking English taught to them by Brits?

[betawriter.livejournal.com]

Zed is not Z. Zed is a word, not a letter.

Many people in English-speaking countries say 'Zed' instead of 'Zee'. It's pretty acceptable to do (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z).

Also, if you're going to snark on someone for saying 'Zed', I would suggest you use the Alpha Bravo Charlie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) method and use 'S as in Sierra'. Just sayin'.

[aylinn.livejournal.com]

or possibly Australians. or even just the Canadians.

*cues up Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady"*

...There even are places where English COMPLETELY disappears.
(mutters) In America, they haven't spoken it for years!...

*grin*

p.s. Yes, I am an American, your point?

[kuang.livejournal.com]

What's a Non-English-Speaking-English-Country?

[boogara.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm American.

The caller was from Australia. I have little-to-no trouble w/ Brits...it's the Australians & New Zealand who do this.

[wxgeek.livejournal.com]

Anywhere but the US, apparently.

[boogara.livejournal.com]

I know it's a language barrier kind of thing. But, they're not doing it phonetically, either...it's just how they pronounce Z.

[boogara.livejournal.com]

Nope.

[boogara.livejournal.com]

"Non-English-Speaking-English-Country" is a country where American English is not spoken (well). Britain for me isn't in this field 'cause all the times I've talked to a Brit, they didn't speak much/any British-English.

[boogara.livejournal.com]

In America, they haven't spoken it for years!...

Sad thing is, thinking about it, that's not that far fetched of a statement to make, lol.

[http://users.livejournal.com/shiara_/]

And Canadians, too.

[amynnah.livejournal.com]

I run into people who have a hard time hearing me on occasion (I'm very soft-spoken)... and vice versa. :)

Good times. :(

[boogara.livejournal.com]

Haha, I used to be soft-spoken...until I dealt w/ plant workers. :D

[mynameisnotreal.livejournal.com]

'S' as in Sierra. 'Z' as in Zulu.

[wibbble]

I think you've got this backwards. America is the 'non-English-speaking-English-country' (if that phrase can have any meaning at all).

Or to put it another way: English, you're doing it wrong.

[falnfenix]

yeah, that's the direction i was going. it's the English speaking world outside of the US that tends to use things like "Zed" - and it seems like only us American heathens have an issue with it.

[falnfenix]

Or to put it another way: English, you're doing it wrong.

<3

[falnfenix]

you've got it on the nose.

...so where's the issue?

[aylinn.livejournal.com]

Which is why I chuckle every time I listen to it. Especially when I have to deal with editing documents for the UK.

[falnfenix]

p.s. Yes, I am an American, your point?

as am i. my point is most of the time, Americans tend to assume the rest of the world will conform to us, when it's just not true.

[dukesnorre.livejournal.com]

Yeah I can understand wanting to use 'zed' as a variant of our 'sett' for z. If they say 'zee' why then it could be either c or z!

[ashestothestars.livejournal.com]

English, you're doing it wrong.

Amen.

[dukesnorre.livejournal.com]

Man I ain't even a native anglophone, yet I agree with this comment.

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

English, you're doing it wrong.

Where would you like your internets sent?

[digitalraven]

Zed is a letter. Please learn English. I understand that "American" has some common terms, but it isn't English, and your "Dear" line is thus entirely incorrect.