I'm not calling someone unintelligible because they speak a different brand of English. I'm calling them unintelligible because, in spite of a Ph.D. in comparative literature (with experience in forms of English most people have never heard of, plus other languages), experience in teaching English as a second language, seven years' experience living in an international dorm and two years in an international YWCA, I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING. I ask them to repeat what they've just said, I'm very polite, but I just can't make it out.
Fortunately, this experience is rare, as most of my tech support is local, and the people I talk to have full native-speaker capacity, regardless of where they are from. I just don't feel like dumping on people with a lot less training and experience than I have who have trouble understanding overseas tech support when they're in the middle of a computer crisis. As for native speakers who give you a hard time on the phone: I sympathize. (I won't bother anyone with accounts of my dealings with Sprint, and with Montgomery County lately.) But this is not an excuse for bad customer service in general. As for "The Ugly American": the book really has an argument that differs from the stereotype, and it IS relevant. --Constance -----Original Message----- From: Computer Guys Announcements and Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tom Piwowar Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 6:38 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Can you hear me now? [was: iPhone vs. IT: Clash of >Better Google the whole book, "The Ugly American," if you do that. I >read it, and it's not what you think. Constance, I think you are being too literal. "The Ugly American" is definitely about the same thing. Back then the story was our messing up in Southeast Asia. Today it would be the same story about the Middle East. The change in geography does not change the theme of the story. To call someone speaking perfect English "unintelligible" just because they have a different regional accent is quintessential ugly Americanism. I had an economics professor from Australia who spoke a different brand of English. He was harder to understand than most Indian techs. The ugly American would have demanded the professor's dismissal. I don't think that would have been right. While it is true that "the phrase "The Ugly American" was applied to Americans abroad." The internet and telecommunications have brought "abroad" to our doorsteps. Today we don't have to travel to be ugly. However, it is exactly the same kind of ugly. >(Remember Bhopal? Remember Kennecott Copper?) How about last week's news about the construction practices at the new American embassy in Iraq? Definitely an ugly situiation: kidnapping, slave labor, etc.. >My point is that saying >"it's just the modern world and the bottom line, deal with it" is not an >excuse, and we shouldn't accept it. At the very least, it's LOUSY Today I spent an hour in touch-tone hell trying to get a form that JP Morgan Chase refuses to post on their website. The call center was in Chicago. The English was standard American. The service was LOUSY. So what's your point? Should I be happy because I was abused in standard American English? Many times I got excellent support from someone with a heavy regional accent. Should I insist that it was unacceptable just because the person had an accent? ********************************************************** ************************************************************************ * ==> QUICK LIST-COMMAND REFERENCE - Put the following commands in <== * ==> the body of an email & send 'em to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <== * Join the list: SUBSCRIBE COMPUTERGUYS-L Your Name * Too much mail? Try Daily Digests command: SET COMPUTERGUYS-L DIGEST * Tired of the List? Unsubscribe command: SIGNOFF COMPUTERGUYS-L * New address? From OLD address send: CHANGE COMPUTERGUYS-L YourNewAddress * Need more help? Send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************************************************ * List archive at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ * RSS at www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml * Messages bearing the header "X-No-Archive: yes" will not be archived ************************************************************************
