British Expats - "You Can Barely Speak English"

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British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- USA (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/)

- - "You Can Barely Speak English" (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/you-can-barely-speak-english-241761/)

RoB1833

Jul 12th 2004 11:04 pm

"You Can Barely Speak English"

I was taking a complaint from an employee today who had been fired. The conversation went backwards and forwards over and over again as to why she had been fired and that it was policy in her case to fire employees immediately.

Anyway at the end of the conversation, as she wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear she said to me "Can I speak to someone else, I mean you can't hardly speak English!!!"

Bloody cheek!!! :mad: This from a red-neck!

Of course I said "I am English!"

She didn't stay on the phone..... I only have a light northern accent.... gave my co-workers a good laugh though! :(

AmerLisa

Jul 13th 2004 12:31 am

Re: "You Can Barely Speak English"

Quote:

Originally posted by RoB1833
I was taking a complaint from an employee today who had been fired. The conversation went backwards and forwards over and over again as to why she had been fired and that it was policy in her case to fire employees immediately.

Anyway at the end of the conversation, as she wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear she said to me "Can I speak to someone else, I mean you can't hardly speak English!!!"

Bloody cheek!!! :mad: This from a red-neck!

Of course I said "I am English!"

She didn't stay on the phone..... I only have a light northern accent.... gave my co-workers a good laugh though! :(

Ya gotta love them, or not. :rolleyes: :D

nathan barley

Jul 13th 2004 1:30 am

Re: "You Can Barely Speak English"

Quote:

I'd revel in dedicating every ounce of my being to ensure she was denied unemployment, just to be spiteful :)

Sometimes my accent has a effect of calming down angry callers. I've had a few women go from being upset, to saying how hot my accent it, and completely forgetting about their issues.

I'm such an asset to me company :D

dgsyd1

Jul 13th 2004 4:37 am

I've had someone tell me on the phone that my English was terrible. Got a few giggles out of that one.

marmite74

Jul 13th 2004 12:23 pm

Re: "You Can Barely Speak English"

I hear you there I remember a particularly obnoxious telemarketer telling me I couldn't speak English, few choice words to be had there, strangely enough they never called back!

It can be useful for those annoying phonecalls as I just tell them I am here on vacation and couldn't possibly be interested in whatever they are selling me.

Still have been here three years everyone still comments on my accent but my family back home think I sound like a yank - no pleasing some people I guess!

Claire

dgsyd1

Jul 13th 2004 2:17 pm

I've lived here for 4 years now, and I still can't do an American accent! Whenever I've tried it sounds like a strange amalgamation of Irish and Welsh.

NC Penguin

Jul 13th 2004 2:42 pm

Re: "You Can Barely Speak English"

Quote:

Originally posted by RoB1833
<<snip>>

Anyway at the end of the conversation, as she wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear she said to me "Can I speak to someone else, I mean you can't hardly speak English!!!"

Bloody cheek!!! :mad: This from a red-neck!

Of course I said "I am English!"

She didn't stay on the phone..... I only have a light northern accent.... gave my co-workers a good laugh though! :(

Can you imagine the reaction if we Brits made a retort like that to Southerners or Americans, in general? :D

Tone	Jul 13th 2004 2:45 pm

I was asked by a car salesman if I could read English...:mad:

Oggie Oi!

Jul 13th 2004 5:25 pm

Sometimes when I tell people that I am from the UK, they ask me how I know English.

ironporer

Jul 13th 2004 6:12 pm

Re: "You Can Barely Speak English"

Quote:

Originally posted by NC Penguin
Can you imagine the reaction if we Brits made a retort like that to Southerners or Americans, in general? :D

As a transplanted northerner down here in the south, I have asked many southerners to speak English goddamnit!!.

Tone	Jul 13th 2004 6:19 pm

Or will y'al speak English

jambo_2004

Jul 13th 2004 7:28 pm

Hasnt happened to me yet...if it does my answer will be "no I don't speak English badly, it's an accent...I'm sorry if you can't tell the difference (or what an accent is)...what's your excuse?"

Pulaski

Jul 14th 2004 2:18 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Oggie Oi!
Sometimes when I tell people that I am from the UK, they ask me how I know English.

I've had similar comments, .... until I realized that Americans think that I said Ukraine. I have since conditioned myself to say "Britain" when asked where I come from as, strange though it may seem, most Americans (round here at least) don't use "UK"/ "United Kingdom" to describe my home country.

resu	Jul 15th 2004 1:42 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Pulaski
I've had similar comments, .... until I realized that Americans think that I said Ukraine. I have since conditioned myself to say "Britain" when asked where I come from as, strange though it may seem, most Americans (round here at least) don't use "UK"/ "United Kingdom" to describe my home country.

Hahaha that's SO funny.

I don't know how many times I heard Sweden getting mixed up with Switzerland when I was in Arkansas for 4 months. Or questions like "do y'all speak English there?" or "is that in Europe?". But mixing up the U.K. with Ukraine is just hilarious.. I alsmost fell off my chair when I read that.

Cheers,
Ola
Sweden (U.K. this summer)

ElsieTheMaid

Jul 15th 2004 2:02 pm

I've had "can you say something in English?" :rolleyes:

Most of the time when people ask me where I'm from, I tell them Kansas City, Missouri. Half of them actually believe me.

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