We've all heard those annoying little computerized voices that give us menu options over the phone,
Like,
For Service, press 1
For Sales, press 2
For someone who really cares , hang up and look in a mirror!
Well you don't get that one too often...On a couple occasions I've made it to the last choice and I am waiting for someone top pick up and then I get disconnected..
I learned a way of coping with those long waits in telephone hell. I use the speakerphone and go on doing something else and when I hear someone actually answer, I pick the phone back up.
But something else has come to my attention, something I just don't get. I called COMCAST Information on my phone the other day and was greeted in English by a perky feminine computer generated voice:
"Welcome to Comcast Directory Assistance , For English press 1 - or stay on the line."
Then a more sultry feminine computer generated voice tells you to press 2 for Spanish
What if I was from Tanzania and I only spoke Swahili ??? Why don't I get a choice??
Why didn't we get the Sultry voice in English and give the Spanish the Perky voice??
Since I am from the United States and was brought up speaking ENGLISH...How come I have to hear this, to continue in English message??
OF Course I want to continue in English that's what we speak in this country !!!
You speeeka de enlgeeesh??? Well you don't want to go to your local unemployment office or seek out any government assistance because you will spend most of the day trying to find the forms that are written in ENGLISH.
What is it with this country that we cannot say, look we speak English here and we welcome anyone from anywhere but in order to fit in to our society it would be easier if you learn ENGLISH.
Instead we print every public document in 6 languages and guess who pays for that translation service???
There is actually a movement in this country to teach Spanish kids in Spanish rather than teaching them English.....
When I was in Mexico, no one tried to make it easy for me to communicate...everything was in Spanish...and that's good, cause they speak Spanish in Mexico and I knew that when I went there.
Guess what, French is spoken fairly regularly in Quebec, Canada.
Personally I think it should be mandatory to only "speak" in "Sign Language"...at least it would be a little quieter!!
