The Final Tally
Yesterday, while in the course of doing my job, I had occasion to personally speak with:
1 Romanian
1 Swede
2 Spaniards
3 Brits
1 Australian
1 Italian
Numerous Americans
And 1 former NFL football player (Packers and Redskins)
All of this happened before lunchtime.
Gee. This job is kind of fun!
(The long distance bill from my desk phone will be quite something to behold)
Comments
Anji
Sounds very impressive, though they could all be working in the same building!
I time travel in my job ;)
Anonymous
Karen,
Do you have trouble understanding them?
I always have trouble with foreign accents.
Regards,
EFM
Karen Fayeth
Anji – To be fair, some were there in my building. Most were phone calls. I know a lot of country codes by rote. I'm getting really good at international dialing! :)
Karen Fayeth
Ephraim – It's funny you bring that up. Weirdly, I have always had a good ear for accents, so to answer your question, no. It's usually not a problem.
But there is one gentleman from northern Spain that I struggle with. He's a project manager, so I talk to him probably twice or three times a week. I'm getting better by talking with him more, but I really have to concentrate.
In contrast, the other gentleman from Spain I spoke with yesterday is from the eastern portion, at the coast. His accent is more gentle and fluid and I had no troubles. I love languages and learning to understand regional dialects.
The other accent that sometimes troubles me is Welsh. But that may just be the Welshman I deal with. He tends to mumble.