I can’t begin to mention how many times I will answer a phone call and the caller is speaking in a distinct fractured English. There are sentences that are not finished, double negating, incorrect conjugation of verbs, and often sprinkled with an over-abundance of slang. I’m finding it more the norm rather than the exception. While working on a mundane project for several hours today, I had an opportunity to consider why this is happening. I believe one of the real culprits is the extensive texting that is going on all over the world. As we all know, much of the texting that is being done by the hard core users, is done in a shorthand of sorts. Words aren’t spelled correctly in order to make them as short as possible.
Do you ever hear someone saying, “Umm Kay” or just “K”? Many times I hear people interjecting in a sentence, “and um”. Why “um”? I particularly hear young people saying that. Perhaps their brain to mouth skills are lacking due to the excessive use of brain to fingers and thumbs. Another item of annoyance is when someone is calling about a property that has been advertised with nearly every specific detail listed, yet they will say, “What can you tell me about the property”? I will then respond, “What would you like to know?” I couldn’t believe this very thing happened today and the response I received after my question was, “Everything”. Wow! Doesn’t anyone read anymore?
Are we going to have to create more visuals than written words? I can say I have been at fault several times over the years by simply scanning documents and reading only items that I considered important. More than once, I was chastised for not reading cover letters which contained possible remedies for correcting items contained in the lengthy document. I simply learned to read the cover letters first.
Another huge gripe I have is speaking to someone on the phone who is a customer service representative of a large corporation. Most likely the representative is working for an out-sourcing company that is subcontracting for the corporation. The accents are so thick sometimes, I have have to ask them to repeat themselves more than once, twice and often three times. I have nothing against people wanting to work, but they really must get their English skills up to par. I know many others share the same frustration when on the phone with a someone who cannot speak clear English.
Several times a week I do have the opportunity to have a real live conversation with two or three delightfully clever people whose copious vocabulary I find refreshing as well as mentally stimulating. It’s a welcome relief from the babbling gibberish I encounter on a daily basis.
