Yesterday evening I realized I needed to make a dinner reservation for tonight. I was really tired, so I handed the phone to Kyle and asked him to make it. He asked me why I didn't want to do it, but then proceeded to make the call. This is what I heard Kyle say (the spaces are him saying things slowly):
Bonjour, parlez vous anglais? Oh, thank you. I would like to make a reservation for tomorrow night. Yes, to-mor-row. Four people. Yes, f o u r. At eight o'clock, e i g h t o' c l o c k. My name is Kyle. K y l e. No, Ky-le. K Y L E. Yes, Kyle.
And he wondered why I didn't want to have to make the call. I have a feeling the reservation will probably look like it is for Kilyie. Thank goodness they didn't want his last name too! Because only 11 out of 26 letters sound the same in both French and English it is always hard to spell something. A few of the letters that happen to be in our names cause some real confusion-- e sounds like a, i sounds like e, g sounds like j, and y we just have no chance with. I think I might legally change my name to On All because at least both the English and French spell that the same way.
1 comment:
I hate to make phone calls here and will procrastinate endlessly over picking up the phone.
I don't really like talking on the phone much. I've been here 18 months and have yet to call the States.
Post a Comment