What do you do when you don't understand someone.

[Slumbag]

If you work with someone, and they don't speak English very well, how do you respond when you don't understand them?

I have a lot of coworkers who don't speak a lot of English. They're all nice people I guess, but sometimes, I don't know what they are talking about. So I usually ask for a repeat. If I still don't get it, I try to just smile or something. I'm really lost on what proper decorum is.

So what's your normal response?
A simple request for a secondary repeat? A brush off? A call to INS?

[PapaBear]

What?

[Slumbag]

I said when you don't understan..................waaiiiiittt a fucking minute.

[Whiskeyportal]

Most of my workers are of Spanish decent, and I tell them to speak English and they go get someone that can. It gets old really fast. I know some Spanish, but mostly I just get fed up and I don't care.

[disneyspy]

i had 2 mexicans on my crew this past golf season,i speak loudly and slowly,they get the point,its not me that has to learn english

[SuperKarateMonkeyDeathFez]

I just flat out say that I can't hear or understand them and they either need to speak up or write down what they're trying to say.

[instrument]

If its a group of em I point at the shortest chubbiest one and call him a little homo, the other guys laugh, and they go back to loading the truck.

[Ritalin]

It's worse when you can't understand someone who's talking in English, like they're saying something so incomprehensible that it just doesn't compute.

[ecobag2]

My people tend to say "que?"

or

Whatchoutalkinbout Willis? <-- and you say this even if the guy's name is not willis. And it's really funny.

[biggestmexi]

I tell them to choke on a bag dicks then cut their eyes with razors.

then I ask them if they understood me without repeating the question.

If they dont understand yet I usually De-kneecap them with a old rusty grapefruit spoon.

[GvacMobile]

I scream "ENGLISH motherfucker!" then I slam their face into my "One country, one language" bumper sticker.

[Marc with a c]

love it or leave it. that's what I say. these colors don't run. get er done.

[Misteriosa]

i dont know why but i have a *really* hard time understanding west indian blacks. they talk SO fast, it doesnt sound like english. i tell to slow down and repeat themselves because i cant understand them

as polite as i am, they seem really annoyed that i dont understand them.

[SuperKarateMonkeyDeathFez]

I scream "ENGLISH motherfucker!" then I slam their face into my "One country, one language" bumper sticker.

That's crazy talk.

Nobody actually speaks to you.

Quit lying.

[led37zep]

I buy them a Samsung Phone.

<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2qrUEG29Tuc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2qrUEG29Tuc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>

[ecobag2]

love it or leave it. that's what I say. these colors don't run. get er done.

Let it be known.

[Mullenax]

I squint and try to repeat what I think they said in the form of a question, if they shake their head "no" I just start rambling through a list of words and wait for a nod.<p>
This works really well my cousin who is deaf, as he reads lips but I have a hard time understanding his speech.

[ANC]

"Hello? Parla Usted Ingles?"
http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/1/2/8/4/22774821-22774823-large.jpg

[midwestjeff]

I have the same problem at my job.

The best is the guy that thinks he knows English but really doesn't.
He just speaks jibberish. I love it.

I smile and nod a lot.

[ANC]

I have the same problem at my job.

The best is the guy that thinks he knows English but really doesn't.
He just speaks jibberish. I love it.

I smile and nod a lot.

You work for Madison Hotels?

[Thebazile78]

I usually say "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Would you mind repeating it?" and it's usually OK.

It takes me a while to "tune" my ear to different speech rhythms. I usually have the greatest difficulty with people from India because the rhythm of their speech is different from what my ear "expects."

But, going to a public university meant that a lot of my professors had different accents and a lot of my classmates or other peers (and their parents) would have different speech rhythms too, so I learned to tune my ear to other folks' speech rhythms quickly.

I also do a lot better if I'm speaking to someone in person than I do if I have to talk to them over the phone because I can pay attention to their expressions and body language for clues if I'm having trouble with the way they say certain things.

Lastly, once when I was running an errand in Newark, someone stopped me because they were CONVINCED I looked Puerto Rican and asked me a question in Spanish. I apologized and said I don't speak Spanish.

[While I took Spanish classes, I usually say that I speak American High School Spanish, which is to say, I can understand a word or two here and there, but other than that, if you speak Spanish, your grandparents would cringe if they heard me speak. (Honest. I really think my Spanish is horrible, but nobody's heard me speak it for ages, so I can't say one way or the other.) ]

[razorboy]

I usually ask them to repeat themselves with the explanation that I'm hard of hearing, which is partially truthful as I am hard of hearing.

[west milly Tom]

If you work with someone, and they don't speak English very well, how do you respond when you don't understand them?

I have a lot of coworkers who don't speak a lot of English. They're all nice people I guess, but sometimes, I don't know what they are talking about. So I usually ask for a repeat. If I still don't get it, I try to just smile or something. I'm really lost on what proper decorum is.

So what's your normal response?
A simple request for a secondary repeat? A brush off? A call to INS?



I have quite a few English as a second language guys in my shop and when I can't understand them I mock them out with the other guys. Works like a charm, but I don't think it would go over that well in an office setting.

[boosterp]

If its a group of em I point at the shortest chubbiest one and call him a little homo, the other guys laugh, and they go back to loading the truck.

I scream "ENGLISH motherfucker!" then I slam their face into my "One country, one language" bumper sticker.

:lol::lol::lol:

What do you do when you don't understand someone.

Personally: Ignore and walk off.

[Contra]

My boss is Dominican, so when we first started working together I would constantly tell him to repeat himself. I'm pretty used to his accent now three and a half years later, but at least once a day I have to ask him what he is trying to say.

[Fezticle98]

My boss is Dominican, so when we first started working together I would constantly tell him to repeat himself. I'm pretty used to his accent now three and a half years later, but at least once a day I have to ask him what he is trying to say.

Your boss is a Dominican? Ouch. Please tell me you're a friar.

I will usually just say "i didn't catch that last thing you said" or something like that. After they repeat, if I still can't understand, I'll just start talking about something that might be related and move on. Most of the people I work with and deal with on the phone speak relatively intelligibly.

[Contra]

No such luck, I work in the meat department of a supermarket. He's the manager and I'm the assistant manager.

[razorboy]

I dated an Argentinian woman for a while. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying, but I didn't really care because it all sounded so adorable.

[JAH1013]

I usually call immigration. That usually fixes everything.