I opened correspondence from
our health insurer yesterday and decided to
share something fascinating. On the back of the last page was a set of
instructions in eighteen different languages.
Eighteen! Sure there are almost seven thousand living languages known worldwide. But still...
How did someone choose which
dialects to include? And why isn’t 'French (France)' represented?
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| They're Listed in English Alphabetical Order; How Thoughtful |
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| For That Matter, Why Even List the Languages in English? |
Because not a lot of French folks move to the states I guess. I worked in printing for 21 yrs. I was amazed in the 70's when we had to start printing things for agencies that deal with the public through the state of Tn and there was several languages. What gets me is when I have to push 1 for English!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Pam. Your reply makes sense. And thanks for sharing the information about your job.
DeleteI've seen those pages. I know around my way we need Tagalog, Arabic, and Vietnamese as well as Spanish and English. This is what happens when we get lots of immigrants.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteOh...my...gosh...I just had this happen, too! I even showed Bill! I was flabbergasted! Seriously?! Who do you think is paying for all of that paper and ink? This is America, and I just want English. And, I do NOT want to have to "Press 1". Thanks. (Yes, Darla, I can be feisty, too. *wink* )
ReplyDeleteWe should meet in person some day. ~grin~ I bet we'd hit it off really well. Annoyingly enough, the whole packet of information is actually useless. Why not email that and the bill to us? We pay the thing online, after all. Oh, well.
DeleteI get those too and my though is welcome to America now speak English.:)
ReplyDeleteI have so much respect for folks who leave everything they've ever known to give their children a better life. Sometimes that includes bringing older generations rather than leave them behind to care for themselves. So you've actually given me food for thought on that notion. To be honest, I mostly just enjoyed looking at the different characters and spellings on this page. ~grin~ Be well!
DeleteMan alive! I have trouble when I purchase something sometimes, finding the English instructions!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true, my friend. Of course, so many things (electronic, at least) don't even come with printed instructions anymore. Be well!
DeleteInteresting. Who decides, indeed! In India, we have 23 officially recognized languages.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's fascinating, Corinne. Be well!
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