Daily English 1140 - Dealing With a Language Barrier

Carol: Send another memo to the Gibberese office. I think we have our wires crossed again.

Art: Don’t you think it would be better to call the office and speak to someone there? You might be able to get to the bottom of the misunderstanding more quickly.

Carol: I don’t speak Gibberish and we don’t have anyone bilingual in the office to act as an interpreter.

Art: Which means there’s no one who could translate our correspondence into Gibberish to make things easier.

Carol: That’s right. And plus, leaving a paper trail is better.

Art: You mean in case we have to cover our asses.

Carol: I wouldn’t put it like that, but breakdowns in communication are inevitable and it’s always helpful to be able to trace their source.

Art: Right. Okay, I’ll draft a memo and pass it by you before I send it, okay?

Carol: Sounds good.

Art: What I don’t understand is why we don’t simply hire people for this office who are fluent in Gibberish.

Carol: Do you know anyone who speaks Gibberish?

Art: Plenty!