Portuguese-speakers sometimes ask for Spanish interpreters. I don’t know what they’re thinking: either that it’s easier to get someone in Spanish or that there are no Portuguese interpreters at all. Sometimes, they insist on keeping you. They say, “No, no, I understand”. I find this extremely inconsiderate, because, sure, they understand me, but I can barely make out what they are saying. They don’t even switch to Spanish; they keep talking in Portuguese, assuming that, if they understand my Spanish, I must understand their Portuguese. I tell them so, and ask the rep to allow me a moment so I can get what they really need. Anyway, we must not, for any reason whatsoever, accept a call in another language other than the one we were hired to interpret.
Sometimes, the rep excuses himself. "Oh, I'm sorry, she asked for Spanish", and I go "I know, I know". There are a few ignorants, though, who hear French or Italian or Portuguese or even Chinese, and think it's Spanish. Yes, I am not exaggerating, I have taken calls in all these languages in which the rep thinks it's Spanish.
But there are other languages that are not Spanish and I can’t avoid. There are many Mexicans who come from Indian villages and don’t even master Spanish, but instead speak, say, quechua. I once had a lady who, instead of responding to my introduction and question, started to moan. It was the I-don’t-want-to-be-here moan. Her husband took the phone and, in a non-conjugated Spanish, explained she didn’t speak Spanish, but _______. (Don’t ask.) What was the call about? She was 8 months pregnant and this was her first visit to a doctor!
Sometimes, the rep excuses himself. "Oh, I'm sorry, she asked for Spanish", and I go "I know, I know". There are a few ignorants, though, who hear French or Italian or Portuguese or even Chinese, and think it's Spanish. Yes, I am not exaggerating, I have taken calls in all these languages in which the rep thinks it's Spanish.
But there are other languages that are not Spanish and I can’t avoid. There are many Mexicans who come from Indian villages and don’t even master Spanish, but instead speak, say, quechua. I once had a lady who, instead of responding to my introduction and question, started to moan. It was the I-don’t-want-to-be-here moan. Her husband took the phone and, in a non-conjugated Spanish, explained she didn’t speak Spanish, but _______. (Don’t ask.) What was the call about? She was 8 months pregnant and this was her first visit to a doctor!
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