Language fun from the Graun in 2001, with undercover reporters turning the tables on English-speakers...
G: Se puede hablar con alguien que habla español? (Can I speak to someone who speaks Spanish?)
BC: (As if to a village idiot) This is the BRITISH COUNCIL. INGLAIS. INGLAIS. INGLAIS. This is English-speaking only.
G: Hay alguien que habla español?
BC: (In Spanish accent, shouting) No!
Snort.
Deary me. So much for customer service.
I liked the European Parliament one best - and admire the brass neck of the non-native-speaker posing as a German.
Still, it comes in handy sometimes. I did once get a �20 tip for speaking German to a lady who had mislaid her handbag in the caf̩ where I was working. (We had the handbag, which may have helped.)
Added by Kirsten on 28 April 2006.
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