A few summers ago, after working on a big weed, I texted my then-assistant. She is Québécois and I texted her en francais:
je suis fini
However, thanks to autocorrect, and a quick send, it came out as
je suis finite
(which, ok, kind of close).
A year or so later, we were talking about something we’d hoped would work and I texted
j’espair
which cam out as
j’espresso
wut?
Last night, trying to arrange our family Zoom, I texted
Si, moi
to a time for our gathering. And my father responded
Moi, Aussie
Oooookay. Luckily my assistant and my family know what was meant.
However, it did get me thinking. What about all our international students? They may have the same problems communicating, trying to say something fast and simple to a teacher or friend and yet Our Friend Autocorrect can create confusion or unintentionally funny moments. It’s a good time to remember that when we get a message that’s just slightly… off.
Venn Librarian 