Hi again, Alexander!  This is a continuation of my previous message to you:

 AH>  although Miss Stickler turned a deaf ear when I didn't
 AH>  speak formal English, many of the people I worked with
 AH>  in the restaurant business seemed genuinely baffled when
 AH>  I did... [wry grin].

 ak>  Again it depends on the collective you work in.


           Uh-huh.  Years ago teachers were expected to model formal English &
kids generally got the drift by the time they were in senior high school.  The
middle-aged & older adults I knew, though, had in many cases relatively little
schooling.  Considering the number whose sons & daughters went to university I
don't doubt their intelligence... but I found I had to make a conscious effort
to change mental gears just as I did when I was in Miss Stickler's class.  :-Q



 AH>  Once I lived in some hotel in Grenoble, France
 AH>  -- all the personal


           I think you mean "personnel"... again, a different word.  :-)



 ak>  was always gloomy and they never smiled. And they
 ak>  didn't speak English. ;-)


           Hmm.  Wikipedia tells me "The region has the second largest English
speaking community in France, after Paris."  While it expands on the statement
by mentioning students, scientists, and those who work for large manufacturing
corporations I found nothing about hotel or restaurant employees... [chuckle].




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+