A trip back to the mother country awakens one's ears to changes in the mother tongue. I recently visited the US. I found, not surprisingly, my native language developing. This sound bite startled but didn't surprise me. But I hope it is an aberration, not a development.
Several people I telephoned in the US had this recorded for callers to leave a message: "Hello, this is So-and-So. I am not available to take your call right now, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you at my earliest convenience."
Sounds innocent enough, right? For those learning how native speakers say things, this may be a good sample of American English to use. I suggest it is not, and here is why.
The phrase "at [one's] earliest convenience" has been used by someone who wants to leave an urgent message, or make an important request. S/he says, "Please get back to me at your earliest convenience." Translation: "I need you to do something ASAP [as soon as possible]. In fact, and quite probably, I will be very worried or upset if you don't!"
Here is that phrase from the other side. If someone says in a recorded message, "I will get back to you at my earliest convenience," this means "When I choose to contact you, I will. But it will be on my terms, when I have time, perhaps after working out, having lunch with friends, checking my e-mail, and surfing the Web for a bit--if it is today. If tomorrow or later, well, I will just have to see if I can fit calling you into my busy and important life."
I may be overstating it a bit, but one might get away with this kind of thing on an answering machine. Face-to-face, it would be rare to hear unless someone really wanted the social boundaries as obvious and impenetrable as a brick wall. "What is important and urgent for you is not necessarily so to me. In fact, it's not."
I say I was shocked, but not surprised. Shocked because this phrase had but one situation or context in the past, and that was when someone really needed an answer from someone, or to have something done. It was not often used to say, "I am more important than you, or whatever it is you want."
Has my native language changed in this way, or is this a bite of culture. For people to assert how communications will be without first knowing who is calling and for what, well, that is a development in language too far, a kind of preemptive strike. Sounds like a culture thing.
The American societal emphasis on rights and what is right has its darker side. Argue with this if you will, but an answering machine's generic outgoing message reveals its owner. Among other not-so-obvious messages in this is that "at my earliest convenience" assumes callers need to be clear about the rule for live talk. The receiving party will be in charge of it including when your call will be returned--as if leaving a call-me-back message didn't say this already.
"At my earliest convenience" should be reserved for those demanding few who deserve reminding their language or behavior need restraint. Do not let this casually creep into everyday English. Argue with this if you will, "I will get back to you as soon as I can," which has a friendlier sound to it.
31.05.2006
