From AgentZero
Quote:
'I was just talking to so-and-so and I couldn't understand a word she was saying' and I'd be sitting there thinking, 'Funny, I can understand her perfectly.'
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Another factor is familiarity and consistency. When I was in high school I worked summers painting houses. Most of the crew were Italian immigrants. It took me about two days to get with the program, after that I could understand them perfectly. One summer we had a Scot from deep in the highlands. I could understand the Italians perfectly, but when he spoke it might as well have been Swahili for all the sense I could make of it. I just couldn't shift gears fast enough. If we spoke for a short time one on one I would quickly "learn" his language, but in a group he was
incomprehensible.
Keep in mind this was all face to face; over the phone is at least three times harder.