Expressions – Meaning of ‘If You Speak English, Please Press 9’

expressionsmeaning

As a Hungarian, I often hear this English sentence amidst Hungarian options in automated telephone services. To me, this seems absurd as I feel it does not address those who wish to communicate in English but a much broader set made up by those, including me, who have some level of competence in English.

To me, ‘For an English-speaking operator, please press 9’ feels much more natural and precise. Dear native speakers, is the sentence meaningful to you and if not, what would you use in such a situation? Thank you in advance.

Best Answer

This is the wording of some automated telephone systems in the United States as well.

In English, the question "Do you speak English?" is actually ambiguous between the question of whether you habitually speak English or whether you are able to speak English, and it's clear from context that they mean the first option.

If they wanted the second option, they could phrase the option as:

If you can speak English, please press 9.

Of course, if you habitually speak German, rather than English or Hungarian, this wording doesn't seem quite appropriate, so you are indeed correct that something like "for English, please press 9" would have been better wording.

Related Topic