Wednesday, November 24, 2010

English with an American Corporate Accent - 019

This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

* The issue is very clear. Let's go out and execute. [The issue is very clear. Let's get started and work on it.]
* Our boss likes big iron and let's give him that. [Our boss likes big machines, and let's give him that.]
* Any questions? Shoot me an email. [Any questions? Send me an email.]
* Let me move right from the gecko (get go). [Let me move right from the start.]
* Paul, thanks for letting me pipe in with my concerns. [Paul, thanks for letting me have the opportunity to express my concerns.]
* Because our key developer left the job, we lost six months of runway here. [Because our key developer left, we are six months behind now.]
* Do you have a call-out for what we have to track for this issue? [Do you have an explicit reminder item for what we have to track for this issue?]
* The rub now is that they insist on an earlier software release. [The difficulty now is that they insist on an earlier software release.]
* Let's cut to the chase and get to the point now. [Let's cut it short and get to the point now.]
* "Joe, you have any more to add to this discussion?" "No, I am good." ["Joe, you have any more to add to this discussion?" "No, I don't have anything."]
* That piece of news is critical to our project. Let's have a hallway huddle about this. [That piece of news is critical to our project. Let's have a quick meeting in the hallway about this.]
* It is a slippery slope. If you lose the rope, I cannot imagine what would happen. [It is a slippery path. If you run into any problems, I cannot imagine what would happen.]

Thursday, November 4, 2010

English with an American Corporate Accent - 018

This is another collection from recent meetings and trips. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

* One can surmise that they would not commit to that. [One can guess that they would not commit to that.]
* I can always be trumped by Joe and Bill. [I can always be overruled by Joe and Bill.]
* I can only keep them at arm's length for now. [I can only keep them at a short distance for now.]
* We need more input from testing. I like to see testability is a "fore-thought", not an "after-thought". [We need more input from testing. I like to see testability is considered beforehand, not as a thing thought of afterward.]
* These technical nuances got be totally boiled down; otherwise, Joe will be lost. [These technical details have to be explained thoroughly; otherwise, Joe will be lost.]
* Let me try to dial down a bit; otherwise, it will be too complicated. [Let me try to simplify a bit; otherwise, it will be too complicated.]
* Is it OK for me to tell Amy that we have connected the dots here with her back-door request? [Is it OK for me to tell Amy that we have figured out the relationship and connections here with her sneaky request?]
* I suspect that they'll come out of the woodwork if we decide to present the case to the council. [I suspect that they'll come out of hiding if we decide to present the case to the council.]
* I am up to my eye balls now. I cannot handle any more new request. [I am completely occupied now. I cannot handle any more new request.]
* I understand the general statements of performance improvement, but I am still teasing out the concrete cases. [I understand the general statements of performance improvement, but I am still trying to figure out the facts for the concrete cases.]
* I got busy with something else, and I am still working head down. [I got busy with something else, and I am still working hard.]
* So you are running tests and kicking tires for that new delivery. [So you are running tests and sanity checking for that new delivery.]