Subscribe      List an Event or Business      Invite a Writer      Write for WN      Writers      Other Locations
Home > Melbourne > Comments > Six Things You Shouldn't Do on Melbourne's Public Transport
Your Reply
Optional Image: (jpg or gif)
Your Email:

Security Image:
trwqdw
Security Text:
copy text from image above
Highlighted
minimum score: order: subscribe:
Hi Thefr
I'm very sorry that my comment insulted you - I'm afraid my communication must not have been clear enough.
I only intended to convey that some Australians have very occasionally attempted (often without success) to avoid being fined by pretending to be a tourist - I am certainly not saying that French people routinely fare evade. In saying that ticket inspectors no longer "fall for" 'je ne parle pas anglais' I imply that this scenario is a fare evader's trickery, and not actually involving a genuine French-speaking person.
My use of French was only to give an illustrative (not definitive) example as many English-speaking people can understand this sentence, and the joke would therefore not be lost on my audience. I may not have achieved this by using a more obscure language, therefore I chose French - Italian or Spanish may also have sufficed.
Once again I regret that my article caused undue offence, and urge you to make a closer re-reading of the article in order to be assured that this was not my intention - in fact it is a light-hearted poke at native English-speakers!
If you are still concerned about the content of this article please do not hesitate to contact me as I am eager to allay your worry.
Thanks, Em.
by Emily (score: 2|231) 3946 days ago