Dialogue: Missed Flight

A: What can I do? My connecting flight may be gone because we landed so late.

B: When we come into the terminal, just ask the people at the arrival gate.

A: I don’t speak Korean and they may not understand me.

B: No big deal, I’ll translate for you.

A: Please tell her I’m supposed to connect to JAL-422.

B: She says you can’t make it. They already departed the gate. So, please go to the ticket counter in the next part of the building.

A: OK, here’s the ticket counter. How can I get to Tokyo tonight?

B: He says it is impossible to get there tonight. But, they will put you on the first flight in the morning.

A: When does it get to Tokyo?

B: It should land by 11:30 AM.

A: So, I will miss my meeting in Tokyo and I don’t have a place to stay tonight.

B: He says don’t sweat it. They’ll put you up in a hotel and convey you there.

A: What can I do about my flight tomorrow?

B: He’s printing your new ticket and boarding pass now.

A: What about my bags? I need my clothes and medication.

B: The bags are not available here. They have been forwarded to Tokyo. They should be there when you land tomorrow.

A: But, now I need some clean clothes to change into.

B: He will give you a $200 clothing voucher for the airport shop. They can’t help you with your medication.

A: Thank you for helping me. I will carry a change of clothes and medicine in my carry-on from now on.

B: They apologize for our late arrival. I hope the rest of your trip goes without a hitch.

Now please check any vocabulary you don’t know.

Words and Phrases to work on ( try your dictionary ):

connecting flight
arrival gate
no big deal
supposed to connect to
departed
convey
forwarded
put you up
Don’t sweat it
Voucher
goes without a hitch

Hi Doc. Thanks for the compliment. Your question regarding the spelling of dialogue got me to researching the alternate (dialog) spelling. I am attaching a corpus study here, but that spelling did not exist measurably in books until the 1960's and didn't show much growth until the 1980's.

When I search with that spelling I mostly get computer and Tech references. I have a feeling that this was a computer programming related spelling and it grew with that industry. The growth curve you can see in this link tracks that of the computer industry very well. That word was not in use in English at the time I learned to spell or when I took composition classes in university. See the corpus study here and feel free to use this tool for some fun research on your own: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=dialog%2Cdialogue&amp...

I also compared meter and metre just for fun. I used the corpus of Google books from 1800 to the year 2000. This is an interesting visual comparison too: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=meter%2Cmetre&cas...

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Comments

Expector Smith February 12, 2015 13:28

@Mr.Bob

Thanks so much for the quick reply. The tool (Ngram Reviewer) sounds like fun and so useful, but sorry Google isn't available right now here in China.

So it seems it's not/it isn't a matter of British or American English. Does it mean the spelling "dialog" can be seen in both British and American English?

Thanks again.
Mr. Bob February 12, 2015 5:07

Hi Doc. Thanks for the compliment. Your question regarding the spelling of dialogue got me to researching the alternate (dialog) spelling. I am attaching a corpus study here, but that spelling did not exist measurably in books until the 1960's and didn't show much growth until the 1980's.

When I search with that spelling I mostly get computer and Tech references. I have a feeling that this was a computer programming related spelling and it grew with that industry. The growth curve you can see in this link tracks that of the computer industry very well. That word was not in use in English at the time I learned to spell or when I took composition classes in university. See the corpus study here and feel free to use this tool for some fun research on your own: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=dialog%2Cdialogue&amp...

I also compared meter and metre just for fun. I used the corpus of Google books from 1800 to the year 2000. This is an interesting visual comparison too: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=meter%2Cmetre&cas...

Google Ngram Viewer
Expector Smith February 11, 2015 11:23

Nice dialog!

Learners of English here should try to use phrasal verbs such as "put up".

By the way, I wonder if American speakers use the word "dialog" instead of "dialogue"?
student9 February 11, 2015 10:06

Thanks Mr.Bob so much , the picture now very clear .

My regards
Mr. Bob February 11, 2015 4:01

Thank you Ivan. I write dialogues for my students to practice in class and I thought this one might be useful to some of our members.
IVAN JAYASENA February 11, 2015 0:21

Super one Bob
Mr. Bob February 10, 2015 19:29

Not a big deal Luci, you can say either.
@ Student9: If I want to be taken somewhere, I would say Please take me to the airport or Please drive me. I don't think I would ever say move me. I don't say convey either because it is a more formal word like in a contract. Convey and move are more often used in talking about things rather than people.
Thank you Daughter, I'm glad you liked it.
Daughter of the king February 10, 2015 18:40

very nice, thank you
Luci February 10, 2015 15:49

Perfect, Mr.Bob!!! Some words are new to me...thank you so much for such useful post! Btw I always thought it was...Not a big deal :/ shame on me :D
student9 February 10, 2015 13:38

Thank you Mr. Bob and Abdallah
sometime the dictionary does not give quite clear meaning
So , if I ask cab driver to move me to hotel , how to say that
I know , I can say (please I want xxx hotel )
but if I want to use (move me) how to express it
Thanks

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