Master’s students are presenting their theses, faculty members comment on their work. My German colleague’s accent becomes even more accentuated in English, and still more by him being quite critical:
“I take ekzeption to your very first vord. Vaht do you mean by ‘vee’?”
Having dissected the permissible uses of authorial pronouns, he continues:
“I zink your use of RE iz inappropriate.”
The student, already rattled, becomes even more confused:
“Did I write RE? It should be ER.”
The opponent relentlessly pursues the RE issue, while the student desperately scans through the paper, vainly trying to find the offending statement. I finally make the connection, and interrupt the proceedings:
“I think what we’re discussing, is AI.”