I'm not sure if this was a snarky reply or not, but you can get pretty cheap english translators on oDesk. Average price is $1/minute of translated material. The accuracy is usually superb, especially considering the price.
Strange. I think it's bleed over connotation from when you ask someone to do something and say something like "have you got that or shall I write it down for you?"
Something about the "write it down for you" is often used in a condescending way.
Yeah, I think this was it. Sorry jgrahamc, I wasn't trying to be insulting. It was just the phrasing with threw me off.
Something about the mix of "I'd listen to what I said" and "I'd write it down for you" just seemed like an unpleasant way to say "sorry I don't have time to transcribe it"
It reads like you're offering a personal transcription service, which would be an unusual thing to see in this context, so it's reasonable to interpret as sarcasm.