Two anecdotes addressing either side of this issue:
My mom complained that her filipina co workers are always talking in tagalog. They speak/understand english fine, but talk amongst each other in tagolog. She thinks they do this on purpose to either deliberately exclude her from the conversation, or to insult her within earshot (or both). On this issue, she thinks its unprofessional for co workers to deliberately talk in a language others dont understand. She is the only white person in her workplace, and worked there longer than anybody else (35 years). I suggested she pick up some tagalog to get an idea what they were saying- if they knew she understood them, then at least they wouldnt smack talk in her presence. She thought this was unreasonable because she had been there longest and before the filipina co workers started nobody had any trouble speaking english.
The other side of this situation is my mother in law. She is latina, her native language is spanish (along with all her co workers). She speaks and understands engish, but when talking to another native spanish speaker she speaks spanish. A year or so ago they got a new (non spanish speaking) boss who said everything in the workplace, even mundane conversations, had to be in english. My wife feels like this boss is harassing her mom and co workers simply because since he doesn’t understand spanish, nobody should speak it within earshot of him.
An interesting contrast. What do you think? Is it rude to speak in language to some co workers that other co workers dont understand? Should it be barred from a workplace (and would it even be legal to do so)?
I think it’s rude for a group to use any language not understood by all of its members, but I’m using “group” in a sense that can change moment-to-moment. If your mom is in a brainstorming session with the Filipina women, they should all speak English. If two of them get up to go the bathroom or get coffee, though, they’ve formed a small separate group that should go ahead and speak Tagalog.
Basically, if your mom thinks the women are talking smack about her when they speak their native language to each other, she should either grow a thicker skin or find another job.
I hate this, actually - speaking in different languages at work. It’s one thing if it’s occasionally, but if it’s constant, you do feel excluded, and let’s be frank, 99% of the time they do it TO exclude you. I know, because lots of Indian people do it too. And I think it’s obnoxious when they do it too.
Should it be banned from the workplace? Probably not, but it should be limited I feel.
If I was your mom, I probably would pick up a few words of Tagalog just for my own benefit.
When I lived in Tucson, at least half of my workplace spoke Spanish, and yes, it was a rule that, if you had a conversation around others, it must be in English. Nobody ever had a problem with it, and it probably saved a lot of hurt feelings/misunderstandings. I think the benefits outweigh the risks.
I do talk in other languages in the workplace. Usually because I’m addressing one specific person. I don’t see how it is different from when someone goes and talks one to one with someone else. I prefer it in Spanish because that is my native language. We don’t use it to talk smack of others present in the room. And it is not as if I’m talking in Spanish out loud to everyone else. I’m addressing one specific person.
And sometimes we switch. If we’re speaking in another language but someone comes by and we want to include that person, we switch to English, so that person can be included.
This. Its easy to assume someone is speaking a language you dont understand because they want to insult you in earshot, but it isnt the case always. My work is a wonderful exchange of different languages. Want to learn the word “motherfucker” in ten languages? Work in the San Francisco Bay Area
I don’t have a problem with coworkers having a conversation in another language (Chinese is common around here). Then again, I wouldn’t have a problem with an “only English at the workplace” rule, either.
In a group, it’s most polite and considerate to try to speak the language everyone has in common, in this case, English. At work, it’s also professional and helps prevent misunderstandings and wasted time.
I deal with this every day, as I help out in an in-law’s business office, and they all speak their language exclusively around me, even though they can speak English. I realize it’s easier for them, but it makes it hard for me to know what is going on. There are a lot of times I could have helped with something, if I’d known what the issue was. I also feel excluded, but that’s more a personal thing I have to live with. I do hate when they talk about me by name right in front of me. It’s a family business, so I have to play by their rules. I’d discourage it in a regular business, though.
Like I say, I switch to English if someone passes by or we want some opinion on something, and I definitely talk in English when it related to work-specific thing.
But when it is office/water cooler chit chat on the vein of “what are you doing later?”, I’m going to use another language.
You know what I do find offensive? Having to pretend and act that I don’t hear when the other coworkers loudly talk in English about the get togethers and parties they’re arranging over the weekend, of which I’m not invited at all. And all the socialization they do from which I am excluded. If you’re planning a social getaway excluding me, please completely exclude me. Either by getting out of earshot (take a walk), use email, or talk in another language.
I would have a problem with an “only English in the workplace” rule. I’m an ESL English teacher, and I have a rule of “only English in the classroom” (with exceptions for when a student’s really struggling and a single word or sentence could do wonders for them)…but “only English in the workplace”? This is a city where nearing a majority speak more than one language, and I’d find a rule like that a little xenophobic to say the least.
I agree that at times speaking a language not everyone understands can be rude. But IMO, it all depends on context. Two Spanish/Italian/Polish/what-have-you coworkers want to speak in their native language, because it’s more efficient and less headwork for them? What’s the problem? It’s where people are being left out that the problem arises, and that’s a social problem more than a language one.
I’m curious if this phenomenon is an American thing, or other countries have to deal with it too. The reason I’m curious is that Europe has a lot of different languages. I’m sure there are some places where people speak tons of languages.
I too married into a family that speaks a different language than I do. I took Spanish in high school and college, but hadn’t really used much of it before I met my wife. Then I would go to parties and everyone would speak Spanish. Honestly, its helped me understand Spanish better.
If you have a good relationship with your co workers, its always good to politely ask what XXX means in their language, or try to befriend one (or all) of them. Often, you’ll find that people are receptive to this, and won’t talk smack (or if others do, some will defend you) I know its garden variety workplace BS, but its a good opportunity to learn a language you might never think to learn otherwise!
I worked in a place that had a Portuguese-only rule, which I think was reasonable. People just tend to feel excluded when you speak another language, and their feeling is enough to make it rude and offensive. You can speak any language you like on your own time, but work is a situation where you need to compromise. It’s like not swearing at work.
That said, in my experience, it is just a feeling. When I speak a language with someone it is because communication works best in that language, not to make fun of someone or to exclude them. It’s just that that information is not relevant to the other people. Since I speak a fair amount of languages, I know it’s the same for most people. It’s just a typical case of everyone thinking that the world revolves around them.
I did learn my lesson once: I was on a bus in Norway with a friend, and there was a girl opposite us who looked very drunk or ill, but definitely vulnerable. I was worried, so I discussed it with my friend, speaking Portuguese. We spoke fast and with lots of slang, figuring even if she happened to speak Spanish she wouldn’t understand. Suddenly she started making out with the guy sitting next to her, so obviously I commented to my friend that she seemed to be with him, so he would probably take care of her. Then the guy’s phone rang. He answered in Portuguese. Made eye contact with us and everything. :eek:
ETA: personally, I love it when people speak a language I don’t understand. I’ll just watch and listen! People have often apologised, but I honestly don’t mind. I just love hearing other languages.
We have a fair number of Indian, Chinese, and Pakistani tech people in my division, and there are a lot of Hispanic employees in my agency as a whole (fewer in the tech area). We also have quite a few deaf employees.
So, I hear conversations in foreign languages all the time, and “see” conversations between deaf employees pretty regularly, too. It’s never bothered me. I would ONLY get uncomfortable if I suspected I was the subject of their conversation. But I’ve never gotten the feeling that was the case. An Indian programmer who carries on a friendly conversation with a friend in Hindi or Bengali isn’t doing so as an affront to me. Neither are the two deaf guys having an animated conversation with their hands! They’re probably telling jokes, or talking about their families or their plans for the weekend, and if I heard them saying the same things in English, I’d probably tune them out.
And having lived in Texas a long time, I’m quite USED to Mexicans chatting in “Tex-Mex,” drifting in and out of both English and Spanish. They’re not doing it to exclude me- that’s just the way Hispanic Texans have learned to converse with each other.
I’ve noticed this and analyzed my own feelings about it, and I think there’s also some classism at work.
For instance, if two janitors or cafeteria workers speak Spanish to each other, I don’t care.
But if I’m in the locker room at the gym at work, and there’s the usual locker room chit-chat (mostly work-related, what are you doing this weekend stuff) and 2 guys start talking in Hindi…I feel that’s rude. I think I have an expectation that when I’m surrounded by colleagues, I should be able to understand what’s going on.
People can argue about whether it’s justified for a person to feel excluded in situations like this. But it’s inevitable for someone to be pissed off. So I think having a policy–even if it’s just an informal agreement–is a good idea.
I used to work in a predominately Cuban-American workplace. Except for a few of us, most of the coworkers were bilingual. Most times people would speak in English, but over the course of the day the dynamic would shift and everyone would be speaking in Spanish. It didn’t bother me that much because I was trying to work, not chitchat about the crazy stuff they were into. But some of the other monolinguals wouldn’t appreciate it. This one guy was totally paranoid about what they were talking about. He eventually flipped out over something else, but still. I think it kind of contributed to him not liking his job very much.