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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

people talking their 1st language at work.

248 replies

ghostspirit · 09/02/2015 17:22

im not going to say anything although sometimes i want to. because i think its rude. there are people at work that can speak English well. but they talk in their 1st language. im sometimes the only one in the room who does not understand. and it makes me feel quite isolated.

OP posts:
GraysAnalogy · 10/02/2015 20:30

greataunt in that case you're being obnoxious. There's a difference between speaking english and pedantically correct usage of grammar Hmm

trashjunkie why are you assuming I don't do things like that? My neighbours are polish and lithanian. They've taught me some of both. We have parties, they serve us food from their country which we love trying and swap recipes. I love hearing stories from their home country. The OP's situation and what I was talking about is completely different. What I'm getting at is that an English person, working in England, should not have to learn an entire new language to be able to communicate with her colleagues.

GraysAnalogy · 10/02/2015 20:32

sorry trash just realised your post says ghost not grays Blush

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 20:40

This is all getting wonderfully confusing Grin

Maybe we should communicate via a different medium.

< goes first >

people talking their 1st language at work.
mildlyacquiescent · 10/02/2015 20:42

YY to DillyDally.

I have long conversations with one of the security guards at work in the local language, but if I am tired I often lapse into English. This can go for quite a while before I realise, while he looks at me with a perplexed expression...

OttiliaVonBCup · 10/02/2015 20:44

Blimey it's a lady squirrel.

mildlyacquiescent · 10/02/2015 20:45

fightorflight Grin

SuperFlyHigh · 10/02/2015 20:58

I used to have this with a polish colleague/friend outside of work of mine. Whenever I met up with her and her polish Friends (and other nationalities) the poles tended to speak polish. It wasn't that excluding as I picked up words or asked and they also spoke to me in English or told each other off for speaking polish. I got the feeling that it was a break not to translate into English.

I've also got a French friend (ex colleague) but she generally speaks English with me and her French Friends (peppered with French too). I don't see anything wrong there, I do understand and speak a bit of French anyway.

OP your colleagues don't have to talk to you at the bus stop but you could ask them eg about their families, religious holidays, recipes etc. Some of them may just think you wouldn't be interested so exclude you by not talking in English. Pick a friendly person even just to comment 'it's cold today isn't it?'.

rationaloptimist123 · 10/02/2015 21:03

Don't worry. UKIP will soon sort things out. They need to criminalise use of any language other than English in the workplace.

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 21:36

That's going to be a bit tough on the Modern Language teachers rational Grin

rationaloptimist123 · 10/02/2015 21:48

We don't need MODERN anything!!

Original poster
ghostspirit · 10/02/2015 21:55

i know they don't have to talk to me at the bus stop. i was just adding this to show more of a picture... they don't 'have' to do anything. they don't have to speak the common language at work that everyone understands even if that does mean that one person is getting pushed out. does not mean its not rude though or that its the right thing to do.

oh and also we dont have breaks at work we are in the kitchen all the time. so any chit chat is done as working. not on a break

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 10/02/2015 22:02

Don't worry. UKIP will soon sort things out. They need to criminalise use of any language other than English in the workplace

For fuck's sake.

tarashill · 10/02/2015 22:02

You dont know what on earth they're saying about you, of course it's rude. I have a cousin who works in a factory, she has to endure groups of males talking about her as she walks past, talking in a foreign language. How can that not be wrong?

ilovesooty · 10/02/2015 22:04

tara if she doesn't know the language how does she know they're talking about her?

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 22:06

rational Grin

ilovesooty · 10/02/2015 22:06

But in the OP's case if they've been told that English should be used in the kitchen the manager should enforce it. I think the OP should speak up as well and attempt communication though.

rationaloptimist123 · 10/02/2015 22:08

Well if they're FOREIGN it's an entirely reasonable assumption

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 22:08

ghost How often do you initiate conversations with them in the average working day?

ilovesooty · 10/02/2015 22:09

Is rational joking or not?

tarashill · 10/02/2015 22:11

You don't need to know the language to know when a group of men are talking about you. You'd have to be pretty naive if you didn't recognise the signs. its pretty universal.

rationaloptimist123 · 10/02/2015 22:13

Especially if they're FOREIGN men. Speaking a language you don't understand.

FightOrFlight · 10/02/2015 22:14

Is rational joking or not?

I'm going with the former.

I could be biased though as I've had a bit of a crush on rational since the Tax Return & Dinner thread.

riverboat1 · 10/02/2015 22:16

I think it's rude and mean to consistently exclude someone like that. But are they using this language just as a social language, like on breaks and for chit chat, or constantly for work throughout the working day to the exclusion of English? I dont think it shouldn't be banned to speak your native language in the workplace.

I speak the two languages used consistently in my workplace, and incidentally the most used language is NOT the native language of the country we are in. But then we non-natives outnumber the natives by a long way. Most of us can speak and understand both languages to varying degrees though.

I have a couple of colleagues who are Polish (not one of the forementioned languages) and I love hearing them talk together in Polish. Plus it's a great opportunity to learn snippets - smatscznego!

ilovesooty · 10/02/2015 22:16

Unless they're pointing and/or laughing, what are the signs then?

rationaloptimist123 · 10/02/2015 22:16
Blush