About different languages being spoken at work?

[purplesnake]

To be honest, I'm scared to post this at the risk of sounding a bit racist, but I don't intend it to be taken like that at all.

I work, in London, for a company which has an incredibly diverse employee base - being British definitely makes you a minority. I'm not going to debate whether that's a good or bad thing.

Anyway, a lot of my coworkers are from mainland Europe and frequently talk amongst themselves at the desks in their native languages. I speak semi-decent French and Spanish but nowhere near good enough to understand them (I am trying to improve though!) and I find it a bit intimidating to be sat at my desk, knowing they're talking but having no idea what they're saying. I also feel like if they are talking about work, they should speak in English so that the rest of us, even if we just overhear things, can have an idea of what's going on.

Of course, if they are talking to a French speaking client on the phone, for example, then I have no issue with them speaking French. Or if they wanted to grab a coffee and chat about personal things in their own language, good for them.

AIBU to expect that in a business environment in an English speaking country, people should be speaking English?

Yanbu.It is rude and alienating and poor for team building

Yanbu
I think it’s incredibly rude

I think its rude because it excludes others and creates a divide.
I dont understand the need for it either except to gossip or bitch?

Funny how none of the English people I met while still living in Sweden actually seemed to abide by these rules of "you have to speak their language".

YABU because you are basically saying that you want to be able to eavesdrop on their conversations. Why shouldn't they speak in their own language?

joseph Because even if you're pretty good at a foreign language, it takes a really long time to master it and an even longer time for it to feel more natural than speaking your own language.

I speak English as my first language, and two other languages, one fairly fluently, one intermediate. My husband is Korean and if we only spoke Korean, we'd never be able to communicate. We don't have a choice but to speak English in front of his parents/friends sometimes, because I don't have enough vocabulary yet to explain myself.

If that's rude, well, then, we're being rude. But the only other option would be to not be able to speak.

cory yes, exactly. It is ALWAYS British people moaning about people not speaking English. And yet, I know plenty of people here in Korea who've been here for years and can't even order a coffee in Korean.

YANBU. It's very rude. Last place I worked it was against the rules to have conversations between employees in other languages. It caused upset as some colleagues felt they were being commented on or bitched about.

Break time, knock yourself out. In the office or on the shop floor, stick to the language everyone speaks.

I started a new job two weeks ago in finance, I sit in on a group of four desks with two Polish ladies and a bloke from Maidstone. The two ladies have been really helpful (as has the chap but he's less friendly). Last Thursday I asked one of the ladies about a spreadsheet and she spoke to me in English. As I turned away to sit down, she spoke Polish to her Polish colleague, just a quick exchange and her colleague said two words back in Polish and they both laughed.
It's not rocket salad to suspect it was something nasty.
YANBU Op.

Yanbu

It's not allowed in the nhs and was classed as exclusion bullying.

So every time you go to France you speak in French to other Brits during private conversations so the French know you aren’t spreading about them?

maddie how on earth can you say it was something nasty?

For all you know, she turned to her friend and said ‘fucking hell, can’t wait to get out of here for some lunch’ and the friend said ‘you and me both, mate’ and then laughed.

I work in an international environment- the accepted rules of politeness are:

English for company communication (email etc)
Local language for office meetings unless colleagues from other countries are here in which case English
Whatever you want for one to one chit chat

The key is that if it’s a private ‘how are the kids?’ Natter over a cuppa it’s not excluding anyone. If the situation could be construed as excluding those around it’s polite to use the company language

Fwiw I’m not a native local language speaker (im English) and I fully recognise that’s my problem and I need to get more adapt atcthe local language.

YANBU if your in earshot of other people (even if it just a chat) you should speak in the common language. It’s rude to exclude someone.

yabu
it's not your business

I work in a multi language environment and there are many conversations going on in various languages at all times.
meeting are usually in english but could also be in another language if there is a common language between participants. minutes are always in english.

Can you explain why you feel intimidated OP? Strange word?

Well it really pisses me off that if I speak one sentence in english at work i get told to speak danish. It just feels like a put down. Its even worse when someone speaks to me in english first and I get the blame! Its not like I start massive diatribes in english. Its always something of little relevance like where have my post its gone, or when im working through my to do list or thinkingbout loud eg ok ive done the placering but i need to publicere it before i can do min plan.

If your colleagues only speak in their languages then yanbu, but im sure its something they dont want to disturb you with in which case yabu.

Funny how British people feel that way about other languages while at the same time being the worst at learning other languages.
Yabvvvu

Yabu. People revert to their mother tongue because it’s natural to them.

It’s comments like yours which make me feel even more worried about Brexit.

YABU, (unless they speak the foreign language to specifically exclude you, while giggling and looking at your way.)

If it's a private conversation, you have no need to hear it. Would you demand 2 colleagues having a quiet talk should speak up, as you can't otherwise understand what they're saying?

We have many languages in our office. Certainly if people speak the same language you hear them chatting over coffee. However if you wander over to grab a coffee and say hi invariably they will say hi in English and often switch over

Not sure it has the same "feel" as you describe. Certainly I don't worry about anyone saying negative things / bullying using their own language whilst I am around.

I work in a multi lingual environment, too and it's never occurred to me to be bothered by it. I love how international my company is.

I'm a brit, and quite enjoy the assumption made by many other nationalities that I will be mono-lingual. I'm not, and I quite enjoy the element of surprise when people find that out . I can also assure you that when people think they're speaking a language you don't understand, nine times out of ten, they're not saying anything that's about you, or even of interest to you.

I've only ever once felt moved to say "I can understand you, you know" when someone was being unpleasant about a third party.

How petty and self-centred to think people are gossiping about you because they speak another language.

Yanbu. Dm was in the staff room at work with 6 others who could all speak Portuguese. Dm can’t speak Portuguese and therefore excluded from the conversation. It’s rude.

"I also feel like if they are talking about work, they should speak in English so that the rest of us, even if we just overhear things, can have an idea of what's going on."

Wtf???