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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About different languages being spoken at work?

174 replies

purplesnake · 08/04/2018 01:21

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?

OP posts:
JacquesHammer · 08/04/2018 07:49

YABU

People shouldn’t have to speak so you can overhear what they’re saying. Would you request colleagues speaking quietly to speak louder?

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 07:54

Where I get my haircut the two hair dressers are Turkish and talk a lot to each other. It is odd. What could they be saying?

i was talking this issue to a nurse who says she tells people off for not speaking English on the ward, which I think is reasonable. It is not fair for the patients in bed to be surrounded by non english people talking over them. oth talking over patients is rude anyway.

JacquesHammer · 08/04/2018 07:57

What could they be saying?

“We’re going to need some more colour soon”
“Water pressure doesn’t feel quite right”
“I’m taking a break before my next client”

So, so many things surely. Why concern yourself it’s something negative

LillianGish · 08/04/2018 08:04

YABU - I live abroad, speak the language, but would never speak to a native English speaker in anything other than English - it would be too weird. Put yourself in their position - if you were living/working abroad would you stop speaking English to your English speaking friends and colleagues?

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 08:07

I do think it excludes others unnecessarily. Fair enough for outside work.

joliejoleen · 08/04/2018 08:08

If you want to understand what they're saying - just learn the language. You can't assume people will just speak English for your convenience, so that you can 'overhear' things or so that you don't feel uncomfortable around them.
Obviously, it's a different matter if you are actually sitting with a group of people, wanting to be part of the conversation and they're not speaking English...I'd think it's a bit inconsiderate.
I speak 7 different languages but always switch to English if one of the people involved in the conversation can only speak English.

JE17 · 08/04/2018 08:09

YABU. I work in Germany. I can and do speak German with my German colleagues. However, if I come across another Brit, we talk to each other in English for our private conversation, regardless of who else is around (and not part of our private chat). it's a welcome opportunity to know that I'm saying exactly what I mean to say, exactly how I want to express myself, and also that the other person understands me fully, My German colleagues understand English very well but have said before that they fail completely to follow the conversation when me and my friend are speaking quickly together in our normal accents (I slow down and erase my accent as far as possible if I speak in English with them). But no one has ever said they are bothered by it. Just slightly deflated that their English is not as good as they thought it was.

bigsighall · 08/04/2018 08:16

Is there a company policy on this?
Our company works over about 16 countries and the official language of the company is English and people are expected to use English except breaks / lunch.

PrimeraVez · 08/04/2018 08:20

I work in the Middle East and in my company, the official working language is English. However, I'm the only native English speaker in my team - the rest all have Arabic as their first language.

To be honest, if we have a whole team meeting, it annoys me if they switch to Arabic because a) the official working language is English and everyone knows this and b) I don't think it's fair that I miss out on anything that might impact my ability to do my job properly.

But apart from that, I have no issue with hearing them chat in Arabic when we are all just sat at our desks. In a way, I quite like it because I can easily tune out conversations taking place around me and concentrate on what I'm doing. After 7 years, I've also picked up a fair bit so can always get the overall gist of what they're discussing and 9 times out of 10, it's not a conversation I'm bothered about hearing!

Sophisticatedsarcasm · 08/04/2018 08:20

YANBU I have the sam issue. I mostly have Spanish with me and sometimes I feel like it’s the Spanish Inquisition in the staffroom. I defo feel like I never want to go to Spain. I sort of understand some of the stuff they say but it does get very irritating. Most of my closer Spanish friends won’t speak too much in front of me or customers but some just don’t care. And now we have Romanians aswell.
I always walk past now and shout English only please and even our manager has put a note up saying English only unless you are on your break. It’s incredibly rude and they should be more mindful of other who don’t speak the language 😡

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 08/04/2018 08:24

Anything but the language people have in common is rude.

JacquesHammer · 08/04/2018 08:31

I always walk past now and shout English only please

Which is equally rude

joliejoleen · 08/04/2018 08:32

Owww people should be more mindful because otherwise you'll feel inadequate Easter Biscuit
If you're not part of the conversation - none of your business. They can speak whatever language they want to speak.
And if you went to Spain, you'd be expected to speak some Spanish.

MismatchedStripySocks · 08/04/2018 08:34

YANBU and this would annoy me. They are in a professional English speaking environment so speak it.

FittonTower · 08/04/2018 08:37

Why do so many people assume that if you can't understand someone they're talking about you? It never occurred to me to worry about that! Do people assume the same about people speaking inaudible English?
I work in a multi-lingual office and i don't find in excluding at all when my colleagues speak in languages i don't understand, generally they switch between languages mid-sentance depending what they are talking about which i find hilarious. The conversations in other languages are only as excluding to me as the conversations about make up (which are frequent) because i guenuinely don't understand them either.

ThisIsTheFirstStep · 08/04/2018 08:38

PrimeraVez I don't think you can really complain if you have been there 7 years and you still can't speak it.

I get it, I've lived in Korea for 10 years and I'm far from fluent, but I don't expect anyone to speak English to me and I don't get annoyed if I miss things because of my own laziness/lack of aptitude.

LloydColeandtheCoconuts · 08/04/2018 08:43

My mum used to work in a place where there was another Yoruba speaking colleague and the the two would natter away in their mother tongue. However, one staff member used to hate this and would complain about it. The supervisor said as long as it didn’t affect my mum and her friend’s work she has no issue with it.

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 08:45

What could they be saying?

“We’re going to need some more colour soon”
“Water pressure doesn’t feel quite right”
“I’m taking a break before my next client”

the hairdressers, whatever they are saying they laugh about it.

i am not complaining

KatharinaRosalie · 08/04/2018 08:49

So all people saying it's rude - is it also rude to speak quietly with a colleague, so that the entire office can't hear your conversation? What's the difference? Will you shout 'speak up!'?

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 08:52

in that vein whispering is really rude, same difference

ThisIsTheFirstStep · 08/04/2018 08:52

Slartybartfast

So? Do you never laugh about anything you say at work?

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 08:53

i am not complaining

Slartybartfast · 08/04/2018 08:54

It is quite unnerving.

EBearhug · 08/04/2018 08:54

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

This. (Not sure offhand what the official policy is beyond English being the working language.)

One of the things I really love about working for multinationals is that when I walk down the corridor, I hear snippets of all sorts of languages - I don't care if I can't understand, because they're not talking to me. I love that we have the technology that means every day, I speak to people literally all round the world.

Once in a while, my Dutch colleagues forget I don't speak Dutch and speak or instant messenger to me in Dutch. I point it out, they say it again in English. It's not a big deal. I assume they are so comfortable and accepting of me, they just forget, rather than assuming they are deliberately and rudely excluding me. Don't remember the Germans doing it, but I do speak some German, so might not have noticed. They have had quick mini-discussions and then given me a summary. Not all of them are completely fluent in English, so they find that easier, but I have only noticed it when we'be been dealing with difficult technical problems, and not often then. I have fewer dealings with people from other non-English-speaking countries, so discussions are usually more formal (and therefore English anyway.)

If different languages ever do get in the way of work, I have always found that pointing it out and asking for English resolves it. If it's deliberately excluding, it is a problem that needs dealing with, but certainly in the places I've worked, it hasn't been. It's just what makes the workplace more interesting.

Barbie222 · 08/04/2018 08:55

YABU - listening to other people's conversations is nosy, we should all do less of it anyway. Start a new conversation in English? I'm sure people will join in!