Multiculturalism Sucks in Office
I have recently been assigned at another office to work with our sub-contractor. The work is not a problem but the main problem I am facing there is that people tend to speak every language other than freakin English.
There are keralites who speak Kerali, philipinos who speak Tagalog, French who speak French and they always communicate with each other in their mother tongues. If it was one or two people I would have requested them to speak English as long as I am there but asking the whole office is out of the question.
I dont know what is going on in the office as I am very much lacking communication in the office.
So if you are one of those kindly speak English in the office so that everyone can understand what the F you are saying. You dont have to speak Kerali or tagalog or french as I dont understand any of them. And when you are speaking other than English and I am staring at your face, it is not that I am tryng to read your face expressions or do lip reading, I am just thinking how to make your life more miserable.
lol...Afaque!
Life is like poker.You pay for what you learn.n the only way you learn is with the cards in ur hand and money on the table.
kya! kya kaha apne? language.....koi baat nahi
By the way, the language that keralites speak is called Malayalam. :-)
Life is like a game of poker.You pay for what you learn.n the only way you learn is with the cards in ur hand and money on the table.
Knox: ...I do not understand y they cant talk in whatever language they want as long as the subject doesnt concern you or your work. I mean, personally speaking, I feel perfectly fine if ppl use their native languages in private communications/chit chat. It happens all the time wer i work n i've kind of gotten used to have it as some kind of exotic background music. :-p
Of course its a different scene if I am in a meeting/conference n ppl start talking their native language instead of a common/universal language. Then u hav to make it clear the practice is not welcome.
Also if I have invited over any friend who doesnt understand my native language, I wudnt talk in any language which is not undrstood by all.
Insisting on talking in a particular language, all the time, in a multicultural environ like we hav here...well... I'm not sure its going to work.
Life is like poker.You pay for what you learn.n the only way you learn is with the cards in ur hand and money on the table.
Never have I come across such a dirty place before in my life......Indians are also damned
I think theres no problem at all about this group of people of course every one has its own language and they have to speak with their own.it is you who has a problem, i believe you should try to adapt your self to the environment. you just hear them talking, perhaps try to talk to them im sure they gonna talk to your freaking english if you are. im a filipino and speak pilipno to my fellow filipno and same as others too.
HUMBLE YOUR SELF AND LEARNED A BIT THE LANGUAGE OF OTHERS AND TAKE THIS AS A CHANCE THIS IS ONLY IN QATAR OR MIDLE EAST PERHAPS ONE DAY YOU CAN GO 4 SOME VACATION TO THEIR RESPECTIVE PLACE AT LEAST YOU KNOW A BIT. IS IN'T FUN AND YOU WILL REMEMBER THIS HECK!
"Born optimist,Nothing can keep me too low 4 too long.
Happy for what I have today but Tomorrow is really another day."
3sure-hunk3r
Try throwing chairs around the office to get their attention! Tell them you will continue throwing chairs until they speak a common tongue.
This works for me! When I first came to Qatar, I went through 20 chairs a day to get my point across. The furniture companies loved me b/c they did a lot of business with my company: replacing busted-up chairs!
Probably they are speaking Shakespearian. Maybe the bush is speaking spanglish....
"As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement," President Bush
Try the language of love.
i can relate to your experience knox... when i was new in my office, all i can do is just stare at them all Arab speaking colleagues. im the only non-arab in the office and i felt soooo bored and out-of-place during meetings i even feel like screaming at them to remind them im around... but what to do? finally after 2 years somebody non-arab came so it made 2 of us staring blankly at them.... :( ?
If you believe, you will receive what you ask for in prayer
eco-savvy said: Official language of Qatar is Arabic and 2nd is English....
There is only one Official language in Qatar: Arabic...
English is not official in any way as a second language.
P.S. Languages of the indian subcontinent are used more than English in Qatar...
...Hope so that we all are here from different corners of the world (parts of India) to make our $ or say the Riyal. We are obliged to speak the International Business Language i.e ENGLISH ..or speak the national language (say HINDI) which everyone understands.
But its really hard to make these monkeys to understand...out of 10000 may be very few (can count on fingers) would respect others in the group and speak the language which everyone understands...but they purposely indulge in speaking their own regional languague to the embarassment of others....
THIS MATTER SHOULD BE OBSERVED AND ADDRESSED BY THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF THE ORGANISATION...SHUD PENALIZE ALL THOSE INCLUDING THE RANK MANAGERS WHO SPEAK THEIR REGIONAL LANGUAGUE......
....WANNA SPEAK UR REGIONAL LANGUAGUE GO BACK TO YOUR HELL HOLE FROM WHERE YOU CAME.....
...maybe they are in the warming up phase to you. truly it will take extra effort on your part to go out of your way to understand and communicate to your colleagues but hey you're the one having problems ,not them. the amount of effort you exert in reaching out to them (including the size of ego you carry around) will be directly proportional to the success to blend in with them.
secondly, what did you expect about the working situ here? of couse there will be a cacophony of languages--- i think all continents except antarctica are present here!!!
third, try a little humility--learn polite phrases of their languages too. am sure that will get their attention. I am actually surprised about the Keralites and Filipinos, definitely they speak English, not to you though. And the french, well uhh, they are freaking French...
last, get one of those interpreter earphones used in the UN or get an interpreter for yourself. I know 2 of the 3 languages you have to deal with! haha
Our office is much the same but we all manage to get along very well as we all have food in common and this is well looked after by all. I hear them telling their jokes etc. and if I ask they share them with me but it is only natural they will speak their native languages together.
However , one small story to this language problem, recently I went to visit one of my Arabic colleagues, (incidentally she speaks very good english) and her small daughter 3 years old likes me (God knows why) so on this particular day we were sitting in the kitchen for lunch, then she pulls up a chair beside me and hooks her arm in mine.
She proceeded to enter into a dicussion with me, the face mimicks were adorable but the main thing is she was not speaking Arabic and she knows only to words English, but she continued to have an ongoing conversation with me, fully clear words only no one understood what she was saying.
The motto is a 3 year old child took it upon herself to include me in a conversation knowing very well I didn't speak Arabic but this did not disturb her she invented her own language.
Aren't kids clever and kind
in multicultural environment...you cannot do anything about it.. it depends on how people around you intelligent are...
as for me, I am the only one at the office who DOES NOT speak arabic, others are all speak arabic, mostly a qatari version... so they all talk to each other in arabic, and I have a good chance to listen to the language all day long...which is very benificial to me.. so I don't mind when they speak arabic...I even want them to speak arabic...
we do not have anyone who speaks Kerali, Tagalog, Hindi, Mandarin though...
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This Too Shall Pass..... [img_assist|nid=71431|title=magic ring|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0]
sorry to hear your situation knox, we do all work in a multi-cultural environment. what i could suggest is you better talk to their supervisors or managers and tell them your situation.
- live your life as simple as you are
- money doesn't create man, but it is the man who created money
- don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel good
Hello,
Many French people are proud of their own language, that's true, but I don't believe they hate English language, actually I'm sure 100% they wish they could speak it fluently. but as most of them (in France) are not confident with their speaking ability they prefer not uttering a single word even if they do have elementary skills, they're very proud and are too afraid to sound ridiculous. But we learn only by making mistakes.. Personally i believe that some English speakers tend to be even less open minded than others as they expect everyone to learn English but scarcely make an effort to learn foreign languages, the minimum you could do when living in any country would be to learn the local language ;-)
Thank you for being so honest, this post has really made me think. Coming from the very politically correct UK, my first reaction to your post was that it may be a bit strong. And then I thought about it and realised that I feel the same. Not just in language but in culture generally. I try very hard to treat everyone the same and don't stop too hard to think about where they come from. So how come it's ok for people to ask me, almost daily, what is wrong with me, why no children? Do I have cancer, is there a problem with my husband? Why don't you work full time, are you lazy? Why do you take the bus and not drive, are you crazy? It is really getting to me. The answer is that in my culture, you choose when you want to have kids and having 50 is not a sign of your status. In my culture, if the bus is quicker, cheaper and more convenient then you can choose to use it. I worked 80 hours a week in the UK in a senior position (actually earned more than hub) and I am exhausted, I am enjoying the break. Why kill myself to earn less than I would have got per week in UK a month here. I work part time purely for the enjoyment. And yes, lucky old me to have these choices, I appreciate that many people don't have it so easy. I justify myself to people every day and never question people why they do the things they do, even though they may seem crazy to me. I wish people would return the courtesy. I do really love living here and rarely moan about it but you are so right, we should be able to voice our occasional frustration and feeling of isolation that living and working in a multi culture country bring to us sometimes. The great things, I also appreciate and have learned so much from the good people I have met.
It's just a matter of OFFICE COURTESY amongst the employees.
We usually speak TAGALOG amongst ourselves when talking about some things TOTALLY NOT RELATED to WORK...kinda private conversations.
However, we do ask to be excused when there's a non-tagalog speaker within hearing distance.
I, myself has been in knoxcollege's shoes once too many times and I emphatize with how he feels. I only was able to overcome it by saying 'ENGLISH, PLEASE' 9in a nice way, of course) and they usually take the hint, apologize and let me know, join in with the conversation.
Though, PATIENCE will really TAKE you a long, long way in the end.
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!- UNKNOWN
If you know english then you should speak english, Germans and Japanese are well mannered ppl they will take permission before they start blabbering
There are work ettiquettes we all must learn. I know my Indian cousins, we use Urdu/hindi language when we backbite.
i have faced it too.. but sooner or later i kinda got used to it..
atleast they make sure they talk in english when they talk to me...
knox i really understand how you feel.
azilana probably has the right solution.
but then again may i add that its only natural to feel more comfortable in your mother tongue.
but people probably tend to overdo it, not realising its impact on others.
do it right - the first time!
I know this would sound silly to some but have you tried talking to at least one of them?
Try to talk and tell them (or to one of them) what you feel/think when you hear them speak their language, particularly when you're around/with them. I'm sure they would understand where you're coming from.
The company I work for has employees of different nationalities...Germans (majority), Swiss, South African, French, Indian, Sudanese, Omani and Filipinos. But, we do get along quite well.
You would be surprised that indians, filipinos and germans in our office eat lunch and take breaks together with no problems.
Communicate...if all else fails...GO and suggest for a meeting (openforum).
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!- UNKNOWN
this is something which to piss me off at work.i have a colleague who regularly speaks to others in arabic especially in our unit where there are guys from india russia and czech republic.(and mind you thats when he is discussing a surgical case).at least he could show us the courtsey of our prescence.in any case i learnt to ignore it.
but then again i have a qatari colleague(albeit trained in canada) who insists everyone speak english especially when there are non arabs around.
i love him just for that.
do it right - the first time!
but Knox is not in Kerala . Official language of Qatar is Arabic and 2nd is English
I will be mad if someone in my state tells me to converse in english
you can get away with it if you are creative, hilarious. Dont have to wait untill your probationary period. You didnt buy cultural show ticket of Mini India or Cebu.
We just have to remind ourselves Arabic is State Language, do not show resentment there
Foul language is a necessary part of a fallen society, profanity gives people a way to express their feelings, where I work no one dares to use F-word
my aggressive notes have described them very well......I feel those you use swear words are children born from ......
knox
Your colleages probably dont feel comfortable speaking english.
but this is one of the worst things that happen at most workplaces
i can understand how you would feel in such a situation
hope you find a solution to this
cheers
YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!
Knox, I don't blame you, but there is something you have to understand about cultures...
The French have always been speaking in in French wherever they are in the world. I had been to Paris, couple of years back and if I asked anything in English, they would not bother to reply... 1. Probably they hate the English and 2. They love the French language
Talking about Keralites, Malayalam is their first language no matter what happens in life. Its not that they are being rude in office by speaking their language.. they are just used to that.
I think that Philipinos feel that they wiill be eaten if they sit outside their group of people. In my office, once I sat with the Philipinos to have lunch with them, they felt so uncomfortable and made me feel it to.
I guess instead of telling them that its rude or asking them to speak in English, They must go for Office etiquettes or better communication skills training.
Hope all works for the best!
It has become racist......and nationalistic
Does the company not have an established and official "working" language?
yep which is why they ALL speak English...just so you won't miss a word!!
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
You can't teach experience...
what kind of office do you work in ???? a bus stop???i mean from what you are sayin, seems you are the only literate person there? if this is the case, then id say you have a whole lot of problems on your hand..then id say you get a psychologist to help you conquer the problem......
especially when its their own fault for being silly and forgetting.
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
you get it scarlett.. anything that takes money away from pple, always works...no one wants to loose money
you could place memos on people's desks that state its poor etiquette to speak in different languages at the work place...because, it IS VERY poor etiquette to do so..
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
you CAN ask them to speak in English if youdo it nicely and even with a joking manner...I think most folks are just busy doing their own work and forget who they are speaking to...don't take it personally unless you can SEE them making jokes about it..
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
but other people around me dont speak English with each other and I am getting annoyed because of this.
that's like the "cuss' jar...when someone says a cuss word, in goes a dollar...amzing how fast that adds up!!
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
Might as well use the universal language..they'd get more done that way!!
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
make a law that every one that speaks other language than english in the office should pay a fine, everytime they do so. like 10 riyals . sooner they start running out of cash the faster they learn to speak english..hehe!!!!
It is not going to work if I ask everyone to speak English and I dont want to become a laughing stock.
Sign language is good as long as you are telling the directions but in an engineering office you cannot rely only on signs.
Before leaving that office I am going to arrange an English Teaching Course conducted by Mullah KnoxCollege. And at the end of the course I will ask them that hopefully now they have learned English so kindly communicate in English. But I still have six months to go in this multi-cultured office.
I asking them to speak English around you doesn't work, then why not try answering them in a made up language when someone talks to you in a foreign language...when you get the puzzled expression, just say...ohh, sorry, thought you understood what I said..let me try English, and perhaps you will.
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. --Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
DaRuDe ... switch the wrestling off from your computer.You watch too many of that !!!
Thank you thank you :D
me want you grab Alexa and smack her
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lol at your sign language Alexa ...
it does pissed me sometimes though ... i am now and again invited to a thai gathering. It is like 12 thai girls and 1 indonesian ... and i am the only one who dont speak thai expecting sitting on the table and understand the conversation??? yeah right ...
I love you too DaRuDe since you are not coming from the same culture as me lol.
Poor knoxy no worries will get fine soon.
Multi culture in my office i love it more and more and i want more to come in.
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poor Knox ... Why dont u tell them in their face that it is rude talking in front of you in the language that you dont understand ???