Rant: Does it bother you when the techs speak in their native language?

[Sara]

I'm all for preserving your "mother tongue," but in America, business is conducted in English and so it really should be used in the workplace.  Not to mention it's rude to speak in front of someone in a language they don't understand. 

[angieskidney]

I'm all for preserving your "mother tongue," but in America, business is conducted in English and so it really should be used in the workplace.  Not to mention it's rude to speak in front of someone in a language they don't understand. 

Unless the other person the one is talking to doesn't know English.

My mom came from Poland and she remembers when everyone was speaking to her in English and she didn't understand and would cry. She didn't know they were asking her name.

Now she speaks without any accent and she raised my brothers and I to only speak English. I wish I knew my mom's native tongue though and admire people who can speak more than one language. Also it prevents eavedroppers (is that the right word??)

[Bajanne]

Also it prevents eavedroppers (is that the right word??)

Almost - the word is 'eavesdroppers'.

[BigSky]

Not to mention it's rude to speak in front of someone in a language they don't understand. 

I agree people should speak English.  However I think it is an overstatement to say its rude to speak a language in front of someone who does not understand the language.

[jbeany]

Not to mention it's rude to speak in front of someone in a language they don't understand. 

I agree people should speak English.  However I think it is an overstatement to say its rude to speak a language in front of someone who does not understand the language.

Depends on what they are saying, big sky.  If they are using it as a "cover" to say something that would be impolite to say in English, then they shouldn't be making the comment at all.  If they happen to be speaking to each other, away from other people, and are clearly having a private conversation, that's different.  Doing so over the top of a patient's head while they are supposed to be working on the patient strikes me as extremely rude.  And using such a thing as a defense against "eavesdropping" is clearly a bad idea, as you never know just how much someone else can actually understand.  Epo understands enough to get the gist of what the techs are saying over his head, which certainly makes them rude when they continue to talk about him.  It's another language, not a secret code, and anyone can learn it.

[CCHT_8o8]

It bothers the hell out of me.  I'm filipino but I do not speak the language.  All the RNs and Techs where I work at all speak in that language.  They know I do not understand fully, so they speak like that in front of me.     Some of them even insulted me by calling me a fake Filipino because I don't know their native tongue.  Our patients are offended by it but what can you do when the Director of Nursing also speaks in that language on the floor.  Our clinic has numerous violations about this subject but apparently no one cares enough to do something about it.  They say they're going to write you up if there are complaints about non-English being spoken but no one has gotten a warning yet.  When my co-workers talk to me in non-English I reply with "Speak English, this isn't the Philippines."  They get offensive and start talking smack about me in tagalog.     It's a disgrace to my roots, but I feel ashamed because some of them are ignorant. 

[RichardMEL]

It doesn't bother me. In our unit we have just about every nationality covered somehow or other between staff and patients... Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Russian, Italian, Greek, English... whatever... what I've been doing is learning a few words in key languages - Mandarin, Greek etc... so when someone comes along I can be polite with a friendly "Ni Hao!" or "gia sou!" and you know they love it - specially some of the patients. There's a sweet Chinese lady, older, who is in around the same times I am... she doesn't speak much English but her and her husband were so excited when I learned to say "Zai Jian!" (goodbye) to them! The excitement and smiles was so worth it!! I think they really apprieciated that I made a small effort to connect with them  in their language. Now when the Chinese nurses speak to those guys in Mandarin hey I'm all for it. Both can understand and it's much easier for the patients whoose English is poor.

Sometimes staff will speak to eachother in Mandarin or whatever... and hey that's ok... I'm sure they say worse about me after I'm gone anyway so it's all good!

The other thing is that on my shift we have a LARGE number of Greek patients... so it became a bit of a joke to said Gia Sou! (hello/goodbye in Greek - fun language ) to just about everyone and anyone who came or went (yes, I started it.. I am such a joker sometimes!).. even the staff join in.. Heck the Chinese lady above even got into it!! (you haven't lived tilll you've seen a sweet Chinese lady speak Greek!).

I think it adds to the feeling of community in the unit and a bit of fun.

[tamara]

Hey Richard,

Call the greek girls "koukla" they'll love it, and thanks now I can say goodbye in a few languages Thanks



P.S Just means doll !

[RichardMEL]

lol tamara.. thanks.. alas all the greeks are old men... nice old men but old men... no girls.. though sometimes their wives visit... though I'm not sure they'd apprieciate being called doll! LOL

[goofynina]

Hey Richard,

Call the greek girls "koukla" they'll love it, and thanks now I can say goodbye in a few languages Thanks



P.S Just means doll !

Tamara, is that the same as Koukla, Fran and Ollie?  Do you remember that show?   

[KT0930]

I have to throw in my  here.

I work with a guy who left his home in Croatia on Sept 11, 2001, and after a five day delay finally arrived in the US. He speaks better English than some native speakers I know!

However, I went to lunch with him one day, and a woman he knew from his previous job joined us, and they immediately started speaking Croatian to each other with me sitting right there. They carried on for probably five minutes before he introduced us and reminded her that they would have to speak English for my sake. While we were sitting down eating, she did that, but once we were done and outside and saying goodbye, she had switched back to Croatian. She had done several other things during the meal that I didn't like, so that was just the final straw...hope I don't ever have to endure another meal with her!

It's not an issue for me anymore, but people who work in nail salons all do the same thing that you all are complaining about the dialysis workers doing. Grrrrr! (Sorry, I do PD, so I don't know what the nurses/techs in our unit do to those on hemo)

[RichardMEL]

KTD.. that's just plain rude and inconsiderate... No, I don't apprieciate that kind of thing if I'm sitting with people and they just go off in their own tongue. Perhaps if the co-worker was translating for the other whose english was not very good that's ok, but to just kind of do their own thing and ignore you like that is bad.

[KT0930]

Her English was almost as good as his...she was just rude (she left a two dollar tip for a thirty dollar check, if that gives you an idea)

[Jannie]

I grew up speaking two languages at home, English and German. My mother told me I must always speak only English in public, that it was rude to converse in another language, because people would assume you are making fun of them. By the way, after my Grandmother died when I was 9, I never spoke German again and I have forgotten all of it. All the workers in my center speak English, so I have no problem. But when I go to the beauty shop for my weekly  manicure, it ticls me off when the manicurists talk to each other in Korean.

[poohkari]

Her English was almost as good as his...she was just rude (she left a two dollar tip for a thirty dollar check, if that gives you an idea)

I've found in my studies (hahaha, more like almost 10 years on and off working in a restaurant) that most native foreigners and african-americans do not tip well at all, if at all. Thats not saying I would refuse to wait on them, its just something to remember so you're not suprised by it.

[Rerun]

I grew up speaking two languages at home, English and German. My mother told me I must always speak only English in public, that it was rude to converse in another language, because people would assume you are making fun of them. By the way, after my Grandmother died when I was 9, I never spoke German again and I have forgotten all of it. All the workers in my center speak English, so I have no problem. But when I go to the beauty shop for my weekly  manicure, it ticls me off when the manicurists talk to each other in Korean.

Jamie, have you seen this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk82Hy81tpk

[glitter]