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if something needed to get done quicker or some technical point was not getting across, the Chinese eng manager would say "OK, we are going to speak Chinese for

if something needed to get done quicker or some technical point was not getting across, the Chinese eng manager would say "OK, we are going to speak Chinese for a minute" and the team would deliberate some point in their native language. Then, when it was resolved, we'd continue on in English with the better English-speakers summarizing. So, the native English speakers were not part of the debate and just got a summary? I'm not sure that jibes with contribute equally.

ryandrake 4y ago
Granted, we (the English-only teammates) kind of had to trust that our point of view was being translated and represented properly, and it never really felt like it wasn't. It was mostly "Hey, let's take a moment in our native language to catch the whole team up with the conversation, and deliberate some points that are harder in English." and not so much "Let's secretly debate something and then present the decision to the US guys." Does that explain it better?
sokoloff 4y ago
It’s also not entirely equal if native Chinese, German, or Dutch speaking colleagues are constantly required to discuss work in a non-native language, while native English speakers are not. We operate globally and official internal language and company docs are in English (and optionally others) and probably 99% of cross-cultural discussions are in English, but I take no offense when colleagues switch to Dutch or German temporarily in the name of efficiency.
- brnt 4y ago
  A diverse or inclusive environment should not mean that we all speak English. Being monolingual is a fairly recent occurance, many people are used to speaking a few, and perhaps none of them 'best', just in different contexts. Polylingual communication can exists alongside a lingua franca. It's important that each individuals request to (re)explain in another language/the lingua franca is respected.
wenc 4y ago
I worked with Brazilian colleagues in Brazil and while the official language in the office was English, we had a few older colleagues who struggled but who were brilliant in their field. Rather than exclude these older colleagues, my younger English-speaking Brazilian colleagues would just excuse themselves (with my agreement) and dip into Portuguese to help everyone get on the same page. I felt it was fair -- why should we exclude expertise on the basis of language? Fairness works both ways. (I later learned Portuguese so this became a moot point)
- atonse 4y ago
  I find these stories fascinating. I’ve always had a hunch that for a few colleagues in my career, the English barrier held them back and sometimes wished to experiment to see if just discussing a feature or algorithm in their native language would help (just for their tickets for example). Because while they spoke English it was clear they didn’t THINK in English. This looks like it would’ve helped tremendously.
muzani 4y ago
Some people can read and speak good English but they can't brainstorm properly in English. It's not a switch in their head, it's a button they have to hold down and exert energy on.

ryandrake 4y ago

Granted, we (the English-only teammates) kind of had to trust that our point of view was being translated and represented properly, and it never really felt like it wasn't. It was mostly "Hey, let's take a moment in our native language to catch the whole team up with the conversation, and deliberate some points that are harder in English." and not so much "Let's secretly debate something and then present the decision to the US guys." Does that explain it better?

sokoloff 4y ago

It’s also not entirely equal if native Chinese, German, or Dutch speaking colleagues are constantly required to discuss work in a non-native language, while native English speakers are not. We operate globally and official internal language and company docs are in English (and optionally others) and probably 99% of cross-cultural discussions are in English, but I take no offense when colleagues switch to Dutch or German temporarily in the name of efficiency.

brnt 4y ago
A diverse or inclusive environment should not mean that we all speak English. Being monolingual is a fairly recent occurance, many people are used to speaking a few, and perhaps none of them 'best', just in different contexts. Polylingual communication can exists alongside a lingua franca. It's important that each individuals request to (re)explain in another language/the lingua franca is respected.

wenc 4y ago

I worked with Brazilian colleagues in Brazil and while the official language in the office was English, we had a few older colleagues who struggled but who were brilliant in their field. Rather than exclude these older colleagues, my younger English-speaking Brazilian colleagues would just excuse themselves (with my agreement) and dip into Portuguese to help everyone get on the same page. I felt it was fair -- why should we exclude expertise on the basis of language? Fairness works both ways. (I later learned Portuguese so this became a moot point)

atonse 4y ago
I find these stories fascinating. I’ve always had a hunch that for a few colleagues in my career, the English barrier held them back and sometimes wished to experiment to see if just discussing a feature or algorithm in their native language would help (just for their tickets for example). Because while they spoke English it was clear they didn’t THINK in English. This looks like it would’ve helped tremendously.

muzani 4y ago

Some people can read and speak good English but they can't brainstorm properly in English. It's not a switch in their head, it's a button they have to hold down and exert energy on.