Native Tongue

I was so mad about the suggestion I read at our company magazine. Some asshole suggests to stop using native tongue during office hours. He said English should be the only medium to be used in communicating. Let me put it here verbatim and let me show you how horrendous and how discriminatory his remarks are. Wooo the text is too long so I rather summarized it. The point is can we use English in every conversation as a sign of courtesy to everyone.

This is very controversial issue especially on highly diverse company where you have Asians, Mexicans, Americans and some Europeans. It is likely that people of the same ethnicity will speak on their native tongues not because they are rude but because it is easier for them and they find it more efficient. I agree however that there should be limitations and some degree of courtesy must be observed.

I myself speak to my Filipino co-worker in Tagalog even though I am fluent in English. Filipinos have some style in work that are unique and speaking in Tagalog is one of them. It has soul and heart whenever we converse inTagalog. When we talk in English with our kababayan it kinna sound too formal or the element of being kababayan is lost. So, it is very seldom you'll see both filipino speaking in english dito sa US.... Meron nag-eenglish syempre pero mas marami pag nalaman pinoy, magtatagalog yan. hehehehe

Specifying the limitations is important nonetheless. We choose to speak in english during meeting and discussions with clients. This is why we were hired in the first place. We are talented and can speak fluent english. So it is our job!

So have we resolved the issue then? I agree with the respond of the editor of our company paper. The diversity of the company is one of the reason of its success. Speaking in one's language is inevitable but should be practiced in courteous way.

sidepoint: Madaldal lang kc kaming pinoy kaya pinagbabawalan mag chikahan sa tagalog! hahahahaa