Hacker News Reader

Comment by mellosouls | Hacker News Reader

It's not clear whether you are in an English-speaking country.

If you are, then personally I think it is really bad form for the other team members to be speaking in a foreign language when the native English speaker is present.

It's rude and disrespectful and I think it's bizarre that we are in this contemporary situation where we are afraid to say that.

If I was working in a foreign country where the native language was - as you would imagine - that spoken in the office, I would damn well learn it and feel embarrassed at co-English speakers excluding somebody on the team who couldn't speak English.

I can't offer a "tactful" answer beyond having an informal chat with somebody you trust with influence, and even that might be risky in the wrong environment.

View on HN

> If you are, then personally I think it is really bad form for the other team members to be speaking in a foreign language when the native English speaker is present.

It depends, if it is in a meeting, they should use a common language that everyone understands (English). However, if they are just talking to each other in the office WITHOUT talking to you, they can use whatever language that is comfortable to them. You are not part of the conversation.

I think the problem here only is that why the person in a FAANG company cannot communicate in English when needed.

You are not part of the conversation

And you can not become part of the conversation, which would not be the case if the language was the native one.

Very rude and exclusionary.

Do you expect to be part of every conversation that you eavesdrop in the office?

Usefully overhearing and jumping into other people's conversations is the one upside to an open office workspace. If you're not going to have even that, it's utterly pointless drudgery to be made to work in one.

No, but I expect a reasonable politeness.

Why not just speak with them directly first?

Of course you should - in an ideal world. But in the current culture in some environments that can get you in trouble.

Ouch sorry to hear that you're in a situation like this then.

Not being able to have even this level of honesty doesn't bode well to any team/org. How can you get shit done if you have to spend your brain power on the pantomime, mental or political gymnastics.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com