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Really?
I find Lazaro hard to pronounce. I'm going to call you laser. Or Larry. That's okay, right?
I find Lazaro hard to pronounce. I'm going to call you laser. Or Larry. That's okay, right?Really?
I don't like Trevor. Is Terry ok?
Yes, that's Jesus with a J as in judge.
If English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me
I don't like Trevor. Is Terry ok?I find Lazaro hard to pronounce. I'm going to call you laser. Or Larry. That's okay, right?Really?
Terry has good German roots. I can live with it.
Bad news for you, Martin. They are still talking about you.
I have a friend who spent two years doing a cultural immersion program in Panama. When ever he hears people saying bad things about him, or anglos in general, in spanish he'll turn to them and tell them just what he thinks of what they are saying, in perfectly accented spanish. It's really funny to watch the reactions.
Last night the ESPN team were commenting about some player eating a hot dog during the game. I was busy so I did not see everything, but is it possible this was a play on that?I think they were talking about Mark Sanchez of the Jets eating a hot dog just before their last possession against the Raiders on Sunday.
They were beating the Oakland by 38 - 0 I think...
I believe he was actually eating a hot dog, where as JPM was definately not eating a taco. Brad Kezelowski might have been eating a sandwich though.
I have a friend who spent two years doing a cultural immersion program in Panama. When ever he hears people saying bad things about him, or anglos in general, in spanish he'll turn to them and tell them just what he thinks of what they are saying, in perfectly accented spanish. It's really funny to watch the reactions.
Bad news for you, Martin. They are still talking about you.
VIVA PANAMA!!!!
Of course, that's all a far cry from sportscasters pointing out that Manny Ramirez was in the clubhouse taking a shower as the Dodgers were taking an 11-0 drubbing by the Phillies. He'd already been taken out of the game, he wasn't coming back, and Manny just generally doesn't care once he's out. He was like that in Boston, he'll be like that anywhere. He just doesn't feel the need to stay with his team and watch the remainder of the game.
Charlie Bell
(Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Adventure Path, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case, GameMastery Maps Subscriber)
I definitely feel this guy was highly culturally insensitive, but put yourself in his shoes for a minute. Imagine you're a manager, trying to talk to your employees, but they keep talking to each other in some language they know you don't understand. Worse, they do that in front of customers who don't understand, either. That may not have been what happened here, but if it did, it would be pretty annoying and bad for business.
As for Anglicizing employees' names, employees at some Indian call centers are rigorously trained to impersonate Americans. Not only are they given English names, they are expected to use these names with their families. They are instructed in American culture, accent, speech patterns, etc. They also read American news sources so they know about the weather and current events so they can make relevant small talk. This is a normative and accepted business practice. I have really mixed feelings about this... it's either dreadfully culturally insensitive, or it's the logical conclusion of doing business cross-culturally in a globalized economy. Maybe both.
If he was afraid of them talking behind his back...why hire them?
Telling them, "Don't speak spanish while working for me?" would be just as bad.
Or maybe he should have hired another person to interpret what they're saying.
I actually think it's fine that an employer demand that employees only speak the language he understands while in his employ, as long as he isn't singling out the hispanics while letting the koreans speak korean etc, from the sounds of the article, I think he just kept the staff that was there when he joined. However demanding that they anglicize their names was going to far, I can see telling them not to correct guests if they mispronounce their names, but not telling them to tell people the incorrect pronunciation of their names, that's just terribly insensitive.
I have to agree with charlie and lastknight. I think in the workplace that a set language is mandatory.
I was in the navy and they put the phillipino,mexican and other non english speaking people in a hot box situation by basically finding something wrong,real or imagined, with their uniform and then have 2 or 3 higher ranking officers or what have you yell,scream,insult and basically mentally break them down, all the while bombarding them with questions thay are expected and required to answer and IF they revert to their native language then they are sent back for remedial english lessons.
The reason is simple in a deadly situation where time is of the essence if your comunicating need-to-know-information and the person on the other end cant understand the words your saying then you could die and cost the lives of other people because of misinformation.
It may sound extreme but when your dealing with fire on board a ship with 3 thousand people there is NO room for errors. We have had to push burning aircraft off the ship into the atlantic to stop them from damaging the ship,other craft or other people. Can you imagine the horror if in a situation like that your telling the guy behind the wheel to steer left and he's so scared or out of it becasue "OMG this is real" he doesnt get it and the aircraft explodes,jet fuel and all.
I personally have seen a first class petty officer with over 17yrs in get so upset dressing down a second class that she reverted to spanish. She was just going off windmilling her arms screaming at the guy in a language non of us could understand and then when he politely asked her to please speak english because he didnt understand she took it as a racist remark and had him up on charges. They were dismissed by the Captain but still the fact that she tried was enough.
I'm all for "LEGAL!!!" imigration into this country but I do believe that the policy of the armed forces of all buisness is to be conducted in ENGLISH should apply to all federal,state and local governments.
I have to agree with charlie and lastknight. I think in the workplace that a set language is mandatory.
I was in the navy and they put the phillipino,mexican and other non english speaking people in a hot box situation by basically finding something wrong,real or imagined, with their uniform and then have 2 or 3 higher ranking officers or what have you yell,scream,insult and basically mentally break them down, all the while bombarding them with questions thay are expected and required to answer and IF they revert to their native language then they are sent back for remedial english lessons.
The reason is simple in a deadly situation where time is of the essence if your comunicating need-to-know-information and the person on the other end cant understand the words your saying then you could die and cost the lives of other people because of misinformation.
It may sound extreme but when your dealing with fire on board a ship with 3 thousand people there is NO room for errors. We have had to push burning aircraft off the ship into the atlantic to stop them from damaging the ship,other craft or other people. Can you imagine the horror if in a situation like that your telling the guy behind the wheel to steer left and he's so scared or out of it becasue "OMG this is real" he doesnt get it and the aircraft explodes,jet fuel and all.I personally have seen a first class petty officer with over 17yrs in get so upset dressing down a second class that she reverted to spanish. She was just going off windmilling her arms screaming at the guy in a language non of us could understand and then when he politely asked her to please speak english because he didnt understand she took it as a racist remark and had him up on charges. They were dismissed by the Captain but still the fact that she tried was enough.
I'm all for "LEGAL!!!" imigration into this country but I do believe that the policy of the armed forces of all buisness is to be conducted in ENGLISH should apply to all federal,state and local governments.
This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fire.
This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fire
That's not the issue, he's an employer he has a right to choose that his employees all speak the same language. It doesn't have to be english, if it was a hispanic employer who demanded all employees speak only in spanish I'd support it as well. You have a right to understand what your employees are saying while in your place of business. As long as you aren't isolating a single ethnicities language. If this guy had banned them speaking spanish but had two employees who spoke french that he didn't do the same thing for, I'd be pissed at the racist behavior.
And while I understand why he tried to anglicize their names, I don't think that's acceptable however. You shouldn't be able to force a person to change their name, I don't care if their name is Douchebag Balllicker if that's his legal name, you don't have a right to force him to change it. Now if he had told his employees "Hey, I don't mind your names, but if a guest has trouble with it and mispronounces it, unless they express the desire to pronounce it correctly and ask you, don't correct their pronunciation." I would think this guy was 100% well within his rights. As it is he went way too far and was culturally insensitive, and later comments apparently did reveal a bias.
While communicating with him or with customers, sure, they should stick to English. Just in front of him? Bah! I do not agree. If they are being insubordinate, sure, you can punish them for that.
Forcing them to change their names just shows me his true intent.
I disagree, it's hard enough to foster a good employee/employer relationship, and the fact is people are naturally paranoid, if two people are speaking in spanish around you and laughing, even a passing glance in your direction that is completely innocent makes you think they're talking about you. And it's not like he's following them outside of work to make sure they aren't speaking in spanish in their off time, but while at work I can understand that ban because it's not just the boss who may take issue with it, or be paranoid, fellow employees could think the same thing but not speak up because they don't want to make waves, however because they don't like co-workers they'll be less productive. I have no problems with a single language in the workplace rule. I would probably institute the same rule for the exact same reason. Does that make me racist? I would never tell someone to change their name however.
I worked in Hong Kong for a while (as a non-Cantonese speaker) and it can be pretty weird having people standing around you having conversations you cannot understand day-in day-out. As it happens, I didn't get paranoid about it but it does make you feel quite excluded (it turns out they were mostly talking about the latest local sex scandal, but I digress) and uncomfortable. As such, it is probably a bad idea to allow staff to talk to eachother in a foreign language in front of customers (this was an office job, so that didn't matter so much, plus it was their country, though on the other side I was their manager and I maybe ought to have had an idea as to what the office banter was about).
On the names thing... Funnily, a lot of Chinese in Hong Kong, including native mainland Chinese, adopt Western names in addition to their Chinese ones. Not all of them do it, but most do, especially those working for Western companies. Again, it's to improve communication with non-Chinese speakers (remembering, and indeed pronouncing, Jyun Chyi is harder for most Westerners than, say, Mandy). Whether that would be relevant in New Mexico is debatable (since I imagine most people there can probably cope with Pedro or Juanita) but rather than seeing this as a racist issue (though it might be) it may be more of a desire to provide customer service and good customer communications.
Patrick Curtin
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
I see what you are saying Aubrey, but there are different facts at work here. In the situation you described in Hong Kong it was a choice the employees made to take a western name for better customer service. It was not something dictated by management as it was in the New Mexico incident. So you're right it is good customer service when it is a choice, but based on statements made by the manager, it was just racism when he did it.
I see what you ar saying Aubrey, but there are different facts at work here. In the situation you described in Hong Kong it was a choice the employees made to take a western name for better customer service. It was not something dictated by management as it was in the New Mexico incident. So you're right it is good customer service when it is a choice, but based on statements made by the manager, it was just racism when he did it.
Fair enough. I'm not really excusing his actions. If you are paranoid then people talking in a foreign language around you will basically do your head in - the standing joke is "they are talking about us" but some people might actually believe it. But obviously the problem is paranoia, not the language.
I see what you ar saying Aubrey, but there are different facts at work here. In the situation you described in Hong Kong it was a choice the employees made to take a western name for better customer service. It was not something dictated by management as it was in the New Mexico incident. So you're right it is good customer service when it is a choice, but based on statements made by the manager, it was just racism when he did it.Fair enough. I'm not really excusing his actions. If you are paranoid then people talking in a foreign language around you will basically do your head in - the standing joke is "they are talking about us" but some people might actually believe it. But obviously the problem is paranoia, not the language.
agreed, the manager probably has had bad employees badmouth him before, aparently he bought out hotels and got them going again as his thing and when you buy failing businesses there's usually an employee or two that are bad eggs that resist the positive changes you make. It probably made him paranoid as a reflex. And having people speaking in a foreign language around you can trigger said paranoia. In such instances I feel you are well within your rights as an employer to say that people have to speak only one language while in the workplace. Because even if it isn't your paranoia being triggered it could be someone else's down the road, a good manager takes steps to prevent problems before they crop up. Is it a necessary step in all workplaces, I don't think so, however I don't begrudge employers who feel it is.
This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fireThat's not the issue, he's an employer he has a right to choose that his employees all speak the same language. It doesn't have to be english, if it was a hispanic employer who demanded all employees speak only in spanish I'd support it as well.
I don't live in the U.S. and I'm unsure of the laws. I understood that "A rule requiring that employees speak only English on the job may violate Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] unless an employer shows that the requirement is necessary for conducting business." If this is true, then it is the issue. He does need to demonstrate the need for an English only policy.
I'd really like to know if there is actually protection of language rights in the U.S. so please correct me if I'm wrong.
This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fireThat's not the issue, he's an employer he has a right to choose that his employees all speak the same language. It doesn't have to be english, if it was a hispanic employer who demanded all employees speak only in spanish I'd support it as well.I don't live in the U.S. and I'm unsure of the laws. I understood that "A rule requiring that employees speak only English on the job may violate Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] unless an employer shows that the requirement is necessary for conducting business." If this is true, then it is the issue. He does need to demonstrate the need for an English only policy.
I'd really like to know if there is actually protection of language rights in the U.S. so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Listening to the talking heads last nite he's covered if he makes this part of his business rules and environment, but it can't be 'just around him'.
Listening to the talking heads last nite he's covered if he makes this part of his business rules and environment, but it can't be 'just around him'.This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fireThat's not the issue, he's an employer he has a right to choose that his employees all speak the same language. It doesn't have to be english, if it was a hispanic employer who demanded all employees speak only in spanish I'd support it as well.I don't live in the U.S. and I'm unsure of the laws. I understood that "A rule requiring that employees speak only English on the job may violate Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] unless an employer shows that the requirement is necessary for conducting business." If this is true, then it is the issue. He does need to demonstrate the need for an English only policy.
I'd really like to know if there is actually protection of language rights in the U.S. so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Reference please?
Reference please?Listening to the talking heads last nite he's covered if he makes this part of his business rules and environment, but it can't be 'just around him'.This is interesting. Really. But ... he was banning employees from speaking Spanish in his presence because he was afraid they might be talking about him. He wasn't testing their ability to speak English under fireThat's not the issue, he's an employer he has a right to choose that his employees all speak the same language. It doesn't have to be english, if it was a hispanic employer who demanded all employees speak only in spanish I'd support it as well.I don't live in the U.S. and I'm unsure of the laws. I understood that "A rule requiring that employees speak only English on the job may violate Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act] unless an employer shows that the requirement is necessary for conducting business." If this is true, then it is the issue. He does need to demonstrate the need for an English only policy.
I'd really like to know if there is actually protection of language rights in the U.S. so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Yeah, which show was it on?