Bilingualsim at Work

I have recently taken over the cubicle that belonged to the person who left our group on Friday. Her computer has 2 screens and is faster so it helps a lot when doing CADD work. I've discovered that sitting that this spot puts me in the middle of multi-language central.

In front of me, there is a woman who speaks Mandarin. She shares a wall with another person who also speaks Mandarin and they talk across the wall about stuff like "why doesn't this excel thing do what I want it to do!" Actually, today, they spent a long time chatting about life, family, and such. One another side of my cube, there is a person who speaks Vietnamese. A Vietnamese from the civil/highway group comes over once in a while and they chat. On the other side of him is a person who speaks a language that I cannot identify. I think it's Russian because his name has a lot of v's and o's. And 2 cubicles down from me is an Iranian and he calls his wife once in a while. One of the other interns and I speak in Cantonese a lot, whenever we're not around other people so they won't feel left out. Actually, a bunch of us went downstairs where there is a fountain and sitting area to eat lunch and he pointed out that besides our group, there are no other Asians around.

I feel very fortunate that I can converse in Cantonese and understand Mandarin. Otherwise, I woud feel so left out in that office, especially sitting in that spot. I would hear people speaking around me all day and not understand what they're saying. Of course, when there are more than 2 people, the conversation is usually held in English. But it makes a difference to be able to speak to someone in their language. I didn't really understand this before going to England.

One of my friends in English is an international student from China. She held a tea party in her room in the beginning of the year. A few people came and we chatted but in the end, it was down to me, her, and someone from Germany. He pointed to a flyer on her wall that was written in Chinese and asked what it was. She explained that it was a flyer printed by the Chinese Student Associate giving information to incoming students about practical things like grocery shopping, buying a bike, etc. He was very confused as to why it was written in Chinese. His reasoning was that all the students must understand English since they got into Cambridge. Her reply was that it wasn't about whether or not they understood English, everyone can, but it was more about speaking Chinese among Chinese people. And that speaking English with fellow Chinese people would seem weird, even to the point of showing off. So while outsiders might look at a group of Chinese people speaking Chinese to each other as a form of exclusivity, they see it as just being friendly. It's like dressing appropriatly to an event. When you're with a certain group of people, you speak a certain language.

I think this is prevalent in many countries where kids grow up speaking many different languages. For them, it's a necessary part of life and they know which language to use when. America, unfortuntaly, does not embrace this. I can't believe there are people in the US believe the whole "when in America, speak English" business. Especially when I'm over here wishing that I had time to go learn languages so that I can join in on these conversations! I mean, if I go into the office one day and start speaking Vietnamese with the Vietnamese people, they would be impressed and appreicate the effort that I put into learning their language and finding out about their culture.