Is it offensive for foreigners to speak in their native language in public settings

[Eliandal]

Depends entirely on the workplace...when I was last in an actual office setting, we had customer support groups in French, Spanish and Indian. It was common to be walking the floor and hear conversations in multiple languages NOT English. As a manager I had no problems with this, why would I? (For the record, I would unfortunately consider myself Unilingual :/)

In public? Speak what you're most comfortable speaking

[Rustedsaint]

Yes it's unprofessional to speak in a work place setting, even more if there's hazards to be found(steel mil, what not)

[vipers]

finland on work places when there is swedish ppl they allways talk on own language even if other can't understand

[Improtaight]

if they're talking to one another, i guess its ok.
if they're talking in a workplace, in a room with 2 other people that are not, then its not cool.

feels like they're gossiping

[RobertMugabe]

It is rude to exclude people by talking in a language they don't understand.

[pateuvasiliu]

No. You don't get to dictate who and what and how talks.

[GreenJesus]

It can be rude because people don't know if you are purposefully saying things in private so others can't understand you. In a work setting it can be a source of confusion and others may wonder why you chose to speak a different language in the office that others don't understand. "Are they saying something about me? They looked at me and said gibberish."

[Orby]

In a workplace it might be considered rude. Especially if you yourself are working with two of them and it's just you. I don't care where else they talk to each other int heir native language, publicly or at home but not in front of you in a work place. especially where communication is important. :P

[Khallid]

Today at work I overheard my boss talking to someone (from a Indian background) about how inappropriate it is to speak what I presume was Indian to his friend/colleague in what my boss said was an English-speaking work place. This made me so angry that I wanted to run up to him and scream gibberish just to piss him off. Admittedly this had nothing to do with me and the telling off was very casual and more of polite conversation in the lunch area than anything but I still was left wondering why is it wrong to speak a foreign language casually to your friend in a work place setting. Should all the French and German words that have been incorporated into the English language be also be banned? If not why are some non-English languages (particularly french where I work) more acceptable. Is there an inherent bias against non-european foreigners?

For the context the guy has been here for less than 6 months and he is very good in his work and I can imagine how stressful it must be to condition yourself to stop speaking your native tongue for fear of making some poor sod uncomfortable because they think you're talking about them in another language...

It depends on context, as usual.

The one extreme is, for example, if three people are talking and two of them start speaking in their native language. The third person, who doesn't speak it, gets alienated, even though he's standing in front of them, and the conversation they are having may relate to what the three of them were talking about. I've been on both sides of this situation, and this is certainly very rude.

Being forced to speak in a foreign language is not stressful. In fact, the more you do it the easier it gets. So inadvertedly the right thing to do is to practice your foreign language. English is not my first language, by the way.

Now, if two people talk to each other in public then any third party "eavesdropping" should have no reason to complain. If the person in question was talking to a friend, who is not part of the company, his talking to him in Hindi should be fine. Because it was not work-related and work colleagues have no business hearing to that particular conversation. The difference lies in whether it's a private conversation with a friend or a business conversation with a colleague. And there's another caveat on whether the foreign language can be an advantage to communicate with some clients that maybe don't speak English.

The difficult scenario happens if you're in an office where a portion of the people speak a language that the other portion don't. It's generally uncomfortable to be excluded from conversation that is happening in front of you, and it's not your choice to be there listening to them because it's a workspace and you're forced to be there. An office is not a public setting in the same way as a coffee shop. It belongs to a privately-owned company and people inside are there following a schedule. They also often work towards the same goals, so keeping everyone aware of what's going on is the obvious thing to do. When you get to multiple people with multiple languages, then having one language that everyone can understand is the most reasonable way to work.

There should be no difference between languages. It sounds odd that you say French is more accepted.

[Darkeon]

Offensive? No.

Rude? Quite, but it's one of those first world problems type of thing.

[Spiffums]

Yes it triggers me as much as some statue people don't have to look triggers those people. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Triggered now!!

[hrugner]

We need to stop policing what non-english speaking folk get up to and allow them the freedom to converse in their native tongue. One reason why someone might prefer to speak in their own language is because words just come easier in the language they grew up on and the words come to mind faster, there are many languages that are more efficient than English.

Sure, we can do away with all of our weird politeness rituals, I don't care much for any of them. But we haven't, so it's still there.

Interestingly, you took offense at him saying something was "inappropriate", not offensive or rude. Given the context in which this conversation was had, what are the standard social expectations that would have defined what was appropriate?

[Aqua]

Why is it rude?

The same way whispering a conversation in earshot of someone else in the general area (if you know them) is rude. If you want privacy in such a manner, go somewhere private, otherwise share with the class bucko.

Fair enough if you don't understand or speak the language but If I am in a group of Swedish people, speaking English to my Grandmother who happens to be the one of 9 in the room who understands despite both her and my ability to speak Swedish, I'm going to come off as a bit of a prick. I'm not. Gonna. Do. It.

It's isolating and standoffish.

[Theodarzna]

I wouldn't say it is rude. In an old job I had I would spend my time in the break-room either talking to my half-brother or calling my mom on the phone. Admittedly one coworker did say "Hey, this is America! We speak English here!" and I was wondering why he was so curious about my conversations.

There are times when its somewhat rude I suppose, but then again, I'm not obliged to speak any specific language if I'm say on break or necessarily with a customer if the customer is more comfortable outside of English. Or in my case now, students.

[Thrive]

Today at work I overheard my boss talking to someone (from a Indian background) about how inappropriate it is to speak what I presume was Indian to his friend/colleague in what my boss said was an English-speaking work place. This made me so angry that I wanted to run up to him and scream gibberish just to piss him off. Admittedly this had nothing to do with me and the telling off was very casual and more of polite conversation in the lunch area than anything but I still was left wondering why is it wrong to speak a foreign language casually to your friend in a work place setting. Should all the French and German words that have been incorporated into the English language be also be banned? If not why are some non-English languages (particularly french where I work) more acceptable. Is there an inherent bias against non-european foreigners?

For the context the guy has been here for less than 6 months and he is very good in his work and I can imagine how stressful it must be to condition yourself to stop speaking your native tongue for fear of making some poor sod uncomfortable because they think you're talking about them in another language...

I'd say its a bit rude, and kind of unprofessional if it's on duty, but I don't really care if its off. If I'm moving to another country, I'm learning and speaking their language.

[Santti]

finland on work places when there is swedish ppl they allways talk on own language even if other can't understand

As much I dislike the fact, Swedish is our 2nd official language (Swedish being mandatory in schools), so it's not entirely out of place to hear it in workplaces. Also, it doesn't help that Finnish language is freaking hard. But yes, it would be preferred to speak English in the workplace instead, but I can understand it not happening all the time, as it's not the official language of either country, even though English is picked up quite early in schools.

Examples on how funny Finnish language can be, for those who are not familiar with it:

http://imgur.com/gallery/vCz2xem
http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/~fkarlsso/genkau2.html

[Kallisto]

They could be talking about you behind your back.

So what, it could be true but 99/100 they are likely not even acknowledging you're there because you're irrelevent to the conversation. If two people are in a private conversation, or talking to each other in a public space they can speak what ever language they please and not be rude. The rude ones are the likes of you who think they should be speaking in such a way you can eaves drop/spy on them.

[Donald Hellscream]

Well if it is at a workplace then company policies dictates the language used, now of course I wouldn't find it offensive if two people talked to each other in their native tongue during a lunch break or whatever but some companies have rules that dictates that only a specific language is to be spoken while on the premises.

[Iphie]

As much I dislike the fact, Swedish is our 2nd official language (Swedish being mandatory in schools), so it's not entirely out of place to hear it in workplaces. Also, it doesn't help that Finnish language is freaking hard. But yes, it would be preferred to speak English in the workplace instead, but I can understand it not happening all the time, as it's not the official language of either country, even though English is picked up quite early in schools.

Examples on how funny Finnish language can be, for those who are not familiar with it:

http://imgur.com/gallery/vCz2xem
http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/~fkarlsso/genkau2.html

*Eyetwitch* 7 years...I've been at it for 7 years, and I finally am getting the hang of it. Good enough to sit the entrance exam to Helsinki University and not make a complete fool of myself, not quite good enough to get in. I can also confirm those two links are truth. Though, if I'm not mistaken, some are rather obscure and would not come up in regular conversation.

[Kraenen]

Personally I'd feel a bit off and a bit rude if I spoke English in Japan, at least in a more public setting in a more Japanese area. I believe it's their home and I should be respectful of their ways. When in Rome, as they say. Before going to a new country I try to learn the basics to get around and carry a conversation and blend in. That's just me though... I'm generally considered conservative when it comes to cultural sensitivity.