Office Etiquette: Multi-lingual Individuals?
449402
It is not only rude, but also bad business to have some employees speak a second language at work. Many workplaces have an "English-only" rule. In your case, I believe you have a legitimate complaint. The conversations in another language may actually involve you. If it's a personal conversation that they don't want you to understand, they need to have it on their own time. It has no place in the office. Multiple languages in any workplace is divisive. I think you need to bring this up to management.
1075936
I've dealt with this on a limited basis.  What I've found are three rules to keep in mind:\n\n1) Don't make the difference the issue.  Your working relationship ought to be developed on a value-added basis primarily, not on the cultural, ethnic, religious, or other differences you may be able to talk about.\n2) Be sensitive to where they may be coming from.  There are issues that will come up that they're going to feel differently about.  Be aware when they're going to feel like the outsider or awkward.\n3) Keep it authentic.  When bloopers happen, deal with it directly and face to face.  People sense when you're coming from an honest desire to get things done, and when you're just trying to be politically correct.
700076
This is how I'm expected to do it... it really depends what its for though.\n\n\nTo (Person)\nHead of (Department name)\n\nDear Sir/Madam\nI recieved your invitation (or what the invite type was called) to/for the (name of meeting)\n(If relevant, thank them for the invite; however if it's something you'd normally be expected to attend, then there's no reason to thank them.)\nI regret to inform you I am unable to attend, and am sending my apologies.\n(It is usually polite ettiquette to give reason here.)\nEDIT: you could say: I have a previous appointment that I am unable to reschedule. Please give my apologies for the meeting...\n\nSincerely\n(Your name)\n(Your position in department if relevant)
1057679
Please let me know what type of business.  I am tri-lingual, including Mandarin.  You may contact me at jpee_truecare@yahoo.com for further discussion.
82941
Hi there, I am from India.. Atleast here you do refer to a lot of people - friends, coworkers [junior, at par as well as senior to you] as "boss" as a friendly term.... Speaking from personal interaction with people across the globe, a 'Hi boss' is ususally used in the positive manner!!! Hope this helps answer ur question!!!!
676379
they're written in two different languages
983379
Well, I wait a few moments to listen and figure how great their grasp on my language really is.  Appearances may deceive.\nYes, I'll speak slower (since I go fast easily) and more deliberate, and definitely use proper English (no slang, sometimes no contractions, and generic terms).  \nI might ask them to teach me something from their language (thank you, or hello, or some blessing).\nSounds like your husband provides a little entertainment!
1024835
http://www.etiquettesurvival.com/resource2.international.htm
120087
Frequent business users of electronic mail face a tidal wave of written words. They feel increasingly swamped by the quantity of written text they are expected to read every day. This feeling comes as no surprise when you consider an estimated one billion messages will be sent worldwide by the year 2000. Technological developments, instead of making our lives easier, can cause increased workloads and even lead to stress, as managers are now required to wade through volumes of technological mail each day; this includes mail which directly concerns them, indirectly concerns them and mail that does not concern them at all.\n\nInstead of welcoming the correspondence, managers are beginning to dread the news of incoming mail and fear the task of untangling messages that are often irrelevant, longwinded or just plainly trivial. One American multinational has even taken the extraordinary step of banning the use of internal mail and gone back to promoting face to face communication within the organisation.\n\nSo how can the business e-mail writer make the message more reader-friendly and appropriate? The main problem lies with how the writer currently views the very medium of electronic mail to convey his or her message. The tone, language and structure used often resembles that of a telephone call:\n\n    * grammatically incorrect\n    * cursory\n    * disorganised\n    * full of irrelevancies\n\n\nStriking an appropriate tone\n\nWriters of business e-mails often aim for a cheerful, informal tone, irrespective of who the reader is and how well he, or she, is known to the writer. The tone used needs to be more formal but at all times polite. There is no excuse for rudeness in the form of abruptness. The writer should never forget that his e-mail message or lotus note can be distributed and hard copies circulated and kept on file for years. They can be read at any time by numerous people at different levels in an organisation and reflect well, or indeed badly, on the writer and the company he or she is representing.\n\nMany writers assume that readers of e-mails expect the first paragraph to consist of social pleasantries and not to supply this would constitute a social blunder. This idea is misplaced. An opening sentence along the lines of "It was good to talk the other day" is sufficient before getting down to the main point of the message. A busy manager would far prefer that the information is conveyed in a direct meaningful way and not have to plough through distracting sentences before getting to the crux of the matter.\n\nStructure and flow\n\nIn longer e-mails there is often evidence of unformulated thoughts and detailed working-outs of how conclusions have been reached. Disorganised ideas, long-winded and confusing sentences are rife, all implying that the writer has given little consideration to the poor reader trying to make sense of the information.\n\nOf course, writing directly on to a computer screen has a major disadvantage: the speed with which it is possible to write a document does not encourage much thought to go into its very structure. But speed does not equate quality. If business communication today is about putting over ideas and information in a way that the intended meaning can be grasped quickly, then more time needs to go into planning the structure of the document. A well-structured e-mail will help the reader to understand the writer's ideas fully and follow the logic of the writer's argument.\n\nThe use of headings and bullet points will also make the text more digestible. Readers find information in large blocks of text difficult to take in, so breaking the text up with headings, bullets or numbered points will all help ease the task. Headings will guide the reader and prepare him for what is to follow, while the use of bullets make certain points jump out and become more memorable.\n\nHow can layout help the e-mail reader?\n\nOne of the main advantages of using electronic communicatio
1029992
I think that ethnicity is a factor here.  Some cultures don't like to confront.  Bullet proof suggestion.  Confront a problem head-on.  For example, bring the accounting spreadsheet in and say, I see a problem.  Gone are the days of saying may I see you in private; polite yes.  But gone.  Blunt is in.
598279
Communication, Organization, and Attitude...
1112174
I think it's customary to type the boss's initials and your initials, like:\nceo/xyz
417231
It all depends, if they are writing in a language other than their native language, I respect them for having the guts to try it anyway. If it's someone who should have the language down, I will tell them that they need to go over it and redo it!
1157081
portuguese,spanish,and english
943364
I agree, most of the Windows and Office platform is positioned the same in different languages. And ECDL does indeed represent a very basic level of computing skills. If your command of English is good enough to understand the *typical ECDL questions*, then go for it after a few mocks. However, you have to be careful with shortcuts, which tend to differ in some language versions of the software.
630055
It is rude to speak a language that not everyone present can understand.  This is especially true if you are trying to run a business.  Why would you want to alienate your customers like that?  Also, when someone speaks a foreign language in front of you and then start to laugh the person will think you are laughing at them.  Just because you can doesn't mean you should.  Be respectful to everyone.\n\nAlso, everyone on here is basically saying that it is ok to speak a language other than English in front of an English only speaker.  When I worked retail I had many, many people who came in who spoke English just fine but demanded that someone come to speak to them in Spanish.  They called us racist if we didn't have someone to do that.  Why isn't it racist for someone to speak a foreign language in front of an English language speaker?  I would be more willing to accept it if it were the same rules for everyone.
718114
My dear there is still such thing as business etiquette and \nbusinesses emphasize it more than ever. It is crucial to the business to provide excellent customer service. If you have ran into an unpleasant situation do report it. Do bring it to your supervisor's attention because there is a high chance that this colleague of yours has been rude to others before as well.