“I don’t believe in language diversity. Everyone should speak English”
“I just make everyone around me speak to me in English”
“He speaks in a meeting like a toddler. Can’t he learn basic English”
These were the comments that I heard in the workplace and that I received pitching Byrdhouse to prospective investors last year.
Do you know how hard it is to master a foreign language – not an hour of language learning apps per day level – but to communicate with coworkers professionally and express yourself fully in another country speaking a different language?
I am a first-generation immigrant. It took me 10+ years to confidently express myself in work and life in a language that differs from my native language. From time to time, I still struggle to understand certain words or sentences, especially with the cultural context around them. And that’s when I read, speak, and write in English in an English-speaking environment every day.
When I had to speak in a language that was so different from my native language, it felt like losing a part of my personality and identity.
If you have international coworkers who use plain language or basic phrases in your native language, please know that does not mean they are less competent.
It’s the language barrier.
Try mastering their languages to fully understand the challenge and appreciate how they can learn the language and culture you spent your whole life learning in just a few years.
Understanding the importance of language diversity is important in life and work because it helps create equal opportunities and inclusive environments where everyone’s voice is heard regardless of what language they speak. It prevents stripping away a person's identity, personality, and competency just because they don’t speak a popular language fluently.
Modern Family Gloria's language barrier scene
