Is it okay to speak in your mother tongue during a work meeting?

SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user wrote that during a work meeting this week, two people spoke to each other in a different language for around 20 to 30 minutes while everyone else present who didn’t understand or speak the language just waited until they were done.

When called out on it, however, the colleague who had spoken in their mother tongue found nothing wrong with what they had done and even said, “That’s why you should learn more languages. You can’t survive here with just English and Singlish.”

The colleague who confronted them said, “This is Singapore. English is the professional language here. Why should locals be expected to learn a foreign language we don’t use daily?”

However, the colleague who had spoken in their mother tongue replied, “You people always complain about this.” The post author added that the matter was later escalated to an HR complaint.

In their April 10 (Thursday) post on r/askSingapore, u8/pistachio_life explained that the company they work for has both foreign and local employees. The incident occurred when a colleague spoke at length in their mother tongue to a senior manager who had joined remotely.

“We weren’t part of the conversation, and it felt like a waste of time,” the post author wrote, adding, “It’s totally fine to speak your mother tongue in one-on-one chats, but in a group setting, especially during a meeting, it feels disrespectful and exclusive to others who don’t understand the language.”

They also wrote that for people who work in another country, it’s a good thing to learn the local language, but for locals, this should be a choice and not an obligation.

“So here’s my question: As Singapore becomes more multicultural and multilingual, should we be more open to learning other languages for work? Or is it still fair to expect English to be the main mode of communication in professional settings unless there’s a specific need? Or are foreigners too entitled and live in their own bubble, refusing to integrate with locals?” the post author asked.

The post has since sparked a lively discussion, with many commenters saying the colleague and the senior manager who had conducted their conversation in their mother tongue had been wrong to do so.

One called it “just plain rude” and added that they were surprised no one stopped the conversation.

“Seems like your office is quite hierarchical, since no one said anything. If it were me, I would totally report because I can be petty like that; I don’t care if it’s the manager or not, it’s still rude,” they added.

Others acknowledged that a three-word phrase in one language can be shorthand for something that would take longer to express in another, but added that if non-speakers are present, then the phrase should be explained to them.

One wrote, “When I was younger, I was rightly corrected by my manager for speaking in Chinese where not all parties understood. It’s just the professional thing to do. Speaking in a language that not all parties understand implies that there is something that you are hiding.”

“Last I checked, English is still the main language of business here. English should be expected in a professional setting. Save the other stuff for private conversations,” another commenter replied. /TISG

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