Republicans back bill allowing employers to require English only

[Peikko 1,575]

I mean, how many bean counters do anything but count the beans, on, and on, and on? The supervisor drinks coffee and ensures the bean counter is counting fast enough, that the beans are getting to the correct place after they are counted (having slipped a few beans in his pockets, of course) and you would still have your nice profitable company.

[tmma 467]

The bean counter would have a supervisor who would provide you with your statistics, the humble bean counter wouldn't be writing any reports.

How do you know?

Why should I have to hire a bean counter and a supervisor? Why can't I have a lone self-supervising beancounter [after all, it's JUST a beancounter, right?], if I so desire for my company? It saves an extra paycheck to pay. Why should my company employ 2 people because the counter cannot perform their job as required by the job?

Edited December 13, 2007 by tmma

[Peikko 1,575]

After all, how many bean counters do anything but count beans, on, and on, and on?

Really, you don't understand capitalism very well if you can't see that the bean counters wouldn't be writing any reports.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I have lived and worked places where I (and many other foreigners) didn't speak a lick of the local language and had all our needs catered to in English. Places called Hong Kong and Singapore. God bless the British Empire.

[Peikko 1,575]

Unless of course you only have one bean counter, then your company wouldn't be very profitable in the first place and all your money savings on the bean counter writing his own report would be a complete waste of time.

Edited December 13, 2007 by Purple_Hibiscus

[HAL 9000 96]

You have a problem with them disucssing work in chinese, in their own office, with no non-chinese speakers present?

Please explain yourself.

Yes. When I'm at work, I don't want my employees discussing work-related matters in foreign languages.

You should have a problem with them discussing non-work related matters in any language. Then you can make it a case of your employees hating your for being a micromanager and not a jealous manager that doesn't understand Chinese.

[tmma 467]

After all, how many bean counters do anything but count beans, on, and on, and on?

Really, you don't understand capitalism very well if you can't see that the bean counters wouldn't be writing any reports.

I am degreed in Engineering Mathematics and Meteorology...Not beancounters....I shall defer to you, Purple seeing as you are the expert on the job requirements of beancounters.

[no name 1]

After all, how many bean counters do anything but count beans, on, and on, and on?

Really, you don't understand capitalism very well if you can't see that the bean counters wouldn't be writing any reports.

I am degreed in Engineering Mathematics and Meteorology...Not beancounters....I shall defer to you, Purple seeing as you are the expert on the job requirements of beancounters.

[Peikko 1,575]

Good for you tmma!

I really do think that irony should be a requirement when learning English...although, maybe not American.

[mawilson 2,133]

You have a problem with them disucssing work in chinese, in their own office, with no non-chinese speakers present?

Please explain yourself.

Yes. When I'm at work, I don't want my employees discussing work-related matters in foreign languages.

You should have a problem with them discussing non-work related matters in any language. Then you can make it a case of your employees hating your for being a micromanager and not a jealous manager that doesn't understand Chinese.

I do have a problem with their discussing non-work related matters - but I can't exactly

tell them to stop if I don't understand what they are saying, now can I? Hence English

only - no surprises.

[Brian & Kathy 0]

How do you know the employees aren't on break, or planning to stay 15min longer to make up the time from talking about egg foo young?

It isn't so difficult to tell what someone is talking about. If they are pointing at specific points on engineering drawings, you can guess they are talking about work. What's more, they would welcome any other employee or boss into the converstaion, continuing in english.

I would not want to work for you. You would be an overbearing boss. Let their accomplishments and record show their value as an employee instead of being paranoid that they are talking about egg foo young or any others american invented 'chinese food' at work.

When I see two employees speaking Chinese, I have no way of knowing whether they are

indeed discussing work or talking about the weather or exchanging recipes for Egg Foo Young.

[HAL 9000 96]

You have a problem with them disucssing work in chinese, in their own office, with no non-chinese speakers present?

Please explain yourself.

Yes. When I'm at work, I don't want my employees discussing work-related matters in foreign languages.

You should have a problem with them discussing non-work related matters in any language. Then you can make it a case of your employees hating your for being a micromanager and not a jealous manager that doesn't understand Chinese.

I do have a problem with their discussing non-work related matters - but I can't exactly

tell them to stop if I don't understand what they are saying, now can I? Hence English

only - no surprises.

Yes, true. Maybe the office needs the thought police around also to be consistent then in catching everyone dozing off from work, in any language, like I am now. Or, you could do the friendly thing and join the conversation while they teach you. Not knowing is not an excuse for not learning.

No law is necessary to justify penalizing multilingualism at work.

[tmma 467]

How do you know the employees aren't on break, or planning to stay 15min longer to make up the time from talking about egg foo young?.

As the owner of the company-I would want to know why they were not where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there-my perogative-I feel as the paycheck payer.

It isn't so difficult to tell what someone is talking about. If they are pointing at specific points on engineering drawings, you can guess they are talking about work. .... continuing in english. .

-IF they spoke English....and GUESS what they are talking about in my job.......??!!Uhmmmm...no, not likely. No room for guessing.

I would not want to work for you. .

Good.

You would be an overbearing boss. .

...Who gets the job done.

[mawilson 2,133]

No law is necessary to justify penalizing multilingualism at work.

The new law does exactly that, hopefully.

[HAL 9000 96]

By wanting to penalize an increased use of the brain's gray matter I can only see gloom ahead in legislating more isolationist doctrines ultimately based on ignorance. At least ignorance, in theory, is treatable. Lucky for most of us, these laws actually stand little chance in passage since most people believe in the positive aspects of catering to the steady stream of clients that in many cases have more than one choice in spending their money, be it in one language or the next.

I particularly love switching from the little Japanese I know to Spanish and then English all in the same workplace. It makes productivity greater when everyone maturely uses language to make things more, how should I say it, friendly? Yes.