PLATFORM : The Language Divide

Sometimes I talk to one of the Filipino nurses and she answers me in Tagalog. I would say, “You should speak English because there are so many people around and it’s not really proper (to speak another language on the job).”

Some people hearing us would say, “What’s that you’re talking about?” Then they would try to copy what we were saying, like we’re talking birds. They would tease us. Most of those people are pretty close to us, though.

Also, we are not supposed to talk in our native language, especially when doctors are around. It’s one of the policies in the hospital. Sometimes the Filipino nurses whisper in Tagalog, and other employees will be looking at each other, wondering what they are talking about. Or sometimes when (Filipino nurses) are upset with the doctors, or a co-worker, they would speak in their native language (and be scolded).

It’s not a serious problem in my unit, but it might be where there are only a few Filipinos. But in my unit, there are a lot of Filipinos. Sometimes one of my co-workers will joke with me, saying things like, “Oh, I’m going to have Filipino blood soon.”

I think it’s not fair (to speak my native language on the job), because when Spanish-speaking people speak in Spanish (in front of me), I don’t like it, so I don’t want it to happen to those who cannot understand my language. I don’t think it is advisable to be speaking in our dialect on the job.