UNDERSTANDING: Cultural differences sometimes can lead to...
UNDERSTANDING: Cultural differences sometimes can lead to friction, but O.C. institutions such as UC Irvine are trying to bridge those gaps. . . . Take one of UCI’s new extension courses beginning next week: Effective Small Business Management for Vietnamese Entrepreneurs, covering everything from business start-ups to government regulation. “They need to understand it because it is different here,” said spokeswoman Loan Vo. “We did one for Hispanic entrepreneurs and we plan to do Korean, Laotian and African American.”
RAIN IN SPAIN: Cal State Fullerton’s Department of Speech Communication now runs a multicultural clinic that draws people who want to tone down their accents. Says Toya Wyatt, co-founder of the year-old clinic: “The majority of people are coming in for accent reduction because they have received some communication from their management that they will need to improve their English-speaking skills in order to move up.”
JOB PERK: Students play roles, act out scenes and even get a glossary of swear words in William Harvey’s class for Santa Ana city employees that he calls “Spanish for Gringos”. . . . Harvey, who learned Spanish growing up in Santa Ana, ended a general course Thursday and will now tailor training for each city department. “It’s not just Spanish that he’s good at. He’s good at culture,” said Gerardo Mouet, the city personnel department’s outreach coordinator. “Not being Hispanic, he’s a walking symbol of crossing that bridge.”
DIVERSITYVILLE: Long a Latino magnet, downtown Santa Ana is about to be pitched hard to whites, Koreans and other residents who have abandoned the Main Street core over the years. . . . In trying to lure a more diverse crowd to its shops and restaurants, the local merchants’ group assigned a marketing consultant to recast downtown’s image as an ethnic haven for all. . . . “I think people perceive downtown as a very Hispanic open-air mall,” said Jose Martinez, president of the Downtown Santa Ana Business Assn. “This is a multicultural town!”
