Habla Blog

By Martha Galindo

There was little real analysis given to how the culture itself would change as a result of these actions. Nor did corporations see clearly how this was only the starting gun in a transformation of American business life. There was an aura of benign paternalism about the effort. How narrow such a vision now seems and how naïve. But when both sponsors and supposed beneficiaries pushed back it became clear that not only were the days of de facto and overt exclusion numbered but the days in which conditional inclusion by the kindly powers-that-be were growing short as well. Noblesse oblige was not going to cut it.

We have come a long way from those conditions and from that ingenuous definition of diversity. Very quickly the definition came to include women, national and ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians. Now every major company has diversity departments and affinity groups whose input is actively sought by learning departments and Human Resources. But despite the globalization of business, and the seemingly obvious lessons that inexorable trend should teach, such a definition is still too narrow.

Another major demographic trend is gradually bringing yet another once invisible minority into the light.

Just as once the corporate world was the bastion of white males, it is now a place distinguished by a single language - English. But the world outside speaks many languages and companies increasingly realize those languages make their own distinctive contributions. And yes, these languages also indicate many new markets.

Every company that seeks to serve a market, whether domestic or foreign, in

which a language other than English is predominant, has learned to present its products or services in the favored language. It’s simple. We talk to the market in its language and customs and preferences. And the market rewards such courtesy and respect. Why are most internal corporate websites only in English? Or e-learning?

This perspective is not contemplating a corporate culture that operates like a UN assembly in which every meeting requires the services of professional translators.

We only need to learn the lesson of the Tower of Babel once. English will continue to be the lingua franca of business. But accommodation of other important languages in recruiting, orientation, training, and internal communications seems only reasonable in a diverse workplace that values diversity. This is true whether those employees speak Spanish primarily and work in a US location or speak Mandarin or Cantonese and work in China.

If diversity truly is a value in and of itself then diversity of language is no more outside the bounds of a useful definition than any other characteristic. Language professionals with multicultural exposure are a key element in the success of diversity and multicultural initiatives in the US. And companies that welcome and continuously communicate with their employees and customers whose primary language is other than English in their own languages will lead the way (and reap the rewards) of sharing language rather than imposing it.

Martha E. Galindo, President and CEO of Galindo Publicidad, Inc.

A multilingual translations agency, selected twice as

a Florida 100 company. Author of “How Do You Say…?”

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