当“只准讲英语”行不通时

Where “ English Only ” Falls Short

当“只准讲英语”行不通时

By Stacy A. Teicher 郭小春 译注 高昕昕 校




Companies scramble to cope with multiple languages in the workplace

各家公司忙于应付工作场所的多语言问题

They were the go-to people when customers needed advice in Spanish about eyeshadow or perfume. But when Hispanic employees wanted to speak Spanish to one another, they say it was forbidden ––– even on lunch breaks.

当顾客用西班牙语征询关于眼睑膏或者香水的建议时，就需要她们上前解答。但她们说，来自西班牙或其他西班牙语国家的雇员们被禁止用西班牙语相互交谈 –––– 哪怕是在午餐休息时。

[2] Five women who worked for the cosmetics store Sephora in New York filed complaints, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) sued last fall on their behalf. They argue the policy is too restrictive and amounts to national-origin discrimination, which is illegal under the Givil Rights Act of 1964.

[2] 纽约的赛佛拉化妆品商店的 5 个女雇员提出控诉；去年秋季，由平等就业机会委员会（ EEOC ）代表她们上诉。她们认为，这样的规定限制性太强，并对她们构成了民族歧视，违反了 1964 年的《民权法案》。

[3] “ All of the ( women say ) how hurtful it is to be told that you can't speak your own language, ” says EEOC attorney Raechel Adams. “ Language is so closely tied to their culture and their ethnicity. ( Ironically, ) they were expected to assist Spanish-speaking customers. ”

[3] “这几位女士说，得知你不能讲自己的语言，感情太受伤害了。”平等就业机会委员会的律师雷切尔·亚当斯说。“语言与她们的文化和民族特性是如此紧密地联系在一起。然而，（具有讽刺意味的是，）商店还指望她们帮助讲西班牙语的顾客。”

[4] As companies hire from an ever more diverse labor pool, they reap the benefits of bilingualism, but they're also running into a Babel of problems. Already, a fifth of the nation's population speaks something other than English as their primary language ( in some areas, it's two-fifths ). Many of them have limited English proficiency that can lead to costly mistakes or low productivity. Managers worry about compromised safety or the quality of customer service. And if some workers use a foreign language to mock others, morale can break down.

[4] 各家公司从文化背景更加多样化的人力资源中招聘员工，从双语制中获得了好处，但是他们也正面临着许多因语言不同而产生的问题。有 1/5 （有些地区甚至是 2/5 ）的美国人口以英语以外的语言为主要语言。他们中许多人英语水平有限，这可能导致代价不菲的失误和工作效率低下。经理们担心安全性会削弱，给顾客服务的质量下降。此外，如果有的工人用外语嘲弄他人的话，公司的士气会瓦解。

[5] There's no quick fix. Some employers go to the expense of offering classes to improve workers' English. Others turn the tables and train supervisors in languages most often spoken by workers in their industry. What seems the simplest answer to some ––– an English-only policy ––– is tricky because conflicts between court rulings and EEOC guidelines leave a lot of gray areas.

[5] 对于这些问题，没有便捷的解决办法。有些雇主花钱开培训课来提高工人的英语水平。有些则反过来，让管理人员接受本行业中工人最常用语言的培训。只准讲英语的规定看似解决某些问题的最简单办法，事实上是不易处理的，因为法庭裁决与平等就业机会委员会的指导原则之间的冲突留有许多难以处理的灰色区域。

[6] In the case of the five New York Hispanics, Sephora denied that it had an English-only rule or discriminated in any way. The court is awaiting the store's answer to the complaint.

[6] 在纽约这 5 位操西班牙语女雇员的案件中，赛佛拉商店否认自己店内有“只准讲英语”的规定，否认有任何形式的歧视。法庭正在等待该店对于上述女员工起诉的回应。

[7] English-only policies generate few official grievances. In 2002, the EEOC received 228 such complaints out of about 9,000 claims of national-origin discrimination. But observers say that many more workers who feel silenced don't take action for fear of losing their jobs.

[7] 只准讲英语的规定引起的官方申诉为数不多。 2002 年，平等就业机会委员会收到的约 9000 宗民族歧视投诉中，有 228 宗这样的投诉。可是，观察人士说，更多被迫保持沉默的工人由于担心失去工作而没有采取行动。

[8] Often what determines fairness is how a policy is implemented and whether there's an atmosphere of ethnic tension. In a case settled recently for $ 1.5 million, Hispanic housekeepers at a casino were not allowed to speak Spanish. A janitor reported that he had to hide in closets to train new employees who understood only Spanish. Others told of harassment by supervisors who called them “ wetbacks ” , accused them of stealing, and fired them for objecting to the English policy. The Colorado Central Station Casino in Black Hawk did not return calls seeking comment. In the settlement, it denied wrongdoing but agreed to remedies such as posting notices declaring there is no English-only rule.

[8] 多数情况下，只准讲英语的规定是否公平要看规定是如何执行的，以及是否存在种族关系紧张的气氛。最近一起以 150 万元了结的案件，起因是一家夜总会不准操西班牙语的报务人员讲西班牙语。一名门卫说，他只得躲在小房间里培训只会讲西班牙语的新员工。其他人则讲到了自己受到的侵扰：管理人员叫他们“湿背人”，指责他们偷窃，说他们反对只准讲英语的规定而开除了他们。这家设在布莱克霍克的科罗拉多州中央站夜总会没有回复要求其对此事表态的电话。结案时，该夜总会否认有错误做法，但是同意做些补救，比如张贴告示明确宣布没有只准讲英语的规定。

[9] For bilingual people, suppressing the tendency to talk in both languages can be difficult. They may know enough English to get by in their jobs, but to talk about family or other topics with friends, their primary language offers them a much richer vocabulary.

[9] 对双语人来说，压制使用两种语言的倾向可能是困难的。他们也许掌握一定的英语。足以在工作中应付。但是，和朋友谈论家庭或其他话题时，他们的母语提供了更加丰富的词汇。

[10] “ It's called code-switching, ” says Nina Perales, regional counsel of the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund ( MALDEF ), which joined the EEOC in the suit against the casino. “ You might switch languages for reason of emphasis or because you're more comfortable explaining certain things in one language versus the other. ” And sometimes it's even done unconsciously, linguists say.

[10] “这是‘语码转换'，”为美籍墨西哥人法律辩护援助基金会（ MALDEF ）的地区顾问尼娜·佩拉尔斯说。该基金会参与了平等就业机会委员会控告夜总会案。“人们转换语言是为了强调，或者是因为用一种语言比用另一种语言解释更自在。”语言学家们说，有时候，语码转换甚至是在无意中发生的。

[11] But when conversations are restricted, “ there's almost an issue of dehumanization. ” Says Karl Krahnke, a linguistics professor at Colorado State University. “ They are not being viewed as humans with the same social needs as anybody else. ”

[11] 但是，如果说话受到限制，“那几乎构成了剥夺人权的问题。”科罗拉多州立大学的语言学教授卡尔·克拉克恩说，“他们并没有被看成是和其他人一样有同样社会需求的人。”

[12]Some insist those complexities shouldn't keep employers from creating a language policy if they think it's good for business. “ I speak four languages...but a business has the right to establish rules for whatever reason ––– it could be safety, it could be social...so other ( workers ) won't feel insulted, ” says Mauro E. Mujica, chairman of U.S. English in Washington, D.C. His organization promotes official-English policies, which exist in 27 states and apply only to government, not the private sector. But workplace policies, he says, should not extend to people's personal time.

[12] 有人坚持认为，这些复杂的因素不应该阻止雇主制定语言规定，如果雇主认为语言规定对企业有利。“我讲 4 种语言……但是企业有权利以任何理由作出规定 –––– 这理由可能是安全，也可能是社会方面的……所以，其他人（工人）不会觉得受到侮辱。”“美国英语”组织（ U.S. English ）的主席莫罗· E ·缪吉卡说。“美国英语是总部设在华盛顿特区的一个组织，分支机构分布美国 27 个州，旨在促成国家制定政策，确立英语的官方语言地位，只向政府呼吁，不向私人宣传。但是，他说工作场所的规定不应延伸至人们的业余时间。”

No Navajo

禁止讲纳瓦霍语

[13]Another case takes the debate out of the immigration context. At R.D.'s Drive-In in Page, Ariz., It wasn't a “ foreign ” language that the boss restricted, but a native one: Navajo.

[13] 另一个案例使得争论不再局限于移民背景中。亚利桑那州佩奇镇的免下车餐馆 R.D.'s 的老板限制的不是“外国”语言，而是一种土著语言：纳瓦霍语。

[14] The town borders the Navajo Nation reservation, and nearly 90 percent of the restaurant's employees are Navajo, though the owners, the Kidman family, are not.

[14] 佩奇镇毗邻纳瓦霍语国家保留地，餐馆近 90 ％的员工是纳瓦霍人，但老板基德曼一家不是。

[15]Speaking on the Kidmans' behalf, Joe Becket of the Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver says the family asked employees to sign a language policy in the summer of 2000. Their reason: There were complaints from customers and staff about rude comments being made in Navajo.

[15] 设在丹佛的山区各州法律基金会的乔·贝克尔以基德曼一定的名义发表意见，称基德曼一家于 2000 年夏曾要求员工签了一份遵守餐馆相关语言规定的约定。他们的理由是：顾客和员工都抱怨有人用纳瓦霍语无礼地评头论足。

[16]The agreement read: “ The owner of this business can speak and understand only English. While the owner is paying you as an employee, you are required to use English at all times...( except ) when the customer cannot understand English. If you feel unable to comply with this requirement, you may find another job. ”

[16] 约定如下：“本餐馆老板只会讲并且只懂英语。各应聘员工，按规定只能讲英语……（除非）顾客不懂英语。若不能遵守本要求，请另寻高就。”

[17] Elva Josley and three others took exception to the rule. Ms. Josley had worked for the Kidmans for nearly three years and their families were close friends. But this, she says, was hurtful. She says the Kidmans never told her there had been complaints about things being said in Navajo.

[17] 埃尔娃·乔斯林和另外 3 名员工反对这样的规定。乔斯林女士为基德曼一家工作近 3 年了，两家是密友。但是，她说，这样的规定很刻薄。她说，基德曼一定从来没有对她说起过人们对于用纳瓦霍语说话的投诉。

Legacy of Suppression

压制语言的后果

[18] “ A lot of native American people were sent to boarding schools and told not to speak their own language... and they were trying to make Christians out of these ‘ savages ' , ” she says. “ I ( said to the Kidmans ): ‘ It's not fair, because you people are the ones who came to our land and you can't tell us not to be who we are. '” Without native languages, she says ,the US wouldn't have had the help of the code talkers during World War II.

[18] “许多美国土著给送到寄宿学校，并被告知不要讲他们自己的语言……而且他们正试图把这些‘野蛮人'训练成基督徒。”她说，“我（对基德曼一定）说：‘这不公平，因为是你们这些人来到我们生存的土地，你们不能要求我们放弃自我。'”如果没有种种土著语言，她说，美国在二战期间就不可能得到纳瓦霍族美国特工密码员的帮助。

[19]The EEOC sued the diner, and Josley hopes the case will be settled soon and will send a message to employers: “ Everyone's human and deserves to be respected ... and next time people will think twice before doing something like this. ”

[19] 平等就业机会委员会起诉了这家小餐馆，乔斯林希望案子能早点判下来，并能给雇主传达一个信息：“大家都是人，理应受到尊重……而且下次碰到这类事情，人们就会三思而后行了。”

[20] ProEnglish in Arlington, Va., has raised money for the Kidmans' defense, and they dispute the EEOC's claim that the policy applied to personal time. “ The EEOC has been very aggressive in trying to basically demonize the Kidmans for trying to maintain a good work environment for their employees ––– on that ( avoided ) problems with the use of very foul language and also sexual harassment in the Navajo language, ” says K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish.

[20] 弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的“支持英语”组织已筹款支持为基德曼一家的辩护。对于平等就业机会委员会声称该约定延伸到了业余时间，该组织也持异议。“平等就业机会委员会盛气凌人，试图从本质上丑化基德曼一定。基德曼一家只不过想要为员工维持一个良好的工作环境 ––– 一个能够避免因使用猥亵言词和用纳瓦霍语进行性骚扰的环境。”“支持英语”组织的执行董事 K · C ·麦卡尔平这样说。

Mixed Signals

混杂的信号

[21] He also contends that English-language policies do not equate with national-origin discrimination, because people can be from various countries and speak a range of languages that may or may not be native to that country.

[21] 他还争辩说，这些有关英语的规定并不等同于民族歧视，因为人们可能来自不同的国度、讲多种语言，这些语言可能是、也可能不是那一国的母语。

[22] Federal court rulings on English-only cases have sent mixed signals to businesses. Some courts have used logic similar to the EEOC's, but others have upheld businesses' right to require English during work time.

[22] 联邦法院就规定“只准讲英语”案件的裁决给企业发出了正反不一的信号。有的法院使用了类似于平等就业机会委员会的逻辑，而有的法院支持企业要求员工在工作时间讲英语的权利。

[23] The most notable f those latter cases is Garcia v. Spun Steak. In 1993, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an English-only policy that was created after employees complained that co-workers were making racist comments in Spanish.

[23] 最近这些案件中，加西亚诉斯潘牛排店最引人瞩目。 1993 年，在有店员诉说同事用西班牙语发表种族歧视的言论后，牛排店制定了只准讲英语的规定，第九巡回上诉法庭对此予以支持。

[24] Because the Spanish-speakers also knew how to speak English, the court said, the policy did not create a hostile work environment for them. It also said the Civil Rights Act does not give employees a right to cultural expression.

[24] 因为这些操西班牙语的员工也会讲英语，法庭说，所以这项规定并没有给他们构成敌意的工作环境。法庭还指出，《民权法案》没有赋予雇员文化表达的权利。

[25] Many lawyers still advise businesses to follow EEOC guidelines by keeping policies as narrow as possible. In California, state lawmakers backed that up in 2002 by requiring employers to have an overriding business purpose for any English-language policy, and to give workers advance notice.

[25] 许多律师还建议企业要遵守平等就业机会委员会的指导方针，制定规章时要尽量严密、准确。加利福尼亚州的州立法者们于 2002 年支持了这一建议，要求雇主对于任何有关英语的规定都要有首要的商业目的，并且要事先通知员工。

Employers and Employees Benefit by Learning a New Language

学习一门新语言，老板雇员两受益

[26] AUBURN, MASS. ––– Metal rollers clank rhythmically inside the Imperial Distributors warehouse, as employees slide boxes packed with health and beauty products down the lines. Over in the cafeteria of the Auburn, Mass., company, you hear the sound of the world's tongues ––– Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and, most commonly Twi–– a major language in Ghana.

[26] 马萨诸塞州奥本 –––– 帝国经销公司的仓库里，随着员工把装满保健美容产品的箱子从货运线上拖下来，金属滚轴有节奏地叮当作响。在这家公司的咖啡厅，你可以听到世界各地的语言 –––– 西班牙语、葡萄牙语、越南语，常常还能听到加纳的主要语言 –––– 契维语。

[27] This is one American workplace where an English-only policy is unthinkable. Immigrants do more than half the entry-level jobs. The situation forces Peter McQuaid, the director of distribution, to repeat himself a lot. and he relies on bilingual staff to interpret. So when a state grant came along for on-site English classes, the company jumped at the chance. For just over a year, more than a dozen employees have spent four hours a week ( half of it on company time ) mastering the vocabulary they need in their jobs.

[27] 这是美国一处工作场所，只准讲英语的规定在这里无法想象。多半不需要技术的体力工作由移民们做。形势迫使销售经理彼得·麦奎德大量地重复自己说的话。他依靠懂两种语言的员工替他翻译。因此，当一项资助工作现场英语课程的州拨款出现时，这家公司迫不及待地抓住了这一机会。仅仅一年中， 10 多名员工每周花 4 小时（一半是在上班时间）掌握工作所需的词汇。

[28] “ Before, when I try say something to my supervisor or to American people, I can't, ” says Miriam Reyes, a native of El Salvador who has worked here nearly five years and now supervises a small group of co-workers. “ Now it's better for me. I feel comfortable. ”

[28] “以前，当我想和管理人员或者美国人说话，我没法开口。”米利亚姆·雷耶斯说。雷耶斯是萨尔瓦多人，在这里工作近 5 年了，现在带着一个班组。“现在我的情况好多了。我感觉很轻松。”

[29] Since the classes began, Mr. McQuaid has seen fewer mistakes and faster work. “ The bottom line is improved productivity, ” he says. But morale is important, too. “ They're just come out of their shells. ”

[29] 开课以来，麦奎德先生发现工人的失误减少了，工作效率提高了。“最终提高了生产率。”他说。但精神状态也很重要。“他们开始有说有笑了。”

[30]On the other side of the country, at a construction site in Denver, 75 supervisors opted to learn Spanish during a 10-week on-the-job course. Half the workforce on the huge interstate project known as T-REX is Hispanic ––– and in that group, 1 out of 4 speak very little English.

[30] 在美国的另一端，丹佛的一处建筑工地上， 75 名管理人员在为期 10 周的在岗课程中选择了学习西班牙语。这项称作 T-REX 的大型跨州建筑工程中，一半劳动力是美籍西班牙人 ––– 这个群体中， 1/4 的人不太懂英语。

[31] The conditions of the job are stressful, “ so when you can ask people how it's going in Spanish, it sets a different tone, ” says supervisor Ed Carpenter. People are more willing to engage with him now, he says, telling him if they need a different tool or have a question or suggestion. During a cold snap recently, he asked his crew to let him know if the conditions were too harsh for working safely, and a few calls in Spanish did come.

[31] 工作状态很紧张，“所以，当你能用西班牙语问别人工作如何时，整个气氛都改变了。”管理员埃德·卡彭特说。据他说，现在人们更愿意和他打交道，告诉他他们需要别的工具，或者向他提问题或建议。最近一次寒潮期间，他对员工说，如果工作紧张到危及安全了，要告诉他。结果真的有几个西班牙语电话打来了。

[32] While workers are on their way to learning English, T-REX officials say they want to meet them halfway.

[32] 正当工人们踏上了学习英语之路， T-REX 的领导们说他们也要学点西班牙语。

[33] “ If you don't take time to understand their culture, you tend to, in the sublime, communicate arrogance and superiority, ” Mr. Carpenter says. In his setting, as in others, tension could be dangerous. “ We're so dependent on each other for safety, and for the quality ( or work ) that's expected by the customer. ”

[33] “如果你不花时间去理解他们的文化，你最终就容易流露出骄傲自大和高高在上的情绪。”卡彭特先生说。在他的环境和在别的环境中一样，紧张对立情绪是很危险的。“我们如此互相依靠才能安全，才能保证顾客所期望的（工作）质量。”