Would this make you feel angry?

[Anonymous 2]

Not really.
But I have wished I could speak Mandarin once or twice during a manicure.

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

So because they are asian and are probably chatting about their own lives, then its okay for them to do that?
No No No, its not okay and they are jackasses for doing it, I dont care what they are chatting about. But I m not surprised that you are trying to explain why they are chatting and basically saying its okay for them to do it

[Anonymom*23/6/364]

Not really.
But I have wished I could speak Mandarin once or twice during a manicure.

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

Maybe where you go they are Vietnamese. My nail salon has 5 women who all speak Mandarin.
They are all related.
I'm sure they are chatting about their lives, still I do wonder what they are saying sometimes.

[Olioxenfree]

If people were speaking in a language you don't know, not to you, but having a private conversation around you? For example, two employees who are stocking shelves in a grocery store, a group of people standing in line behind you waiting to be seated at a restaurant, you're babysitting and are making dinner while the kids are playing legos in the next room and you hear the kids start to speak to each other, or you work at a school and during free-time a group of kids start speaking to each other. I'm just trying to understand this line of thinking.

No, because I'm not a sensitive MEGA snowflake who thinks everyone around me needs to speak English and because it's a private conversation so I wouldn't be paying attention to anyway. These people are sad paranoid idiots. You cannot understand them.

It is, however, rude to speak in another language to deliberately not include others seated at your table or whom you invite into your home. It's one thing if someone else translates to others but language barriers should not be used to exclude others and to be deliberately rude. Especially if that person is the host because it mkes the guests feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.

I think even at someone's home, it's situational. Like if you sit down at a meal and half the family starts speaking in another language, when they are bilingual, then yes that would be rude. But there are situations like with my grandparents, who are English language learners, where my sister (who they live with) will have guests over, and my grandmother might quickly ask one of my kids to go get her a glass of water or my grandfather might call into the living room from the kitchen asking my son to come help with something and they'll do it in Japanese because it's just easier and less complicated for them. I don't consider that rude. They would never have like a long conversation with the kids in front of guests and exclude them from it.

[Olioxenfree]

Not really.
But I have wished I could speak Mandarin once or twice during a manicure.

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

Maybe where you go they are Vietnamese. My nail salon has 5 women who all speak Mandarin.
They are all related.
I'm sure they are chatting about their lives, still I do wonder what they are saying sometimes.

This is a national statistic, but as I said I don't know your individual nail salon, so I'm not saying I doubt you. Just wanted to mention it because mandarin and vietnamese often get confused and it's an interesting story.

[Deleted User 670]

If people were speaking in a language you don't know, not to you, but having a private conversation around you? For example, two employees who are stocking shelves in a grocery store, a group of people standing in line behind you waiting to be seated at a restaurant, you're babysitting and are making dinner while the kids are playing legos in the next room and you hear the kids start to speak to each other, or you work at a school and during free-time a group of kids start speaking to each other. I'm just trying to understand this line of thinking.

No, because I'm not a sensitive MEGA snowflake who thinks everyone around me needs to speak English and because it's a private conversation so I wouldn't be paying attention to anyway. These people are sad paranoid idiots. You cannot understand them.

It is, however, rude to speak in another language to deliberately not include others seated at your table or whom you invite into your home. It's one thing if someone else translates to others but language barriers should not be used to exclude others and to be deliberately rude. Especially if that person is the host because it mkes the guests feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.

I think even at someone's home, it's situational. Like if you sit down at a meal and half the family starts speaking in another language, when they are bilingual, then yes that would be rude. But there are situations like with my grandparents, who are English language learners, where my sister (who they live with) will have guests over, and my grandmother might quickly ask one of my kids to go get her a glass of water or my grandfather might call into the living room from the kitchen asking my son to come help with something and they'll do it in Japanese because it's just easier and less complicated for them. I don't consider that rude. They would never have like a long conversation with the kids in front of guests and exclude them from it.

I'm talking about having entire conversations in Japanese without including the english-only speaking guests, not the situation that you described.

[Anonymous 7]

No, it does not bother me. I am only concerned with my conversation, I don't really think I need to be included in every conversation around me.

[Olioxenfree]

Not really.
But I have wished I could speak Mandarin once or twice during a manicure.

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

So because they are asian and are probably chatting about their own lives, then its okay for them to do that?
No No No, its not okay and they are jackasses for doing it, I dont care what they are chatting about. But I m not surprised that you are trying to explain why they are chatting and basically saying its okay for them to do it

It doesn't matter what race they are, I'd say the same thing if they were Swedish. In fact I don't get angry when the men at the barbershop where I take my kids speak in Italian while working. They are having their own private conversation in the language they are most comfortable with and they are not jackasses for that. You are not entitled to listen in on their conversation.

[Anonymous 2]

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

So because they are asian and are probably chatting about their own lives, then its okay for them to do that?
No No No, its not okay and they are jackasses for doing it, I dont care what they are chatting about. But I m not surprised that you are trying to explain why they are chatting and basically saying its okay for them to do it

It doesn't matter what race they are, I'd say the same thing if they were Swedish. In fact I don't get angry when the men at the barbershop where I take my kids speak in Italian while working. They are having their own private conversation in the language they are most comfortable with and they are not jackasses for that. You are not entitled to listen in on their conversation.

Its rude to speak in another language when around others that don't understand or speak that language, period. There is no excuse for that type of rudeness unless the person was raised in a barn by savages or in a jungle by wild animals. We stopped going to the nail salon where the jackasses spoke in another language while doing our nails plus dd got a nail infection from their nasty bad cleaning practices. They were shut down by the city a few weeks later, hahaha We found a great nail salon that is run by a respectful professional couple that will not allow their nail techs to speak in their native language during business hours unless they are at lunch. Even at the barber shop where my son goes, the owner and barbers always speak english even though they were born in another country. Some people have respect for others that don't speak their language, others not so much.

[Anonymous 3]

I don't think anyone that has been part of this thread is saying that they are at all offended by conversations that are being had by random people who happen to be within the vicinity of them.

All anyone seems to be saying is that it is rude to speak in code amongst those in your party. If anyone in your party can't understand what you are saying, it is as if you are speaking in code. IMO, it's never OK to do that. If it absolutely must be done, someone should translate for the those who don't understand what was said.

I get your overall point, just wanted to point out that more nail techs are Vietnamese than Chinese, though I don't know what salons you go to so they could be speaking Mandarin for all I know. Why there are so many Vietnamese-American nail techs is actually a pretty interesting story. They are much more likely to be chatting about their own lives than you, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

So because they are asian and are probably chatting about their own lives, then its okay for them to do that?
No No No, its not okay and they are jackasses for doing it, I dont care what they are chatting about. But I m not surprised that you are trying to explain why they are chatting and basically saying its okay for them to do it

It doesn't matter what race they are, I'd say the same thing if they were Swedish. In fact I don't get angry when the men at the barbershop where I take my kids speak in Italian while working. They are having their own private conversation in the language they are most comfortable with and they are not jackasses for that. You are not entitled to listen in on their conversation.

[Olioxenfree]

I don't think anyone that has been part of this thread is saying that they are at all offended by conversations that are being had by random people who happen to be within the vicinity of them.

All anyone seems to be saying is that it is rude to speak in code amongst those in your party. If anyone in your party can't understand what you are saying, it is as if you are speaking in code. IMO, it's never OK to do that. If it absolutely must be done, someone should translate for the those who don't understand what was said.

So because they are asian and are probably chatting about their own lives, then its okay for them to do that?
No No No, its not okay and they are jackasses for doing it, I dont care what they are chatting about. But I m not surprised that you are trying to explain why they are chatting and basically saying its okay for them to do it

It doesn't matter what race they are, I'd say the same thing if they were Swedish. In fact I don't get angry when the men at the barbershop where I take my kids speak in Italian while working. They are having their own private conversation in the language they are most comfortable with and they are not jackasses for that. You are not entitled to listen in on their conversation.

That is what anon2 is saying. She said she finds someone "savage" and thinks they were "raised by wild animals" if they speak in another language to a coworker around her, when she is not a part of the conversation.