Esperanto

[shootingstar]

I'm intrigued by the Engineers without Borders and esperanto learning.

Not sure if alot of engineers in a fast-paced, high pressure project environment would take time to learn esperanto...unless they were bribed or threatened (we will cut your salary if you don't..etc)

Of course the official working language in our workplace is English and it dominates. But this workplace where I am, is the first employer, out of 7 previous different employers (I need to look at my resume to count....) where people do freely conduct business in another, non-English language.

Right now, I can hear the labour relations guy talking German. 4 hrs. ago, a bevy of 15 labourers hired directly from Thailand wandered up to our building to get their multiple-hr. long construction safety training...which had to be translated to their language. For certain in the engineering sector, to get interesting jobs, knowing a 2nd language is highly advantageous for career/job mobility worldwide.

I should also mention that where I am it is the first workplace where there is a high % of interracial marriages...it's not as common (no matter what people claim)..but more so than 50 years ago. It's direct result of these guys (mostly it's the guys who are moving around interationally) working in foreign locations.

Hence, there are some Caucasians who know a bits of Asian language or their Asian spouse (wife), knows German and in some cases, an impressive fluency in German.

It's been, pretty strange, kh...that I got hired...since I never put into my resume...my partner is German-speaking. Life is full of bizarre coincidences.