Full Circle Associates

Bev Trayner, as always, gets me thinking. Working in many intercultural situations I see the impact of imperfect communication due to language difficulties. I recognize that as a predominantly English-only being, I add to that challenge (I speak rusty Portuguese as well) Beve writes about people who give her advice about her choices of languages:

"This puts me in a bit of a conundrum when well-meaning Portuguese friends and colleagues urge me to write (informal) e-mails in English, not Portuguese. Writing them in English, they tell me, looks more educated than writing in Portuguese with mistakes. Someone who writes in English maintains their superior position, whereas writing in Portuguese as a second language puts you in an inferior position in relation to people who write it correctly - and you risk not being taken seriously.

So, do I stick to my principles and enter other people's world's - creatively using their language, but at risk of being looked down on? Or do I stick to the language I know best and maintain my lofty status?"

In online communication, we have a bit more luxury of time when using asynchronous tools. What should our language strategy be?