BBC：非英語公司規定說英語，越來越普遍
A growing number of global firms are using as English their main language – even if they are based in Japan or France.
越來越多的全球性公司把英語當作他們的主要語言，即使他們的總部在日本或法國。
Nearly every meeting Keiko Claassen must attend at work is held in English. No big deal – except that her company is based in Italy and she’s Dutch.
對凱蔻·克拉森而言，幾乎每一次她必須參加的工作會議都是用英語進行的。這沒什麼大不了，只是她的公司總部在意大利，而她是一名荷蘭人。
At an Lainate, Italy-based engineering company where Classen is executive director of communications, every senior staffer is expected to speak English and most communications are delivered in English.
克拉森在一家總部位於意大利雷納特的工程公司擔任通訊執行董事，在她的公司，每一位高級職員都被期望說英語，而且大多數通信都是用英語傳達的。
While it’s not considered an official corporate language, with 4,500 employees working in several countries, including Japan, China, India and Germany, it’s the only language that everyone can generally speak in common – even if speaking doesn’t mean always fully understanding.
該公司有4500名員工在日本、中國、印度以及德國等幾個國家工作，雖然它並沒有把英語當作公司的官方語言，但英語卻是唯一一種每個人通常都會講的語言，即使這並不意味着談話的內容總是能被完全理解。
In other firms, such as France-based food services company Sodexo, English is being adopted as an official language.
在其他公司，如總部在法國的食品服務公司索迪斯，英語就被當作官方語言。
Despite being based in non-English-speaking countries, Yokohama, Japan-headquartered Nissan implemented an English-first strategy in the late 1990s.
雖然辦公地點並不在講英語的國家，然而總部在日本橫濱的尼桑公司在20世紀90年代末就執行了以英語爲首要語言的戰略。
German electronics company Siemens also made English its official language years ago.
德國電子公司西門子也在多年前就把英語作爲其官方語言。
For these companies, the aim is simple: by communicating exclusively in a single language, leaders in South America can collaborate with colleagues in France or the US.
對這些公司而言，目標很簡單：只用一種語言交流，南美的領導人就可以與法國或美國的同事合作。
It’s also part of a cultural shift for the company, says Kim Beddard-Fontaine, Sodexo’s group vice-president.
這也是公司文化轉型的一部分，索迪斯集團副總裁金姆·貝達德·豐坦說道。
“Business are organised globally and not regionally these days,” she says. “We want to become more efficient by collaborating across geographies. English is an enabler of that.”
“現在商業活動都是在全球範圍內進行的，而不是區域性的，”她說。“我們想通過跨地域合作而變得更有效率。英語能促使我們實現這個目標。”
It is suggested that if a company wants a smooth changeover and aims to promote people from within the firm, it ought to offer English lessons to staffers lower down the corporate ladder, and not just focus on executives.
有人提議，如果一個公司想要順利轉變，且以內部晉升爲目標，它就應該爲職員提供英語課程來降低企業晉升臺階，而不應只把注意力集中在高管身上。
