[Ads-l] Englishnization

[Wilson Gray]

When do we start learning Chinese?

[I’ve changed apps and even changed computers. But, _still_, I have this
problem. I think. I can’t tell what other people see, of course. No one has
complained, but I don’t know whether that means that others are being
understanding or that others don’t see a problem. If it’s the former, thank
you for your consideration.]

On Sun, Sep 3, 2017 at 10:16 AM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> Saw this this weekend:
>
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/business-in-a-common-tongue-1503867971
>
> On March 1, 2010, Hiroshi Mikitani, the chief executive of Japanese
> e-commerce giant Rakuten, used a video link to address a meeting of the
> company’s 10,000 employees world-wide. Speaking in English, he announced
> that Rakuten henceforth would be an English-only organization. In two
> years’ time, he said, every interaction, spoken and written, would be
> conducted in English—even among the 7,100 workers whose first and often
> only language was Japanese.
>
> “Our goal is to catch up with the global market,” Mr. Mikitani said. He
> explained that a common language was the only way to share business
> knowledge quickly and effectively across Rakuten’s international
> operations. “Englishnization”—a term he coined—was an essential aspect of
> the company’s growth strategy, he said. The CEO further announced a
> draconian measure to enforce his new mandate: Employees who did not, within
> two years, score above 650 on the 990-point Test of English for
> International Communication would face demotion or dismissal.
> DanG
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org