South Floria: Business language is not a government issue

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Published Saturday, July 8, 2006

Condominiums:  Business Language Is Not a Government Issue
By Richard White

Q. Last week there was a board meeting to discuss major repairs. The
majority of the owners living in our condominium are Spanish and that is
fine with me. However, the meeting was totally in Spanish and they did not
have a translation of the business discussed. It is very unfair to those
who do not speak Spanish. Are we not protected against their failure to
discuss business in English?

A. Recently this has been a hot subject by our legislative bodies. Over
the past few years, several attempts have been made to make English the
official language but to my knowledge, no law has been successful to date.
Residents of Florida, and more specifically South Florida, have this
problem, which should be corrected by the residents and visitors, not
necessarily the government. I would write your board and explain that you
do not speak Spanish and request that they be considerate and translate
the important facts for you to understand the business conducted. It would
be far better for you and your board to work out the language problem.

[snip]

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/COLUMNISTS0204/607080304/1089/BUSINESS