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Support safe & sensitive use of other languages to aid our value of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Nick Malcolm requested to merge nmalcolm-other-languages into main

Why is this change being made?

The desired outcome is that other team member's culture is celebrated through the use of their own and others' language.

This resolves https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/global-voices-tmrg/-/issues/9+ which is an internal issue. There are many comments in that thread worth reading, and hopefully most have been addressed in this MR.

This is in draft to:

  • Develop / modify guidance
  • Add to the languages table

Copy-pasting from the TMRG issue description for transparency:

Context

GitLab is a global company and many of us either have English as a second language, or speak multiple languages to varying degrees of proficiency.

English-as-a-primary-language aids our values such as efficiency, results, and transparency.

Internal communication > Top tips and best practices

All written communication happens in English, even when sent one on one, because sometimes you need to forward an email or chat.

https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/#top-tips-and-best-practices

Writing style guidelines

At GitLab, we use American English as the standard written language.

https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/communication/#writing-style-guidelines

Context about me, Nick Malcolm: I speak only English really, but am trying to include te reo Māori more and more.

Example

From gitlab-org/gitlab!131601 (comment 1559266444)

Screenshot_2023-09-15_at_11.07.10_AM

This is a personal example. Every time Bojan uses te reo it makes me feel really included ❤

However, if we'd had the guidance being introduced by this MR the above example would have included more clarity on the language and translation.

Author and Reviewer Checklist

Please verify the check list and ensure to tick them off before the MR is merged.

  • Provided a concise title for this Merge Request (MR)
  • Added a description to this MR explaining the reasons for the proposed change, per say why, not just what
    • Copy/paste the Slack conversation to document it for later, or upload screenshots. Verify that no confidential data is added, and the content is SAFE
  • Assign reviewers for this MR to the correct Directly Responsible Individual/s (DRI)
    • If the DRI for the page/s being updated isn’t immediately clear, then assign it to one of the people listed in the Maintained by section on the page being edited
    • If your manager does not have merge rights, please ask someone to merge it AFTER it has been approved by your manager in #mr-buddies
    • The when to get approval handbook section explains the workflow in more detail
  • For transparency, share this MR with the audience that will be impacted.
    • Team: For changes that affect your direct team, share in your group Slack channel
    • Department: If the update affects your department, share the MR in your department Slack channel
    • Company: If the update affects all (or the majority of) GitLab team members, post an update in #whats-happening-at-gitlab linking to this MR
Edited by Nick Malcolm

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