The importance of language

I guess it sort of makes sense seeing as South Africa is a BRICS country and we do a lot of trade with the Chinese, but can the minister read what's on his cards?

Remember circa 1999 when wearing tops with Chinese/Mandarin writing printed on the front was the in thing? That was one trend which I was glad to miss. To this day I cannot fathom wearing a top or getting a tattoo or a business card in a language I do not understand. Here I am thinking my top says "Warrior Princess" and I'm being laughed at by a bunch of Chinese understanding folk because my top actually says "I'm a b!@$%&* and call me for a good time."

I also have a phobia of people talking about me with me in the room in a language I don't understand - so I have always done my best to have a basic understanding of as many languages as possible, and I am planning on adding South African Sign Language (SASL) to my language resume.

Aside from my phobia, I've always thought it best to be able to communicate with someone in their language as a sign of respect and to touch their hearts (insert Nelson Mandela quote here!)

Do you speak any other languages aside from your home language? Do you think that it's important to learn other languages?