With this incredibly obvious fact, why do I have such a battle convincing people to learn at least one African language? The basic facts are that, despite the English language’s economic and social power, and claims that ‘everyone speaks English’, there are millions of people in this country for whom English is a second, third, or fourth language. And that means that, out of sheer courtesy and mutual respect, English speakers should make an effort to understand them. They make an immense effort to understand English – an effort which often goes unremarked and unrecognized. Try speaking a few sentences of isiZulu to a native speaker, and you will see just how difficult it is to think in another language. Or you could try reading the other half of this article. And if you don’t understand it yet, perhaps you should think about learning – if not isiZulu, then the language of those around you.