This is not always the case, as was shown in the history of Belgium and Brussels (and still is). If you learn the other people's language, you will communicate

This is not always the case, as was shown in the history of Belgium and Brussels (and still is). If you learn the other people's language, you will communicate in their language. If you are inside a company with mixed languages, that company will be run in the language of the people that do not speak the other language. As you know, companies are highly political, and if you are missing all the nuances of a language because you are not a native speaker, your chances of taking a good position within that company will be lower. This is exactly what I saw in a company in Brussels when I worked there. All help-desk operators were Flemish, because they are bilingual in Dutch and French (and English of course). Management were all native French speaking, unable to communicate in Dutch. My direct manager, who was Flemish, had a hard time covering his own ass in this political environment, because of the foreign language nuances. So in effect, the ones who don't speak the other persons language have the benefit.