as Malaysia and Singapore, it is not unusual for one to speak two or more languages, albeit with varying degrees of fluency. Some are proficient in several Chinese varieties, given the linguistic diversity of the ethnic Chinese community in both countries. Africa Not only in multinational companies is English an important skill, but also in the engineering industry, in the chemical, electrical and aeronautical fields. A study directed by Hill and van Zyl (2002) shows that in South Africa young black engineers used English most often for communication and documentation. However, Afrikaans and other local languages were also used to explain particular concepts to workers in order to ensure understanding and cooperation. Europe In Europe, as the domestic market is generally quite restricted, international trade is a norm. Languages that are used in multiple countries include: German in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Belgium French in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland English in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta. Swedish in Sweden and Finland. Italian in Italy and Switzerland. English is a commonly taught second language at schools, so it is also the most common choice for two speakers, whose native languages are different. However, some languages are so close to each other that it is generally more common when meeting to use their mother tongue rather than English. These language groups include: Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Czech and Slovak: during Czechoslovak times, these were considered to be two different dialects of a common Czechoslovak language. Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin: standardized in the 19th century and throughout existence of Yugoslavia, Croatian and Serbian were considered as Western and Eastern variants of a common, Serbo-Croatian language. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, each successor state proclaimed and codified its own official language. In sociolinguistics, however, these are still considered standardized varieties of one pluricentric language, all based on Shtokavian dialect, with the biggest distinction being between the Ekavian and Ijekavian pronunciation. Cyrillic and Latin writing scripts are official in Bosnian, Montenegrin and Serbian, while Latin is exclusively official in Croatian. In multilingual countries such as Belgium (Dutch, French, and German), Finland (Finnish and Swedish), Switzerland (German, French, Italian and Romansh), Luxembourg (Luxembourgish, French and German) or Spain (Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician), it is common to see employees mastering two or even three of those languages. Many minor Russian ethnic groups, such as Tatars, Bashkirs and others, are