Very interested in these topics, would like to comment on a few things.
I feel like I have brought this up before somewhere, apologies if this is repetitive.
In the right setting a profession based around an understanding of multiple languages can be very rewarding. However, a typical translator is a very burnout job and I speak with some minor experience. Most of the times you will not be able to translate something you have a direct interest in and the pay is very weak. For the more lucrative positions such as government positions, you need to have a mastery of the language and bring additional skills outside of just knowing the necessary languages. Maybe you are already aware of this because it is a career goal to you. Just offering my two cents since I have seen friends struggle when languages were their main pursuit, and sometimes their only pursuit.Since my goal is to become a professional translator and maybe even an interpreter one day, I'm also keen to learn a couple more languages in a foreseeable future.
In my honest personal opinion, successful intercultural communication is the beating heart of our world that seemingly becomes more and more globalized on a daily base. There's hence no room for potential misinterpretations.
I would be careful with that statement because I believe having refined Chinese grammar is much more than what meets the eye. Having a "loose" grammar structure can invite disorder and it is very easy to notice imperfections in other people's Chinese writing. Reminds me of this graph http://imgur.com/TTDAW69. The more you learn the harder Chinese grammar gets as opposed to a more structured grammar scheme like Japanese.I agree with Chinese arguably having the world's easiest, most logical grammar-- but it's only possible because of all the insanity around tones. What a nightmare for a non-native to learn!
I feel like I have brought this up before somewhere, apologies if this is repetitive.