<p>Chinese has grammar, but it’s very different from Indo-European grammar. Simpler isn’t always easier. There are still issues of word order, plurals and how the heck you do a pluperfect in a language that doesn’t quite believe in tenses. 
I can’t argue about the finer points (if I even remembered any!)- I took one semester of an adult school class while I was living in Germany a good 20 years ago.</p>
<p>A certain government agency is currently recruiting language experts with skills in Swahili (the other ones on that list were languages of some middle eastern countries).</p>
<p>That’s funny - she just mentioned last night that she is seriously considering Swahili, mostly because it sounds cool to say you’re learning Swahili. LOL
I think if she doesn’t take Swahili she will choose either Spanish or Italian- she has a couple of months to decide though.</p>