Agreed. For an everyday situation, that is.

However that doesn't apply to Capetownian acting in a professional capacity. It's probably no problem for the care bear if the message doesn't get across, you simply move on to the next victim A medical doc however can't do that, and if the patient doesn't understand the diagnosis, or even worse if it's misunderstood, serious problems may arise. Now add a patient to the mix who isn't proficient in German themselves and the potential problems multiply.

Mileages vary, sometimes a lot.