I recently read a blog posting where an user experience company took inventory of the number of language spoken by their employees. The posting went on to connect this asset with an ability for multicultural understanding.

While linguistic literacy may help someone improve their cultural literacy I don't think linguistic literacy and cultural literacy are the same.

In other words, simply because you can speak/write a language it doesn't necessarily mean that you can also understand the cultural dynamics.

Cultures often develop unspoken symbolic interaction and other subtle nuances. These forms of communication are communicated in complex methods that may or may not include spoken/written language.

Glossary from Wikipedia:
- Cultural literacy
- Symbolic interaction

- Daniel Montano