looks like this is an issue when you have multiple require_once() statements in the same PHP block. The work around is to create a unique php block for each require_once:
<?php switch ($_SESSION['language']) {
case 'english': //use the english menu
?>
<?php
require_once("../CSSMenuWriter/cssmw/menu.php");
?>
<?php
break;
case 'spanish': //use the spanish menu
?>
<?php
require_once("../CSSMenuWriter/cssmw/spanish/menu.php");
?>
<?php
break;
case 'mandarin': //use the mandarin menu
?>
<?php
require_once("../CSSMenuWriter/cssmw/mandarin/menu.php");
?>
<?php
break;
case 'hindi': //use the hindi menu
?>
<?php
require_once("../CSSMenuWriter/cssmw/hindi/menu.php");
?>
<?php
break;
default: //use the english menu
?>
<?php
require_once("../CSSMenuWriter/cssmw/menu.php");
?>
<?php
}
?>