Parlay voo onglaze?
18th Nov 2011
Brits ‘terribles’ at foreign languages, with 19% unable to even translate “bonjour”While everyone loves going on holiday, research by Hotels.com today reveals that this does not ‘translate’ for Brits into an ability to understand and speak the local language. Shockingly 64% of us are completely unable to say anything in a foreign tongue, and only a third (34%) of us are willing to give the lingo a go when abroad. Even simple words such as “bonjour” and “goedemorgen” failed to register, with 19% and 63% of us respectively unable to translate “good morning” in French and Dutch.
Despite French, German and Spanish being on the National Curriculum, only 13%, 8% and 6% of Brits respectively consider themselves able to speak the language. Of those in this category, 25% can ask a limited range of everyday questions, 21% can just say “hello” and “goodbye” and a strange 2% claim that they can understand everything that is said to them, but are unable to say anything back.
The majority of Brits (61%) rarely or never try to speak a foreign language, with reasons for their lack of effort being put down to simply not being bothered (16%), being too embarrassed they will make a mistake (35%) or simply assuming that everyone can speak English (23%).
Surprisingly 47% of 18-24 year olds reported that they haven’t spoken the foreign language they learnt at school, since they left. Conversely, those aged over 55 were most likely to try and speak the country’s local language when on holiday, with 45% of respondents claiming to very often or always try.
Putting pints before their Ps & Qs, more people (43%) were able to translate “a beer please” in Spanish (“una cerveza por favor”) than were able to correctly translate “thank you” in Portuguese (“prego”) 29%.
Kate Hopcraft, from Hotels.com, said: “The results of our study seem to put British holiday makers to shame, with even languages typically learnt at school such as German, French and Spanish having incredibly low levels of comprehension. Brits often have a negative image abroad when it comes to languages and unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be anything we’ll be saying auf wiedersehen to anytime soon.”
Percentage of Brits who could correctly translate these common foreign phrases:
|
Bonjour |
81% |
|
Una cerveza por favor |
43% |
|
Prego |
29% |
|
Ja |
57% |
|
Danke schoen |
57% |
|
Goedemorgen |
37% |
|
Buenas Noches |
56% |
About Hotels.com
Hotels.com is a leading online accommodation booking website with over 150,000 properties around the world, ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favourites and bed & breakfasts, together with all the information needed to book the perfect stay. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry, negotiating the best rates for its customers, and offers frequent sales, special deals and promotions. Regular customer e-newsletters provide exclusive offers and advance warning of up-coming sales. There are more than 6.5 million reviews on the site from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers can make an informed choice when booking. Through its industry-leading loyalty program Welcome Rewards, customers can earn a free night for every 10 nights stayed at more than 65,000 hotels. Under its Price Match Guarantee, if a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will refund the difference. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of the multilingual call centres. Special apps for mobile phones and tablets can also be downloaded at www.hotels.com/deals/mobile_app/ enabling customers to book on the go with access to 20,000 last minute deals. For the last eight years, Hotels.com has published an award-winning twice-yearly review of international hotel room price trends called the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index which is now produced in 31 individual country editions www.hotelpriceindex.co.uk Follow Hotels.com on Facebook at facebook.com/hotelsdotcomuk, on Twitter at @HotelsdotcomUK and download the mobile app at www.hotels.com/deals/mobile. Hotels.com is part of Expedia Inc., the largest online travel company in the world with an extensive portfolio that includes some of the world's best-known brands.
