Brits abroad
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of British holiday-makers admit they don’t try to speak the local language when travelling abroad for fear of embarrassing themselves.
The research reveals that even though our holiday destinations are becoming more exotic, Brits are still not learning basic foreign words or phrases before they go away.
Happy to rely on English and hand gestures to get by, more than a third (35%) of respondents said that, while they often intend to try the local lingo, when it comes down to it they are just too embarrassed. More than a quarter (28%) of those surveyed admitted to having no desire or intention to learn any local language at all.
The trusty phrase ‘Do you speak English?’ proved to be one of the most important travel language staples with one in five Brits (20%) defaulting to their native tongue whenever possible.
When asked to look at given phrases in languages ranging from Thai and Greek to Arabic and Indonesian, the majority of respondents were unable to identify words for ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, while asking for directions to the beach or ordering a glass of wine proved difficult.
But while the languages of newer holiday hotspots may be too challenging, more than half of Brits are more comfortable dusting off GCSE and O-Level language skills to chat in French or Spanish.
Research provided by Hotels.com.
Tagged in Travel