Whether it is the battle for the sun bed or trying to communicate with the locals, Britons abroad are not known for their skills and a new survey proves just that. According to research commissioned by Samsung to mark the launch of its Galaxy Z Flip7, which includes an AI-powered Live Translate and Interpreter feature – designed to help users translate phone calls in real time and break through awkward language barriers when travelling, the only thing Britons seem to be able to do in a foreign language properly is order a drink.
A poll of 2,000 adults found 30 per cent are likely to simply make up a word in another language when trying to converse with a local while on holiday. Otherwise, many resort to other tactics – with 54 per cent admitting to pointing wildly at menus. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) will rely on dramatic hand gestures, and 26 per cent choosing to speak English very slowly in the unlikely hope of being understood.
The research revealed that the majority of Brits feel a sense of embarrassment over their lack of foreign language proficiency when overseas and a third have resorted to smiling and nodding in conversations, pretending they have understood when they have no clue, according to the OnePoll.com data. And one in five (20 per cent) have attempted to speak the local language, only for the person they’re speaking to respond in fluent English.
10 ways Britons have tried to chat with locals:
Pointed at items on a menu
Asked locals if they “speak English?” before anything else
Said English words very slowly
Used dramatic hand gestures
Tried to mime what I was trying to say
Butchered basic phrases
Used translate apps
Mixed multiple languages together
Repeated the same phrase multiple times in different tones
Tried speaking louder in English, hoping it would help