Are These The Funniest ‘Lost In Translation’ Moments?

SAM | 18th May 2017

 

The average Manc will head off abroad on their summer holidays, able to speak just eight words of the local language, according to a new research.

 

French is the language most Mancunians are familiar with, with the average adult being able to rattle off up to 15 words.

 

Despite millions travelling to Spain this summer, the average holidaymaker from Manchester knows just eight Spanish words.

 

The study by Holiday Autos found 27 percent of us make absolutely no effort to learn a language ahead of our holidays as ‘everyone speaks English.’

 

‘Hello’, ‘yes’ and ‘goodbye’ are the most common words that we know how to say in a foreign language, followed by ‘thanks’, ‘no’ and ‘good morning’.

 

Three in ten can ask where the bathroom is and over a third can competently ask for a beer. An unsavoury one in ten are also capable of uttering ‘I have an upset stomach.’

 

Of the 1,500 respondents from across Britain 23 percent said they holiday in popular resorts so there was no need to make an effort and speak the local language.

 

The survey reveals that nearly two thirds of adults in Manchester said they were embarrassed that as a nation we make such little effort to learn foreign languages.

 

But being so limited with the local language has landed one in ten adults in hot water with problems occurring when ordering food and drinks, following directions and settling a bill.

 

One in ten have lost luggage on holiday and struggled to communicate with the necessary people.

 

35 percent claim to start speaking much slower when trying to make themselves understood when on foreign soil and a quarter opt for gesticulating wildly with their hands.

 

More than one in twenty have even resorted to drawing pictures and one in ten have to rely on their smartphone to make themselves understood.

 

Over a quarter of Mancunians have a funny story to tell about a friend or family member trying to make themselves understood on holiday – with 17 percent claiming they still laugh about it.

 

In fact, the average holidaymaker from Manchester has experienced three ‘lost in translation’ moments when on holiday.

 

According to the poll…

 

  • A gentleman got a surprise in France when he asked for jam to go with his croissant and got a condom.

 

  • One man asked for directions and kept being told the price of a chicken.

 

  • A holidaymaker thought he was asking a waiter where the toilet was, but was actually repeatedly asking where the man’s wife was.

 

  • Another asked for egg on his pancake and got a raw egg.

 

  • One respondent asked for a lemonade and ended up buying a newspaper.

 

  • Another respondent regularly got the French words for rabbit and bread around the wrong way.

 

  • One respondent ended up with a slap around the face. To this day he doesn’t know what he said!

 

Of those that completed the survey, more than a third of people from Manchester (35 percent) would like to know enough words to just get by when they head off on holiday.

 

TOP 30 FOREIGN WORDS / PHRASES MANCS CAN SAY

 

  1. Hello
  2. Yes
  3. Goodbye
  4. Thanks
  5. No
  6. Good morning
  7. Please?
  8. My name is
  9. Good evening
  10. Excuse me
  11. Tomorrow
  12. The bill please
  13. Breakfast
  14. Can I have a beer
  15. Car
  16. Dinner
  17. Left
  18. Right
  19. Pizza
  20. Taxi
  21. Where is the bathroom?
  22. Where is the hotel?
  23. Can I have a glass of wine
  24. Still water
  25. Where is the hospital
  26. Straight on
  27. Will you sleep with me?
  28. Sparkling water
  29. I have an upset stomach
  30. Moped.

 

For those that want to know just enough words to get by when they head off to sunnier climes this summer, the company has produced handy language guides that are available online and include top foreign phrases that you can learn while traveling or before you pick up your holiday hire car.