Brits' top foreign language faux pas revealed – are you an offender?
WELL-meaning Brits' top holiday lingo blunders have been unveiled — with 'grassy ar*e' No1.
One in four foul up when saying 'gracias' (pronounced grah-see-ahs), meaning thanks in Spanish, a poll says.
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Second on the list is 'pie-ella' when ordering food dish paella (pae-ey-yah), with 18 per cent of us slipping up, the survey said.
Third is 'messy bucket' for 'merci beaucoup' (mer-see boh-koo) — thanks a lot in French.
Also there are 'silver plate' for French please s'il vous plait (sil-vu-pleh) and 'el beacho' for la playa (luh plah-yah) in Spain.
Others mispronounced include croissant and cerveza (beer).
Some 87 per cent of holidaymakers have a go at the local language but almost as many (85 per cent) admit they make errors.
Four in five get embarrassed and self-conscious about their pronunciation, a third practise what to say before saying it and almost half fake the local accent to try to sound more fluent.
Sandra Hors, Chief Corporate Affairs, Brand and Sustainability Officer at Vueling, which commissioned the survey of 2,000 Brits, said: 'We all know that nailing the pronunciation of some words and phrases in foreign languages can be trick.
'Some Brits even struggle with our name – it's pronounced 'Bwel-ling'! But we also know that they love to explore new cultures and have a go at speaking foreign languages.'
'And it's clear that their love of travel outweighs the fear of a few mispronunciations, so we're excited to fly Brits to incredible destinations across Spain, France and Italy where they can take in the sights, try the local cuisine, and bravely attempt a few foreign phrases along the way.'
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Times
3 hours ago
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Gareth Southgate brought in the Marines, Thomas Tuchel prefers Pilates
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The Independent
3 hours ago
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E-gates to grant Britons quick entry to European hotspot
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