Perhaps it comes as no surprise, but a recent survey by LateRooms.com shows that 25m Brits are unable to recognise even the most basic of phrases in a foreign language when abroad.

In the nature of British culture, words they do pick up are beer (79%), swimming pool (80%) and beach (77%), although anything else normally resorts to speaking loudly or more slowly.

I have a French phrase book called A widow in every room, after a French hotel that clearly meant ‘window,’ but as anyone who has tried to decipher a menu in that country, even a good grasp of the lingo can leave the diner hugely perplexed.