A cure for proverbial linguistic laziness

THERE'S an old joke - a person who speaks two languages is bilingual, one who speaks three languages is trilingual, one who only speaks one language is British.

- With Graham Davies

The Brits abroad are traditionally inept in their use of foreign languages - if the natives don't understand, speak a bit louder or add an “o” on the end of a word.

In Spain we are called guiris, a porcelain-skinned northern European race intent on returning home looking like a boiled shrimp.

British linguistic laziness is probably the legacy of an empire where half the world spoke English anyway and there's always an expat cafe selling cheap lager and frying bacon and eggs.