Do you speak English?
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For whatever reason, I've known several people who have, when going on holiday, made the effort to learn the phrase "do you speak English?" in the native language of their destination—often in isolation. Am I the only one who views this as being entirely pointless? Surely, asking the same question in English would achieve the same result. Either the person being asked will understand the question and respond accordingly, or they won't understand and will stare back blankly, from which you can safely deduce that the answer is no.
I'm not opposed to people making the effort to learn another language. In fact, I would actively encourage it as a way of expanding one's knowledge and horizons. I have yet to discover a valid situation where having an expansive set of skills or abilities has been a bad thing. One of my own hobbies is learning Danish, despite never having visited the country. Granted, I do have some Danish friends (whose flawless grasp of the English language inspired me to attempt to learn their tongue), and would like to visit Denmark one day, but for now I learn for fun.
My point in this article—insomuch as there is one—is that if anyone plans to learn useful phrases for their chosen destination, one they can probably gloss over is "do you speak English?". Far more relevant would be to learn how to ask for (and, importantly, understand) directions, or how to order food in a restaurant (or at least to understand what's on the menu!). Asking in one language if somebody speaks an entirely different one is somewhat futile.
Due to the ubiquity of English speakers in other countries, attitudes towards learning other languages in Britain are somewhat apathetic. While some do try, most would rather not. And it's not that people aren't encouraged to learn either. Virtually every student in the UK will have to learn a language as part of their primary and/or secondary education. Most simply don't pursue it once they finish school.
I know I can relate there. When I was at school, I was made to learn French; a language I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in learning. Many of my friends felt exactly the same. Oddly, I somehow ended up in the top set extension class for the subject. I refuse to believe this was based on ability because I was dreadful at it. I can only assume that they ran out of places in the lower level classes.
Perhaps if students had more of a choice as to what language they could learn, they would be more inclined to take it seriously. But then schools are obviously limited by what they can reasonably afford to offer and what their teachers are proficient enough to teach. It's a tough one. As such, many students continue to be taught languages they aren't interested in, which potentially puts them off learning other languages in later life, safe in the knowledge that English is so widely spoken that it's unnecessary anyway.
Regardless, if people do feel inclined to learn a new language, even just to help them get by in a country they might be visiting, one phrase they probably won't need—at least at the expense of any other—is "do you speak English?".