Languages Work*

Hospitality and catering

 

The UK ’s hospitality and catering industries are closely related to the development of our tourist services. There will be an increase in demand for people with language skills as hotels and restaurants throughout the UK gear up for the Olympic Games. People with language skills alongside experience in these industries are also able to take advantage of opportunities to travel and work abroad.

 

1. Match the head offices to these hotel chains:

Radisson SAS	Spain
Sol Meliá	France
Novotel	Italy
Jolly Hotels	Belgium

 

• Answer

  Radisson SAS	Belgium
  Sol Meliá	Spain
  Novotel	France
  Jolly Hotels	Italy

   

2. Which languages do these commonly-used catering expressions come from? Do you know what they mean?


• Answer

  Al dente - Italian. Pasta is said to be ‘al dente’ when it is cooked but still firm.
  A la carte - French. Eating ‘à la carte’ means choosing dishes from the whole menu as opposed to a ‘set’ menu with more limited choice.
  Tapas - Spanish. Small titbits which accompany a drink. In some bars these may be provided free.
  Sag aloo - Hindi. Spinach with potatoes.

3. If a foreign guest came into your hotel or restaurant and said good morning to you in his or her language, would you recognise what language they were speaking? Would you be able to reply? Test yourself to see how many languages you can recognise:

Buenos días	Merhaba	Sawubona!
Bonjour	Shw mae	Salaam
Guten Tag	Cześć	Buongiorno

• Answer
  
  

  Buenos días - Spanish	Merhaba - Turkish	Sawubona! - Zulu
  Bonjour - French	Shw mae - Welsh	Salaam - Urdu
  Guten Tag - German	Cześć - Polish	Buongiorno - Italian