HC Deb 13 March 1996 vol 273 cc979-80
17. Mr. Rendel

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the proportion of British export contracts lost because of communication difficulties caused by language barriers in the most recent year for which information is available. [18707]

Mr. Oppenheim

A survey of UK companies carried out in 1995 as part of the DTI's national languages for export campaign showed that 25 per cent. of exporting companies had lost trade due to language barriers.

Mr. Rendel

Given that that must mean a considerable loss of export revenues, what does the Minister plan by way of incentives to British companies to ensure that they train their employees more effectively in languages?

Mr. Oppenheim

Uncharacteristically, I agree with that great German socialist Willy Brandt about that. He was a socialist in the days when socialists really were socialists and one knew where they stood. He said—I hope that the House will excuse my accent: If I am selling to you, I speak your language; if I am buying, dann müssen Sie deutsch sprechen. I agree with those sentiments, and I will send the hon. Gentleman a list of the incentives and initiatives that the DTI is taking forward in that direction.

Mr. Viggers

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is easy for us to become complacent because English is the language of international trade? There is a remarkable disparity, for instance, in the number of Japanese learning English and the number of English learning Japanese. Will my hon. Friend encourage English people to study Japanese?

Mr. Oppenheim

I agree with my hon. Friend. People sometimes go too far in taking advantage of the fact that English is the lingua franca—to coin a mis-phrase—and become complacent. As a result, it can be a disadvantage rather than an advantage. It is important that British exporters should take the trouble to learn the languages of their customers, and I am pleased to say that the number of Japanese language courses in British schools and universities has increased dramatically in recent years.

Mr. MacShane

An earlier German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck—who spoke Russian, French and English—said that learning foreign languages was a matter for head waiters. He was quite wrong, of course, and German business men speak very good English. As we have Trade and Industry Ministers on the Government Front Bench who are barely capable of speaking English, perhaps I should ask the Minister whether he could conduct this Question Time in a foreign language. If he cannot, will he go and learn one after he loses his seat in the next general election?

Mr. Oppenheim

I know from my various experiences with the hon. Gentleman on the ski slopes that he is an expert linguist and fluent in French, German and, I think, Spanish, which might qualify him for a job as a mâitre d'. When he gets that job, perhaps he will produce a menu with prices rather than a menu without prices, which characterises Labour's minimum wage policy.