Two Englishmen are on a hiking holiday through Switzerland. As they're walking along a narrow, remote valley road they come to a T-junction, where they find a man standing beside a BMW looking at a map. He smiles and calls out to them, "Excusez-moi, messieurs. Connaissez-vous la route de Zurich?" They look blank, and shrug their shoulders. The man shrugs too, and says "Entschuldigen Sie, meine Herren. Kennen Sie den Weg nach Zürich?" The Englishmen don't understand a word. The man in the car looks a little frustrated, but tries again. "Mi scusi, signori. Conosci la strada per Zurigo?" Blank looks. Finally, with visible annoyance, the man tries the one other language he knows. "Anteeksi, herrat. Tiedätkö tien Zürichiin?" Absolutely no response from the Englishmen. The driver scowls at them, jumps in the BMW and drives off just picking a direction at random.
One Englishman turns to the other and says, "You know, one day I really think I ought to learn a foreign language." His mate replies, "Why? That guy knew four and it didn't do him any good!"