“Good Riddance, UK!” After Irena Andrassy, Croatian ambassador to the EU, delivered her side-splitting parting statement to the UK; one English language school in Zagreb, Croatia used the ambassador’s English language fail to their advantage. She emitted the Freudian slip (?) while chairing the last meeting between the envoy of the United Kingdom and the European Union.

‘Good Riddance’ Becomes Croatia Ad Campaign

To widespread amusement, Andrassy told British Ambassador to the European Union Tim Barrow "Thank you, goodbye, and good riddance" which means "Thank you, goodbye, good to be rid of you", according to JutarnjiList on February 6, 2020.

The Američki institut (American Institute), a private English language school based in Zagreb, ​posted a photo of the new jumbo roadside billboard promoting the ambassador’s gaffe. The poster says: “Good riddance", and attributes those apparent no love lost parting words to the Croatian ambassador. The American Institute logo and message follow below along with the slogan: “Rid yourself of bad English”.

"Tree tousand young people" | Irena Andrassy

Croatia Ambassador Scrambles for Control of Runaway Gaffe

The Brexiting British and English speakers around the globe have enjoyed many laughs at Ambassador Andrassy's expense. After realizing the joke was on her, she rapidly responded in a Twitter post implying that her apparent gaffe was intentional, but that she was only kidding.

This isn’t the first time the American Institute has used the poor English skills of celebrities for its advertising campaigns. In 2017, the language school advertised English lessons with a photo of Melanie Trump on a roadside billboard: “Just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English.”

First Lady Dispatched Legal Team to Threaten Language School

The First Lady of the United States was displeased with this representation of her considerable accomplishments and command of the English language. Through her legal team, the she demanded that the school remove the billboards within 24 hours or face severe legal consequences. The American Institute bowed to the demands of Trump's powerful legal team. However, because they had already leased the advertising space, they replaced the poster with another clever billboard; this time without Melania’s image.

On their Facebook page, the American Institute posted a photo of a new billboard with the caption “Take 2": “Invest in your English and billboards. People love a good billboard,” the new billboard sign advised.

Click here for more Total Croatia News articles on the First Lady, her accomplishments and English-speaking skills. Follow this link for TCN articles on prominent Croatians speaking English. Check out the Američki institut’s Facebook page for more amusing promotional imagery and an illustrated array of vocabulary builders.

February 4, 2020 - Croatia's Permanent EU Ambassador Irena Andrassy makes history with the latest linguistic gaffe from Croatia's esteemed leaders - she is in good company. 

The level of spoken English in Croatia is excellent overall, and TCN recently reported on a study which showed that Croatians were the second-best English speakers in Central and Eastern Europe, and indeed were improving quicker than anywhere in the world after Portugal. You can read the report here. 

So, in a normal country, it would not be too much to expect the country's top diplomats and politicians to speak fluent, or at least close to fluent, English, especially if they are dealing with major international events. 

Such as the last official words, recorded for posterity, exchanged between the ambassador to the EU of the country presiding over the presidency, and the departing UK ambassador. 

Croatia is not a normal country. 

So it comes as no surprise to many here that the Croatian ambassador to the EU, representing the entire European Union with the last official words to her UK counterpart, could not even manage to get a simple message right, such as "Goodbye and Good Luck."

Instead Irena Andrassy sent her British counterpart, Tim Barrow, with "Thank you, Goodbye, and Good Riddance", according to the Financial Times.  

Which is possibly a message that several MEPs might have passed on to Nigel Farage, but hardly the send-off one would expect for a partner with 11 months of trade negotiations ahead. 

Irena Andrassy tried to make light of the incident later on social media, which was a nice attempt to cover up the gaffe, whereas the FT reports that she had mistaken the meaning of good riddance for good luck. 

Ordinary Croatians have become used to the linguistic genius of their political representatives on the international stage speaking English.

Ingrid Anticevic Marinovic set the bar very high in early 2013, preparing the EU for what might come next with her infamous 'People Must Trust Us', which made her a household name overnight in Croatia. 

Not to be outdone, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor redefined the concept of time in 2011, telling a Hungarian tourist that she had visited Budapest 'the day after yesterday.' To Kosor's credit, she saw the funny side, subsequently naming her excellent blog Dan Nakon Jucer (the Day After Jucer).

New PM Tim Oreskovic took linguistic genius to new heights during his first public appearance in 2016. A Canadian-Croat, Oreskovic was plucked from pharma company Pliva at short noticed and installed as a compromise Prime Minister. Few Croatians had heard of him, and they were slightly bemused to hear their new leader refer to them as 'buildings' rather than 'citizens' as he got his words mixed up (the words for building and citizen are similar in Croatian). 

The accidental State had reached a new level with a Prime Minister who could not speak the language, it seemed. 

So what of the future? Sadly, that doesn't look too bright, either. Deputy Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Suica raised some eyebrows with the level of her English, especially as she is a former English teacher. 

But if there is one politician who knows his linguistic limits, it is man who usually knows no limits, embattled Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic. He may will wish certain people good riddance, especially those who start copying his name, but you can guarantee he will not say so in English... 

Having a working knowledge of the English language is probably not necessary for all Croatian politicians. But for Damir Krstičević, who negotiates major international arms deals, or Dubravka Šuica, who represents Croatia in the European Parliament, the ability to communicate effectively in English would seem essential. And they make up the foundation of the image Croatia presents to the world.

A recent video of Krstičević, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, struggling through a speech in English at an event in the United States went viral. It was then rapidly incorporated into a spoof advertisement for a "Basic English For Dummies" language course on a local Croatian comedy TV show. And Index recently posted a video montage of Dubravka Šuica, HDZ member of EU parliament and Vice President of the European Commission, attempting to communicate to her audience in English, even though she obtained a college degree in the language.

RTL Direkt created a video montage of Croatia’s top politicians speaking English on January 10, 2020. And TCN included a video of attempts by RTL Direkt to interview Croatian politicians in English, which occurred on the same day, and also revealed mixed results.

Here’s a closer look at ten of the most powerful Croatian politicians giving speeches or interviews in English, from best to worst, plus a surprise bonus at the end. Politicians' English-speaking abilities are rated on the following four criteria: fluency, grammar, vocabulary and accent.

#1 Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

The current Croatian President’s English-speaking skills are flawless. Not only does she deserve a number one ranking, but she’s in that number one spot by far. Grabar-Kitarović spent a year in Arizona in the 1980’s as a high school exchange student and speaks English with a strong Southwestern American accent. Her confidence in the language is obvious and well-deserved. In this interview with Good Morning Britain, she discusses her views on Brexit and the challenges of being a woman in Politics.

Fluency: 5
Grammar: 5
Vocabulary: 5
Accent: 5
Total: 20

#2 Andrej Plenković

The current Croatian Prime Minister is proficient and confident in English. He speaks with a slight Croatian accent with palatalized t’s and rolled r’s. He pronounces Theresa May’s first name with a “th” rather than a “t”. In this interview with France 24, he discusses Brexit, Catalonia independence and other EU topics.

Fluency: 5
Grammar: 5
Vocabulary: 5
Accent: 3
Total: 18

#3 Zoran Milanović

The former Croatian Prime Minister and current President-Elect also shows a strong command of English. He pronounced “th” with a soft “d” or “t” and misses some a’s and the’s in his sentences. He discusses the 2015 Migrant Crisis in Croatia in this video with France 24.

Fluency: 5
Grammar: 4
Vocabulary: 4
Accent: 3
Total: 16

#4 Ivo Sanader

The former Croatian Prime Minister, who is serving a 6-year prison sentence for corruption, also appears to have a strong command of English. He rolls his r’s and missed some the’s and a’s. In this video for AP, he provides a brief summary of his meeting with former US President George W. Bush.

Fluency: 5
Grammar: 4
Vocabulary: 4
Accent: 3
Total: 16

#5 Ivo Josipović

The former President of Croatia speaks a more heavily palatalized version of Croatian-English. His delivery is slower, with short pauses. Like others, he misses some the’s and a’s, and pronounces th’s with a very soft “d”. In this interview for TRT World, he discusses his return to music and plans to compose a musical about John Lennon.

Fluency: 4
Grammar: 4
Vocabulary: 4
Accent: 3
Total: 15

#6 Davor Bernardić

The current President of SDP speaks a slightly palatalized English and his sentences also miss the’s and a’s. He pronounces the word happy “heppy” and his speech at the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival, as recorded by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, was very brief, which suggests a limited working vocabulary.

Fluency: 3
Grammar: 4
Vocabulary: 3
Accent: 3
Total: 13

#7 Dubravka Šuica

The current HDZ member of EU parliament, Vice President of the European Commission and former Mayor of Dubrovnik, received a degree as “Professor of English” according to media reports. Her Croatian-English, as compiled in a recent Index video, is so heavily accented that it’s almost intelligible. In addition to heavy palatalizing and missing the’s and a’s; she comes up with several humorous sentences and word segments including:

“I don’t need anyone’s emotions here.”

“This is closed circle.”

What’s even more humorous about her “massacre” of English is her disproportionately confident delivery. Her behavior suggests that of a very senior esteemed college professor casually gifting her vast pool of knowledge to a group of eager students, who hang on to her every word. Not only is that not the case; she doesn’t seem aware that the joke is on her. Simply not understanding what she was trying to say wasn’t the only reason EU parliament members might have appeared perplexed or unimpressed.

Fluency: 2
Grammar: 2
Vocabulary: 3
Accent: 2
Total: 9

#8 Jadranka Kosor

The former Croatian Prime Minister is clearly uncomfortable reading her speech in English at the 2010 Zagreb Annual Meeting and Business Forum as recorded by Radio Federacije BiH. At one point she stumbles on the name of an organization and reverts to Croatian. Her delivery is heavily palatalized and filled with most of the common letter mispronunciations including rolled r’s and separated g’s. Her struggle suggests that her knowledge of English is probably very limited and she seemed particularly eager to sit down at the end of her short speech.

Fluency: 1
Grammar: 2
Vocabulary: 2
Accent: 2
Total: 7

#9 Damir Krstičević

This is the viral video of Damir Krstičević, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, speaking English at an event in the United States. It was later integrated into a spoof commercial “Basic English for Dummies” on the Croatian TV show Prime Time on N1. Like his HDZ contemporary, Dubravka Šuica, Krstičević comes up with several curious phrases:

“The same idylls we fought for in our honor war.”

“Keep in mind that every success is merrily a stepping-stone to new challenge.”

At the end of his speech, he suggests:

“You ask me great questions. Ah…probably I will speak in Croatia, and my advisor…she will translate, if you agree.”

Fluency: 1
Grammar: 2
Vocabulary: 2
Accent: 1
Total: 6

#10 Ingrid Antičević Marinović

A former member of Prime Minister Ivica Račan’s cabinet and current justice of the Croatian Constitutional Court, the Honorable Justice Antičević Marinović speaks English with a lovely Croatian-Italian accent. Many of her words and sentences end with an extra soft “a” syllable, which gives her diction an oddly pleasant lilt, even though her content is virtually unintelligible. In this 2013 video, she discusses the problem of corruption in Croatia.

“I think-a it’s a job-a that never-ending ending-a. It’s-a our permanent task.”

Fluency: 1
Grammar: 2
Vocabulary: 2
Accent: 1
Total: 6

#BONUS Milan Bandić

In this Index video, the infamous Mayor of Zagreb is asked “What are you wearing tonight?”

“Yes,” he answers a few times.

After a few more attempts by the interviewer, he answers “speaking Croatia.”

Fluency: 0
Grammar: 0
Vocabulary: 0
Accent: 1
Total: 1

Follow our Politics page for more information on the English language speaking skills of prominent Croatian politicians, and important developments taking place during Croatia’s six month EU presidency.

November 10, 2019 - Spoken English in Croatia is among the highest quality in the non-native-speaking world, and improving faster than almost anywhere, according to the 2019 EF EPI index. 

Safety.

Lifestyle. 

Natural beauty.

Excellent spoken English. 

These are four key elements which Croatia possesses in abundance when looking to market itself on the global stage, and four key elements which will serve the country very well as the digital nomad era takes hold. Who wouldn't want to spend time in a safe, beautiful European country, with a relaxed lifestyle where English is widely spoken?

And it is official - English in Croatia IS excellent. 

The latest 2019 EF EPI (English Proficiency Index) is out, and while the headline for many portals is that Croatia is 14th in the world outside non-native counties, looks a little deeper and see some even more encouraging trends. 

In the week that we celebrate 30 years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, it is VERY encouraging to see that English in Croatia is spoken better than anywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe, apart from Poland. 

And not only that, but year on year, since the 2018 EF EPI index, English in Croatia has improved faster than anywhere else in the world in the EF index, apart from Portugal. 

The EF SET is an online, adaptive English test of reading and listening skills. It is a standardized, objectively scored test designed to classify test takers’ language abilities into one of the six levels established by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The EF SET is available to any Internet user for free. For more information about the research and development of the EF SET, visit www.efset.org/research/.

EF EPI 2019 scores have been found to correlate strongly with TOEFL iBT 2017 scores (r=0.80) and IELTS Academic Test 2017 scores (r=0.74). These correlations show that, while these tests have different designs and test taker profiles, they reveal similar trends in national English proficiency.

Methodology

This ninth edition of the EF EPI is based on test data from more than 2,300,000 test takers around the world who took the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) or one of our English placement tests in 2018.

You can see the report in full here, and while English in Croatia is generally excellent, it is not quite perfect. Here are 25 common mistakes people make speaking English in Croatia, of which 'sitting on a coffee' is one of my favourite. 

And of course, Croatian is far from easy for us foreigners - here are 25 of our common errors when attempting the impossible - speaking perfect Croatian.