Word perfect

Hard on the heels of scientific research showing that people who are brought up bilingual are generally more intelligent than their monolingual peers comes a survey suggesting that those who speak a second language are richer, happier and possessed of more sex appeal than those with more modest linguistic attainments. These findings may not, of course, be entirely unconnected with the fact that the survey polled dating agencies as well as companies, and was sponsored by Michel Thomas, language teacher to Hollywood stars. If more tongue-tied Britons are thereby persuaded to sign up for language courses, though, so much the better.