YOU CAN DO IT!
“In 2015 I will learn a language”
you’re talking!
l FALSE FRIENDS
False friends are notorious among language learners for providing some of
the most hilarious situations. That´s because a false friend is a word in one
language that sounds so similar to a word in the speaker´s own tongue
that they decide to use it – not knowing that it has a completely
different meaning.
Many false friends just tend to muddy the speaker’s meaning a little. For
example, when an English speaker tries to say “I´m English, actually” and
comes out with “actualmente, soy ingles”, what they´re actually saying is
“I´m English at the moment.” In the same vein, the Spanish word
“simpático” does not mean “sympathetic”, it means “friendly, likeable.”
But false friends can cause some real trouble. If an elderly lady in
shop tells you she is “muy constipada”, she will be as horrified as you if
you recommend a laxative. All she´s saying is that her nose is blocked.
Even if you do find yourself blushing due to a false friend, don´t
make matters worse by saying y