Faux amis… false friends… falsos amigos… false cognates. Whatever you want to call them, it’s important for translators to avoid this language interference trap.
Basically, we’re talking about words that are spelled the same or similarly in two languages, but the meanings don’t match. It’s very tempting when we’re translating to automatically choose a word that looks the same. The problem is “automatically”!
Sometimes the word DOES have the same meaning in both languages. Here are some French examples: action, fiction, nation, téléphone, voyage. As for Spanish, these words look like their English counterparts: actor, debate, hospital, personal, universidad/university.
However, sometimes the similar word does NOT have the same meaning in the other language. In fact, it might mean the exact opposite, so the key is to always check the dictionary to make sure it’s the right word to use. Here are some examples of false friends in Spanish:
- éxito – It looks like exit, but it means success.
- fábrica – It looks like fabric, but it means factory.
- pie – It looks like something to eat, but it means a foot.
- ropa – It looks like rope, but it means clothes.
- delito – It looks like delight, but it means a crime.
Now let’s look at some false friends in French!
- avertissement – It looks like advertisement, but it means warning.
- chair – It looks like something you sit on, but it means flesh.
- demander – It looks like demand, but it just means ask.
- formidable – It looks like the English word we use for fearsome, but it means great or terrific.
- culte – It looks like cult, but it’s a neutral word for worship or religious practice.
Again, the important thing for a translator to remember is to avoid automatically choosing a word that looks the same or similar… always check the dictionary. We’ll be looking at some more types of language interference. Stay tuned!
Have a great day!
Liane 🙂
www.LearnTranslation.com
www.NonprofitTranslation.org
