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    08b. False Friends

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    08b. False Friends

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    honza.hrbacek1234
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    08b. False friends

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    21 views2 pages

    08b. False Friends

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    honza.hrbacek1234

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    8b.

    FALSE FRIENDS
    = paronyms
    False friends are pairs of words or phrases in two different languages or dialects that look or
    sound similar but differ in meaning.

    They are a form of surface lexical interference within one or between different language.

    False friends are a serious field of linguistics, especially in translations where the translated
    text should be adequate to the original. In many cases words that are seemingly the same in
    two different languages may be translated in a wrong way. Czech “aktuální” cannot be
    translated as English “actual” which bears different meaning.

    False friends from linguistic point of view are seen as a problem of interference when the
    linguistic structures already learned interfere with our learning new structures. Interference
    exists between two different languages – interlingual (English + Spanish/Italian...) or within
    one language – intralingual (American English vs British English).

    These words can be commonly misused.

    Within one language – priceless – compare with worthless.

    1. Synchronic interlingual false friends (actual doesn’t not mean “aktuální”)

    2. Synchronic intralingual false friends – many words in English that appear to mean the
    same can lead to confusion. The word inflammable could be easily assumed to be an opposite
    of flammable (non-flammable) but in fact, they both mean the same thing – easily burning.
    Another example of synchronic intralingual false friends is American and British language.
    Even though the nations speak by the same language there are differences in the meaning.

    3. Diachronic interlingual false friends – in a course of ages as languages change and


    influence each other the words with the same meaning (true friends) can become false friends
    and vice versa. Originally Italian word for artist – artista meant the same as German artist =
    somebody performing an art. However with the development of languages the German
    meaning shifted and means an acrobat while a person performing an art is in German
    Kunstler. In Italian the meaning remained the same and thus the word became Italian-German
    false friend.

    1
    4. Diachronic intralingual false friends appear mainly when translating old texts into modern
    English. A word nice in its modern meaning means friendly, agreeable, pleasing but in 13 th
    century it meant under the influence of Old French simple or silly and in 14 th century it
    acquired the meaning of loose-mannered. Thus when translating i.e. Chaucer we have to be
    very careful.

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