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False Cognate s, by contrast, are similar words in different languages that appear to have a common historical linguistic origin (regardless of meaning) but actually do not. The phrase ''false cognates'' is also sometimes used to mean ''false friends''. THE PROBLEM Both false friends and false cognates can cause difficulty for students learning a foreign language, particularly one that is related to their Native Language , because the students are likely to misidentify the words due to Language Interference . Since false friends are a common problem for language learners, teachers sometimes compile lists of false friends as an aid for their students. Comedy sometimes includes Pun s on false friends, which are considered particularly amusing if one of the two words is Obscene ; when an obscene meaning is produced in these circumstances, it is called Cacemphaton (κακεμφάτον), Greek for 'bad-looking'. CAUSES From the Etymological point of view, false friends can be created in several ways:
:: For example, the words ''preservative'' (English), ''Präservativ'' (German), ''prezervativ'' (Romanian), ''preservativo'' (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese) and ''prezerwatywa'' (Polish) are all derived from the French ''préservatif''. However, in all of these languages except English, the predominant meaning of the word has become " Condom ", while the most common French word for "preservative" is now ''conservateur''. ''Actual'' has a different meaning in English than in other European languages, where it means ''current'' or ''up-to-date'', and has the logically derivative Verb ''to actualize'' meaning ''to make current'' or ''to update''.
:: For example, German ''Rat'' (= '' Council '') is cognate with English '' Read '' and German ''Rede'' (= '' Speech ''), while English '' Rat '' for the mammal, has its German cognate ''Ratte''.
:: For example, Roman "P" came to be written like Greek " Rho " (written "Ρ" but pronounced as English "R"), so the Roman letter equivalent to rho was modified to "R" to keep it distinct.
::For example, in , while ''Beamer'' refers to a video projector, and not a Type Of Cricket Delivery or a BMW automobile. :: Japanese is replete with pseudo-anglicisms, known as '' Wasei-eigo '' ("Japan-made English"). A particularly complicated one is the word ''naitā'' which means night-time baseball game. It is derived from the American ''twi-nighter'' which is short for ''twi-night doubleheader'', baseball slang meaning two games played by the same teams in a single day, one in the afternoon and the other in the evening, usually starting at twilight and continuing into the night. The Japanese ''naitā'' is strictly Japanese baseball slang, and is unknown to American baseball fans. In English ''niter'' is a name for Potassium Nitrate .
::For example ''I'll call you back'' means that I will call you at a later time, in reply to your call, or in a later attempt to call. However, translating literally to Spanish would end up in ''Te hablo para atras'', which actually means: ''I'll call you backwards'' or ''I talk you backwards''. The correct translation would be ''Te llamo mas tarde''. EXAMPLES The Parker Pen Company may have experienced a case of such confusion when they were trying to translate their slogan "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you" for the Latino Market . As they mistakenly thought '' Embarazar '' meant ''to embarrass'', the Spanish slogan was proudly displayed across Latin communities as: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant" (''embarrass'' in Spanish is "avergonzar"). Luxury car manufacturer Rolls-Royce managed to foresee and avoid similar problems when they attempted to market a model called Silver Mist in Germany in 1965, as in german "mist" is a term for manure, dung or excrement ("Misthaufen" is a dungheap). Words like " Hot Dog " can come out lost in translation, and especially since words carry difference connotations in different areas; Richard Lederer , an author and professor of English, once went to Germany and asked a vendor for a ''heißer Hund'' (a literal translation of "hot dog"). The vendor broke out laughing, for in German, ''heißer Hund'' suggests a dog In Heat (Germans use the English term "hot dog" as a Loan Phrase ). This effect may also occur, where those with little experience of English could embarrass themselves by using a false cognate when speaking with a native English-speaker. For example, a Swede could mistakenly believe that the English equivalent to the Swedish word ''kock'' (which means " Cook " in English) is "cock". This could lead to an embarrassing situation if the Swede said something like "I like your cock" when attempting to express appreciation for the chef's cooking. This could also happen if a person is unaware that the same word may have several different meanings. A person who likes Steak rare might order a "bloody steak", because the Swedish equivalent of "rare steak" is ''blodig stek'' (''blodig'' meaning "bloody"). This might raise eyebrows at a Restaurant in the United Kingdom , since "bloody" is also a mild expletive in that country, although most British waiters would understand the customer's request. Another example is that the Japanese word "大出血" means ''big sale'', while the same words in Chinese mean ''heavy bleeding''. Mistakes can also occur between very closely related languages. In German, ''Huren'' means " Whore s", in Dutch ''huren'' means "to rent", and ''Huursoldaat'' means " Mercenary ", not "whore soldier" (Actually, a mercenary is a soldier for hire, and a whore is someone for hire so the meaning is quite similar). In Swedish ''rolig'' means "funny", where as in Danish it means "quiet, calm". SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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