False cognates are not to be trusted!
Languages are living, organic and dynamic phenomena that are forever adapting to patterns of culture, society and migration.
In Australia it is common to hear someone say they are going to the snow to refer to the mountains, whereas a Canadian will find this turn of phrase confusing or presupposed. Even a reference to our dear and humble thongs can be a source of international ridicule.
Don’t we speak the same language?
The common Latin roots that Spanish and English share often help us fill the gaps in our vocabulary. If we don’t know the Spanish word for something we can take a punt on the English word and add an O at the end. Right? I wouldn’t be too sure ...
Both English and Spanish speakers regularly fall victim to the false friend. False friends are words that sound similar, usually with a common root, but with differing meanings.
Have you ever been embarrassed?
Well in Spanish you aren’t embarazada/o … as that would mean you were in the family way, ie: pregnant. However, in the case of the Peruvian statuette above it would appear possible to be simultanously avergonzada (embarrassed) and embarazada (pregnant).
The false cognate can awkwardly trip up the Spanish speaker too! Many a Spanish speaker, suffering nasal congestion and flu symptoms, has complained that they are constipated. Sure, in a way they are blocked-up only not in the way they’re telling the pharmacist. The adjectives constipado/a and constipated are false friends.
Click the link below to download a longer list of some of the most common false cognates to make sure you’re understood when you travel.
Taking the wrong medicine might just ruin your holiday!
Click the table below for a printable list of False Cognates
Download a Printable Version
Click for access to PDF version
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By Ali Rogers
March 22, 2015
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