RP125 False Friends

RP125 False Friends

A Frenchman walks into a restaurant in Egypt. He doesn't know what he wants to eat. “Can I see a menu?” he asks. The Egyptian waiter says, “Yes, menu,” but he just stands there. The Frenchman asks, “A menu, please?” The waiter says, “Yes, yes, we have menu.” Finally, the Frenchman stands up and leaves while the waiter tries to understand what happened.

What happened was a “false friend.” False friends are words that sound the same, but mean different things in different languages. In this case, in French, a menu is a list of food offered at a restaurant. In Arabic, menu means “food.” So the Frenchman wanted a list, while the poor waiter just wanted to make him understand that he was in a restaurant!

False friends can be very dangerous for language students. In Spanish, actual means “happening currently,” not “real,” as it does in English. To ask in Spanish if something is “actually happening” means “Is it happening now?” rather than “Is it really happening?” That's a big difference, especially if you're talking about a dangerous event!

Bra is a funny one. In English, a bra is a kind of underwear. But in Swedish, it means “a good song.” Imagine the looks you'd get if you walked into a department store in Sweden and asked for a bra!

Demand is another example. In Italian, demand simply means “request.” In English, it is more like a command— much more forceful. Imagine walking into a cafe in the United States and saying, “I demand a cup of coffee!” You might get hot coffee spilled all over your lap!

False friends aren't really your friends. Be very careful of words that sound just like words in your language. They may not mean what you think they do!