The most common Spanish false friends Dear readers, have you ever heard of the so called “false friends”? They are words that have the same or similar spelling as words in a different language, but mean something completely different. In this blog post, we will introduce you to some false friends in Spanish. You will never put your foot in your mouth again! First example of Spanish false friends: exito If your Spanish classmate wishes you a lot of “exits” for your upcoming exam, don’t get irritated. The Spanish word “exito” means “success” and is often mistaken with the English word exit. Second example of Spanish false friends: embarazo Spanish people might wish you all the best for your pregnancy as: “Congrats on your embarrassment!” Uhm, okay? You should not be embarrassed because you are pregnant. The Spanish words “embarazo” (pregnancy) and “embarazada” (pregnant) sound like embarrassment. People sometimes mistake those words so don’t worry if the congratulations on your pregnancy might sound weird. Third example: constipado A Spanish guy tells his doctor that he is really constipated and he can’t breathe! Well dear doctor… “constipado” is a common cold in Spanish and doesn’t mean constipation. Fourth example: molestar Yes, this one is tricky. Your Spanish friend might tell you that her boss or colleague molested her. No, don’t call the police! “Molestar” means “to bother someone”. Your friend is actually just annoyed with her colleagues. Fifth : casualidad “Hey, I saw your brother at the train station yesterday!” “Oh, really? What a casualty!” What? Don’t worry, no one died at the train station. Your...
False friends in Swedish Dear readers, Have you ever heard of the so called “false friends”? They are words that have the same or similar spelling as words in a different language, but mean something completely different. In this blog post, we will introduce you to some false friends in Swedish. You will never put your foot in your mouth again! Swedish word # 1: fart We can assure you, we are not trying to be inappropriate in any way! The Swedish word “fart” means “speed” in English. A speed camera, for example, is called “fartkamera”. There is also a clever play on words – “It’s not the fart that kills you, it’s the smell.” The funny thing is that the Swedish word “smäll” (pronounced as smell) means crash. So the sentence would mean: “It is not the speed (“fart”) that kills you, it’s the crash (“smäll”).” Swedish word # 2: bad In Sweden, you might see signs with the word “bad” near swimming holes or lakes. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that something terrible will happen when you jump into the water. The Swedish word “bad” simply means “bathing place” or “swimming pool”. Let’s move on to Swedish word # 3! Swedish word # 3: bra “Hi Bjorn, how are you?” “Oh I’m bra because I had a super bra weekend!” I beg your pardon? Well Bjorn is not really talking about bras. He’s just feeling fine. The Swedish word “bra” means “good” in English. So if you hear that word in Sweden, don’t start laughing because people might think you are crazy… Swedish word # 4: slut...
Tamil Language And Culture The Tamil language For those who haven’t heard of this language before, it is a language spoken primarily in India, and it is also the official language of many countries, such as Sri Lanka and Singapore. In 2004, the Tamil language was declared a classical language of India. Tamil is seen as a “divine” language by its speakers. Ancient writings say that the development of the Tamil language was in no way influenced by people. Since then, the writing system and spoken Tamil have changed significantly over time. Tamil food In ancient times, people used to serve drinks in silver tumblers, making their guests feel honored since they were being offered drinks in cups made of precious metal. In fact, the silver metal was germicidal and helped to prevent any bacterial infections that could be carried by other guests. Traditionally, Tamil food is served on banana leaves and eaten using the right hand only. The left hand was primarily used for personal hygiene, and to use it for eating or handing something to someone else, would have been considered an insult. Tamils enjoy hot and spicy foods, and their ancestors advised to start meals with spicy food and end it with sweets. Rice is a main staple in the Tamil diet, and they were one of the first people to incorporate it into their meals. It is quite probable that our word “rice” has its origins in the Tamil word “Arisi”. Due to mainly to religious reasons, many Tamils are vegetarians and enjoy different types of fruit, the most consumed being mangos, jackfruits and bananas...
Dear language friend,translation This June will see one of the world’s biggest sporting events take place in France, as teams from 24 nations come together to compete in the UEFA Euro 2016, to determine Europe’s top soccer nation. France will not only be host to 24 different teams, but also to soccer fans from all over Europe. They will come to cheer for their teams in the stadiums, celebrate together in pubs, and share a wonderful experience with locals and other fans from across the continent. Languages of the UEFA As one of the biggest sports organizations in the world, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has a staff of over 500 people from over 30 different countries, working in the administration, as coaches, media specialists – and of course, as translators. The UEFA has three official languages: French, English, and German. However, the UEFA represents national soccer associations from 55 countries, where not only Romance and Germanic languages are spoken, but also Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech, etc.), and Baltic languages (Latvian, Lithuanian). Even Hebrew is part of the UEFA, as the Israel Football Association joined in the 1990’s. Besides larger language communities like, German, English, French, and Russian, the UEFA also has members from smaller language communities, such as, Albanian and Estonian, to name a few. At this year’s tournament, countries with relatively small language families, like Iceland, Hungary, and Slovakia will compete. For those smaller members and competitors, translation plays a vital role in their participation within the organization. It also allows them to express their interests. If it wasn’t for translators and interpreters their...
Dictionaries and the Development of the English language Did you know that the word “nice” originally meant “stupid”? Or that “decimate” used to mean “to kill one in every 10”? The development of the English language keeps evolving , and we don’t even realize it. Anne Curzan, professor of English at the University of Michigan, studies how the English language works and how it has changed over time. In her TED Talk, she explains how various words have developed and what makes a word “real”. People usually think a word is real when it appears in the dictionary. However, most slang words don’t, even though they fill important gaps in the English language. Curzan notes that dictionaries are not timeless since words and languages change all the time. For example, if you wanted to write a business letter, would you use a dictionary from 1910? Probably not. You would use a recent dictionary. And why? Because we usually don’t use the terms any more that have been used 100 years ago, since language is constantly developing. Languages back then Curzan gives interesting examples during her speech. In 1875, Dean Henry Alford said that “desirability” is a terrible word. In 1760, Benjamin Franklin complained about the word “colonize”. However, today, these words appear in every dictionary and no one doubts their validity. Many words develop from other languages as well. In Germany for example, people use a lot of English loan words and sometimes mix both the German and English language to create new ones. These words may sound English, but English native speaker wouldn’t understand them. “Handy” is the...
Richmond’s Chinese and English population Richmond, located south of Vancouver, has grown into a modern and multicultural city. Its population of 213,000 people makes it the fourth largest city in B.C; and with an immigrant population of 60 percent, it has the highest in Canada. Over the years, Richmond has become a dynamic and multi-ethnic community, and 50 percent of its residents are Chinese. After World War II, large numbers of Asian immigrants from China and Hong Kong settled there and today many Chinese and English speakers call Richmond home. Advertisement signs in both languages In Richmond, there is advertising in both Chinese and English. Recently a huge debate has arisen regarding Chinese only advertisement signs, and whether or not they should be banned. This debate was sparked by Budweiser’s January 2016 advertisement of their beer in Chinese, with only a few words appearing in English. The Richmond city council voted against banning signs that are only in Chinese, but advised that at least 50 percent of advertisement signs should be in English. The Translink bus advertisement in Chinese which was not well received either. This debate has led to misunderstandings, since some residents think that Chinese people do not respect the English language community. However, this doesn’t hold water in the above case, since Budweiser is an American company, not a Chinese one. Furthermore, the problem is not as extensive as it seems since, in fact, less than five percent of advertising signs in Richmond are in Chinese only. Most of these businesses do not even realize that they are deterring business from English speakers. Advertisement in Chinese...
