False friends and transfer of meaning

False friends are pairs of words in two different languages or dialects that look or sound similar but differ in meaning = a word in a foreign language bearing a deceptive resemblance to a word in one's own language. False friends cause difficulty for students learning a foreign language because students wrongly identify words due to linguistic interference. False friends are also a frequent source of difficulty between speakers of different dialects of the same language.

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

Since a word may change its meaning in a course of time we can see it on current (synchronic) situation but we also have to take into account historic (diachronic) situation.

1. Synchronic interlingual false friends ("actual" does not mean “aktuální” etc.)

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 but, in fact, they both mean the same thing – easily burning. (invaluable - neocenitelný = vysoké hodnoty. pricess - worthless).

Another example of synchronic intralingual false friends is American and British English. Even though these nations speak by the same language, there are differences in the meaning. In the British English homely means domestic but in the American English it means ugly and plain.

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 in 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.

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. The same with queer, mischievous and gay. Thus when translating older texts, we have to be very careful.

                      

Czech and English false friends

ACTUAL does not mean "aktuální" but "opravdový."

BRIGADE does not mean "brigáda" (that is part-time job) but "četa, oddíl."

CHEF does not mean "šéf" (that is boss) but "profesionální kuchař."

CREATURE does not mean "monstrum, kreatura" but "tvor, stvoření."

DESK does not mean "deska" but "pracovní stůl."

DRESS does not mean "sportovní dres" but "šaty."

GYMNASIUM does not mean "gymnázium" (that is grammar school) but "tělocvična."

MATURITY does not mean "maturitní zkouška" but "dospělost, zralost."

SYMPHATETIC does not mean "sympatický" but "soucitný."

Transfer of meaning

Transfer of meaning is similarity in temporal, spatial or other relation (neck of the body, neck of the violin). It often produces metaphor which is primarily based on similarity of something to something else.

Shape: mouth (ústa - ústí), pipe (píšťala - trubka), needle (jehla - injekční stříkačka)

Colour: blood red (krvavě zbarvený), chalk (křídově bílý)

Location: foot (pata - úpatí, heel (pata - podpatek)

Scope: drop (kapka - malé množství), heap (neuspořádané uskupení - velké množství)

Function: hand (ruka - ručička), head (hlava - vedoucí), leg (noha - noha stolu)

Transfer of animal qualities to people: fox, gorilla, swine, chicken (in Czech: vůl)

Transfer of animals to plants: catkins (jehněda). Czech: kozlík lékařský, kočičky

Transfer of things to the body: chamber (heart chambers), drum (ear drum)

Metonymy is a semantic change when an attribute is used for the whole.

chair = židle -> předsednictví. Crown = koruna -> monarchie. Youth = mládí -> mládež. Glasses = sklo -> brýle. Sweet = sladký -> sladkosti. Place names: 10 Downing Street (residence of the British Prime Minister), the White House (not literary a house which is white but the American government.)

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which the part is used for the whole (wheels = car, hired hands = workmen) or less frequently the whole is used for the part (creatures = cats). It is an important poetic device.