False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
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- mayan
- Posts: 2080
- Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
- Location: USA
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Here's another one: Wolof fukk "ten", English fuck
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- roman
- Posts: 1500
- Joined: 16 May 2015 18:48
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
I've seen that before...GrandPiano wrote:Here's another one: Wolof fukk "ten", English fuck
No darkness can harm you if you are guided by your own inner light
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- mayan
- Posts: 2080
- Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
- Location: USA
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
dick "thick, fat", dick
- Thrice Xandvii
- runic
- Posts: 2698
- Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
- Location: Carnassus
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
German, man. It's such a dirty langauge (if you speak English).
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
'thick' vs. 'fick' 'fuck' (noun)
Even worse if you pronounce /θ/ as /f/... (as I did until class 8).
Even worse if you pronounce /θ/ as /f/... (as I did until class 8).
Languages of Rodentèrra: Buonavallese, Saselvan Argemontese; Wīlandisċ Taulkeisch; More on the road.
Conlang embryo of TELES: Proto-Avesto-Umbric ~> Proto-Umbric
New blog: http://argentiusbonavalensis.tumblr.com
Conlang embryo of TELES: Proto-Avesto-Umbric ~> Proto-Umbric
New blog: http://argentiusbonavalensis.tumblr.com
- Thrice Xandvii
- runic
- Posts: 2698
- Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
- Location: Carnassus
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
...which only works visually since they aren't pronounced the same.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Except if you're going to the North of England and use the Ecclesiastical pronunciation ([kʊm]) there.Thrice Xandvii wrote:...which only works visually since they aren't pronounced the same.
Languages of Rodentèrra: Buonavallese, Saselvan Argemontese; Wīlandisċ Taulkeisch; More on the road.
Conlang embryo of TELES: Proto-Avesto-Umbric ~> Proto-Umbric
New blog: http://argentiusbonavalensis.tumblr.com
Conlang embryo of TELES: Proto-Avesto-Umbric ~> Proto-Umbric
New blog: http://argentiusbonavalensis.tumblr.com
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Indeed. That's how I pronounce the two of them (at least when I switch into my more Yorkshire-y accent). In more "formal" contexts, like at work on the till or on the phone, I pronounce them differently since my accent there has the foot-strut split.Egerius wrote:Except if you're going to the North of England and use the Ecclesiastical pronunciation ([kʊm]) there.Thrice Xandvii wrote:...which only works visually since they aren't pronounced the same.
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
I (West of Manchester) only have the strut-foot split if I'm deliberately affecting a faux-Southern accent, so I do get this false friend, along with (more distressingly) come /kʊm/ cum.
From French:
vicieux "perverted, depraved, nasty" vs. vicious
From French:
vicieux "perverted, depraved, nasty" vs. vicious
terram impūram incolāmus
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
- Thrice Xandvii
- runic
- Posts: 2698
- Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
- Location: Carnassus
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Wait... where are those two not pronounced the same?Jackk wrote:[...]along with (more distressingly) come /kʊm/ cum.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
I don't know, I can never tell which words have /ʊ/ vs /ʌ/ in dialects with the split. So would both of these be ʌ?Thrice Xandvii wrote:Wait... where are those two not pronounced the same?Jackk wrote:[...]along with (more distressingly) come /kʊm/ cum.
It kinda blew my mind when I found out that some people have the split between put/putt.
terram impūram incolāmus
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Sweet baby me, yes of course they would.Jackk wrote:I don't know, I can never tell which words have /ʊ/ vs /ʌ/ in dialects with the split. So would both of these be ʌ?
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- mayan
- Posts: 2080
- Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
- Location: USA
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Generally, <u> and <o> correspond to /ʌ/ and <oo> corresponds to /ʊ/. The exceptions just have to be learned, I guess.Jackk wrote:I don't know, I can never tell which words have /ʊ/ vs /ʌ/ in dialects with the split.
- Thrice Xandvii
- runic
- Posts: 2698
- Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
- Location: Carnassus
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
I distinguish those! (/pʊt/ and /pʌt/, respectively.) Also: please don't let this turn into an English dialect thread!Jackk wrote:It kinda blew my mind when I found out that some people have the split between put/putt.
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- mayan
- Posts: 2080
- Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
- Location: USA
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
i was under the impression that the put-putt split was standard.
Anyway, back to the original topic:
The (Modern) Greek word for "yes" is ναι /ne/, which is really confusing because the word for "no" starts with /n/ in just about any other European language, so it sounds like it should mean "no".
Also, if you read this page, it says that Early Modern English had a four-way yes/no system. The affirmative answer to positive questions was /jeɪ̯/, spelled either <yea> or <yay>. Both of these can be confusing to speakers of today's Modern English: <yea> looks like <yeah> /jæ/, and <yay> is used nowadays to show excitement about something.
Anyway, back to the original topic:
The (Modern) Greek word for "yes" is ναι /ne/, which is really confusing because the word for "no" starts with /n/ in just about any other European language, so it sounds like it should mean "no".
Also, if you read this page, it says that Early Modern English had a four-way yes/no system. The affirmative answer to positive questions was /jeɪ̯/, spelled either <yea> or <yay>. Both of these can be confusing to speakers of today's Modern English: <yea> looks like <yeah> /jæ/, and <yay> is used nowadays to show excitement about something.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Quite possibly it is, I wouldn't know. :)GrandPiano wrote:i was under the impression that the put-putt split was standard.
Anyway, here's one French one that tripped me up last Friday:
avertissement "warning"
publicité "advertisement"
terram impūram incolāmus
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
hamteu un mont sug
let us live in a dirty world
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- mayan
- Posts: 2080
- Joined: 11 Jan 2015 23:22
- Location: USA
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Adding onto that, the Spanish word for "warning" is aviso or advertencia.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Similarly, Japanese has a word iya meaning "no" when disagreeing with/correcting what someone said. The /i/ is usually dropped, so it sounds nearly identical to "yeah".GrandPiano wrote:i was under the impression that the put-putt split was standard.
Anyway, back to the original topic:
The (Modern) Greek word for "yes" is ναι /ne/, which is really confusing because the word for "no" starts with /n/ in just about any other European language, so it sounds like it should mean "no".
Also, if you read this page, it says that Early Modern English had a four-way yes/no system. The affirmative answer to positive questions was /jeɪ̯/, spelled either <yea> or <yay>. Both of these can be confusing to speakers of today's Modern English: <yea> looks like <yeah> /jæ/, and <yay> is used nowadays to show excitement about something.
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
The only place it's not really a feature of English, as far as I'm aware, is Northern England and the Midlands. Pretty much everywhere else has the split.GrandPiano wrote:i was under the impression that the put-putt split was standard.
There's όχι in Greek as well, which I lazily read as /ˌəʊˈki:/, so fairly similar to English "okay".GrandPiano wrote:The (Modern) Greek word for "yes" is ναι /ne/, which is really confusing because the word for "no" starts with /n/ in just about any other European language, so it sounds like it should mean "no".
Also, if you read this page, it says that Early Modern English had a four-way yes/no system. The affirmative answer to positive questions was /jeɪ̯/, spelled either <yea> or <yay>. Both of these can be confusing to speakers of today's Modern English: <yea> looks like <yeah> /jæ/, and <yay> is used nowadays to show excitement about something.
And the two-way "yes" contrast still trips me up in Icelandic. I know when to use it, but I just forget and trip up
You can tell the same lie a thousand times,
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.
But it never gets any more true,
So close your eyes once more and once more believe
That they all still believe in you.
Just one time.