Is Monegasque even a language? I always thought it's just a prestige dialect of Ligurian.
False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Please call me Iyion [ˈiːɕɪ̯ɔ̈n]
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
ⲥⲁⲃⲉ [sɑ.vε] means 'wise'. However, it is not at all related to saber 'to know' nor sabio 'wise'.
-
- mongolian
- Posts: 4527
- Joined: 14 Aug 2010 09:36
- Location: California über alles
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
♂♥♂♀
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: Now at 105,000 words!
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
Squirrels chase koi . . . chase squirrels
My Kankonian-English dictionary: Now at 105,000 words!
31,416: The number of the conlanging beast!
- k1234567890y
- mayan
- Posts: 2408
- Joined: 04 Jan 2014 04:47
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Finnish Niko and Japanese にこ
Pre-anime Finnish people might expect Yazawa Nico to be a male if they only saw her name xdd
Also
Serbo-Croatian -ko (suffix for male names) v.s. Japanese -子(-ko) (suffix for female names)
Pre-anime Finnish people might expect Yazawa Nico to be a male if they only saw her name xdd
Also
Serbo-Croatian -ko (suffix for male names) v.s. Japanese -子(-ko) (suffix for female names)
she/her/they/them
- WeepingElf
- greek
- Posts: 674
- Joined: 23 Feb 2016 18:42
- Location: Braunschweig, Germany
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
False friends are a major issue with a posteriori IALs, especially the so-called "naturalistic" ones (such as Occidental or IALA Interlingua), which use "international" Latinesque vocabulary that is "understood by everybody" at least in Europe: quite some of these words have different meanings in different languages, and easily lead to misunderstandings.
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf
My conlang pages
My conlang pages
- WeepingElf
- greek
- Posts: 674
- Joined: 23 Feb 2016 18:42
- Location: Braunschweig, Germany
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
A crass example:
bravo 'furious' vs. brav 'docile'
bravo 'furious' vs. brav 'docile'
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf
My conlang pages
My conlang pages
- k1234567890y
- mayan
- Posts: 2408
- Joined: 04 Jan 2014 04:47
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
rightWeepingElf wrote: ↑23 Sep 2023 18:13 False friends are a major issue with a posteriori IALs, especially the so-called "naturalistic" ones (such as Occidental or IALA Interlingua), which use "international" Latinesque vocabulary that is "understood by everybody" at least in Europe: quite some of these words have different meanings in different languages, and easily lead to misunderstandings.
while not making IALs, I have seen some false friends of English cognates when making a posteriori langs of natlang families.
she/her/they/them
- k1234567890y
- mayan
- Posts: 2408
- Joined: 04 Jan 2014 04:47
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Also, in Brittany, pigs fly, because they call a magpie “pig”:
English pig v.s. Breton pig “magpie”
Also, in Italy, Pikachus may belong to the flying type:
Italian pica “magpie” v.s. Japanese ピカチュウ(pikachu) “a kind of fictional animal” v.s. English pika and pickup.
English pig v.s. Breton pig “magpie”
Also, in Italy, Pikachus may belong to the flying type:
Italian pica “magpie” v.s. Japanese ピカチュウ(pikachu) “a kind of fictional animal” v.s. English pika and pickup.
she/her/they/them
- WeepingElf
- greek
- Posts: 674
- Joined: 23 Feb 2016 18:42
- Location: Braunschweig, Germany
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
bellen 'to ring' (of a bell) vs. bellen 'to bark' (of a dog)
There is a German joke:
There is a German joke:
Was haben Hunde und holländische Telefone gemeinsam? - Sie bellen.
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf
My conlang pages
My conlang pages
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
And bellend, German for "barking" (present participle) and in British and Irish English, the glans penis and an insult for a contemptible person.WeepingElf wrote: ↑25 Sep 2023 22:10 bellen 'to ring' (of a bell) vs. bellen 'to bark' (of a dog)
There is a German joke:
Was haben Hunde und holländische Telefone gemeinsam? - Sie bellen.
Glossing Abbreviations: COMP = comparative, C = complementiser, ACS / ICS = accessible / inaccessible, GDV = gerundive, SPEC / NSPC = specific / non-specific, ᴬ = agent, ᴱ = entity (person, animal, thing)
________
MY MUSIC | MY PLANTS
________
MY MUSIC | MY PLANTS
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
English good night and Turkish günaydın "good morning"
English big and Irish beag "small"
And I can't resist adding:
English oh my gosh and Hungarian ő magas "s/he is tall" (the <s> is [ʃ])
English big and Irish beag "small"
And I can't resist adding:
English oh my gosh and Hungarian ő magas "s/he is tall" (the <s> is [ʃ])
ṭobayna agami-yo ni, alibayna ṭojə-yo ni...
my thread
proud member of the myopic-trans-southerner-viossa-girl-with-two-cats-who-joined-on-september-6th-2022 gang
my thread
proud member of the myopic-trans-southerner-viossa-girl-with-two-cats-who-joined-on-september-6th-2022 gang
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
English Toffee
Eastern Aramaic Ṭəfei 'more, very well'
Really this isn't so unfortunate. :)
Eastern Aramaic Ṭəfei 'more, very well'
Really this isn't so unfortunate. :)
At work. Will be back.
- Creyeditor
- MVP
- Posts: 5320
- Joined: 14 Aug 2012 19:32
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Indonesian jam 'hour' and Indonesian jaman 'era' are not directly related even though there is a productive nominal derivational suffix -an that could explain the relation between the two forms. But according to Wiktionary jaman is borrowed from Persian zaman and jam is borrowed from Sanskrit yama. The two forms might actually go back to the same Proto-Indo-Iranian form *ǰámaHnas, making the two forms distantly related cousins.
Creyeditor
https://sites.google.com/site/creyeditor/
Produce, Analyze, Manipulate
1 2 3 4 4
Omlűt & Kobardon & Fredauon Fun Facts & AMA on Indonesian
Papuan languages, Morphophonology, Lexical Semantics
https://sites.google.com/site/creyeditor/
Produce, Analyze, Manipulate
1 2 3 4 4
Omlűt & Kobardon & Fredauon Fun Facts & AMA on Indonesian
Papuan languages, Morphophonology, Lexical Semantics
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Huh, I always thought the Persian was a borrowing from the Arabic, and that it is a Semitic term, as it also exists in Hebrew and Aramaic. I guess the Persian form could be reborrowed? In Orthodox Jewish English, the Hebrew word has been loaned (maybe with some Yiddish influence) to mean "The times of day that effect daily and weekly religious ritual, and have some relevance for festivals."Creyeditor wrote: ↑19 Jan 2024 19:27 jam is
The two forms might actually go back to the same Proto-Indo-Iranian form *ǰámaHnas, making the two forms distantly related cousins.
Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.
-JRR Tolkien
-JRR Tolkien
- Creyeditor
- MVP
- Posts: 5320
- Joined: 14 Aug 2012 19:32
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Wiktionary says Imperial Aramaic borrowed it from Persian and then it spread into other Semitic languages.
Creyeditor
https://sites.google.com/site/creyeditor/
Produce, Analyze, Manipulate
1 2 3 4 4
Omlűt & Kobardon & Fredauon Fun Facts & AMA on Indonesian
Papuan languages, Morphophonology, Lexical Semantics
https://sites.google.com/site/creyeditor/
Produce, Analyze, Manipulate
1 2 3 4 4
Omlűt & Kobardon & Fredauon Fun Facts & AMA on Indonesian
Papuan languages, Morphophonology, Lexical Semantics
- k1234567890y
- mayan
- Posts: 2408
- Joined: 04 Jan 2014 04:47
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Finnish hikari ("swot, nerd") v.s. Japanese Hikari/ひかり/光 (female personal name meaning "light")
she/her/they/them
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
And Japanese hikaru 光る "to stand out/be excellent"k1234567890y wrote: ↑07 Feb 2024 12:51 Finnish hikari ("swot, nerd") v.s. Japanese Hikari/ひかり/光 (female personal name meaning "light")
ṭobayna agami-yo ni, alibayna ṭojə-yo ni...
my thread
proud member of the myopic-trans-southerner-viossa-girl-with-two-cats-who-joined-on-september-6th-2022 gang
my thread
proud member of the myopic-trans-southerner-viossa-girl-with-two-cats-who-joined-on-september-6th-2022 gang
- WeepingElf
- greek
- Posts: 674
- Joined: 23 Feb 2016 18:42
- Location: Braunschweig, Germany
- Contact:
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
I still am sometimes confused by the Insular Celtic definite articles resembling Germanic and Romance indefinite ones:
an, yn etc. vs. a(n), un etc.
an, yn etc. vs. a(n), un etc.
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf
My conlang pages
My conlang pages
Re: False friends and other unfortunate coincidences
Hunagarian too with a~az for the definite article, with the same "a before a consonant, the other form before a vowel rule" as the English indefiniteWeepingElf wrote: ↑22 Feb 2024 22:51 I still am sometimes confused by the Insular Celtic definite articles resembling Germanic and Romance indefinite ones:
an, yn etc. vs. a(n), un etc.
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
Of course, this is more of an orthographical false friend, since in English, the <a> form is pronounced, based on stress, either /eɪ/ or /ə/, while the Hungarian is /ɒ/.sangi39 wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024 11:49Hunagarian too with a~az for the definite article, with the same "a before a consonant, the other form before a vowel rule" as the English indefiniteWeepingElf wrote: ↑22 Feb 2024 22:51 I still am sometimes confused by the Insular Celtic definite articles resembling Germanic and Romance indefinite ones:
an, yn etc. vs. a(n), un etc.
Many children make up, or begin to make up, imaginary languages. I have been at it since I could write.
-JRR Tolkien
-JRR Tolkien