3 Vocabulary - Discussion topic
Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:37 pm2. When did you last travel to a country where you didn't speak the language? What were the first words you learned? Why did you learn these ones? Do you still remember any of them?
As far as I can remember, my last trip to a country where I didn’t speak the language was to the Netherlands. I just went there for a very short trip and I only had the chance to interact with the locals at the market and at a café. Everyone could speak English very well, so I had to ask a very friendly waiter for specific words. I learnt the equivalent of “please” and I still remember it sounded like als u blief. “Thanks” was bedanken. I learned these specific words to have a little interaction at the shops.
4. List some English false friends for speakers of another language. What do they mean in English? What does the equivalent word mean in the other language?
I’ll list false friends to Italian speakers.
- Library means “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to”, but an Italian would mix it up with libreria, which means “bookshop”.
- Factory means “a building or group of buildings where goods are manufactured or assembled chiefly by machine”, but an Italian would mix it up with fattoria, which means “farm”.
- Parent means “a father or mother”, but an Italian would mix it up with parente, which means “relative”.
- Sensible means “(of a person) having sound judgment; fair and sensible”, but an Italian would mix it up with sensibile, which means “sensitive”.
- Fabric means “cloth, typically produced by weaving or knitting textile fibers”, but an Italian would mix it up with fabbrica, which means “factory”.
As far as I can remember, my last trip to a country where I didn’t speak the language was to the Netherlands. I just went there for a very short trip and I only had the chance to interact with the locals at the market and at a café. Everyone could speak English very well, so I had to ask a very friendly waiter for specific words. I learnt the equivalent of “please” and I still remember it sounded like als u blief. “Thanks” was bedanken. I learned these specific words to have a little interaction at the shops.
4. List some English false friends for speakers of another language. What do they mean in English? What does the equivalent word mean in the other language?
I’ll list false friends to Italian speakers.
- Library means “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to”, but an Italian would mix it up with libreria, which means “bookshop”.
- Factory means “a building or group of buildings where goods are manufactured or assembled chiefly by machine”, but an Italian would mix it up with fattoria, which means “farm”.
- Parent means “a father or mother”, but an Italian would mix it up with parente, which means “relative”.
- Sensible means “(of a person) having sound judgment; fair and sensible”, but an Italian would mix it up with sensibile, which means “sensitive”.
- Fabric means “cloth, typically produced by weaving or knitting textile fibers”, but an Italian would mix it up with fabbrica, which means “factory”.