THE PHENOMENON OF FALSE FRIENDS: A THEORETICAL ANDFACTUAL INVESTIGATION Tiziano Francesco Carrubba Universiteit Gent ABSTRACT This paper provides a detailed analysis of the linguistic phenomenon of false friends, conducted at semantic and pragmatic levels. My primary aim is to give a broad and theoretical definition of false friends, which fall into several categories of classification, and the difficulty they may imply for every learner of a foreign language. Subsequently, the investigation will explore the main causes of false friends. From a diachronic perspective, I will therefore list and examine three concrete examples of false friends between English and my mother tongue, Italian. To conclude, the study will show the points of view of advanced users and beginner learners when approaching to false friends and present some tools in order to avoid the problem. DEFINITION OF FALSE FRIENDS Maxime Koessler and Jules Derocquigny initially coined the term false friends (faux amis in French) in their seminal work Les faux amis, ou, Les trahisons du vocabulaire anglais: conseils aux traducteurs (1928), although the first work about this topic dates back to the 17th century, and it has been recently studied and reprinted (Larsson and Gruszczynski, 1998). The current term false friends, after years of refinements and additional research, refers to the specific phenomenon of linguistic interference that occurs when two given expressions (words or phrases) in two or more natural languages are graphically and/or phonetically the same or very similar but differ totally or partially in meaning. Therefore, false friends are those words that share their signifiers but have totally or partially different meanings (Domìnguez, 2005). In view of their nature, false friends are often wrongly taken to have the same meaning, and for this reason, they frequently cause confusion among students of foreign languages and sometimes even professional translators. DEGREES OF FALSE FRIENDS’ DIFFICULTY Following a pedagogic perspective, Frantzen (1998) identifies two factors to determine the degree of false friends’ difficulty: intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The former refers to false friends per se, those having a misleading meaning in all circumstances, whereas the latter Semantic false friends are further divided into full semantic false friends and partial semantic false friends. those causing confusion only in certain contexts. A polysemous word has multiple meanings that are related to one another owing to cognitive mechanisms. Polysemy is a prerequisite for semantic change (Sweetser 1990: 9). On the other hand. Chance false friends are always full false friends since they are false cognates. defined by Taylor (1995: 99) as “the association of two or more related senses with a single linguistic form”. metaphorical language is a systematic set of correspondences between two distinct domains. for instance vision and knowledge. i. false friends that look very similar or the same when written because of a fortuitous diachronic process. Partial semantic false friends also have the same etymology but share at least one meaning.e. frequently present in the Indo-European family of languages. This investigation will analyze the causes of semantic false friends. However. The main causes of semantic change throughout history include metaphor and metonymy. to name one. Metaphor is very pervasive in everyday speech and grounded in our experience and thinking (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 3). but their relation to each other in terms of saliency may substantially change. MAIN CAUSES OF FALSE FRIENDS False friends have traditionally been studied for pedagogic purposes since language learners may easily confuse words that look similar to those found in their mother tongues. such as metaphor. Semantic false friends can be considered as a cross-linguistic equivalent to polysemy. which allows cataloging the phenomena and finding principles that govern them. several meanings of a word co-exist over hundreds of years. sometimes their meaning can be somehow related. Sweetser (1990: 19) states that metaphor is “the major structuring force in semantic change”. According to cognitive semantics. This fact leads students to a situation of uncertainty because in some cases they are not sure if their meaning is completely different in all instances. they have completely different etymological origins. scholars have recently realized that metonymy is an even more common and fundamental cognitive phenomenon when dealing with semantic change (Panther and Radden . Full semantic false friends are words that have an original shared etymology but no overlap in meaning. False friends are essentially a result of a semantic change. The meanings of a polysemous word are therefore motivated. Indeed.refers to partially deceptive false friends. Recent work in cognitive linguistics by Elizabeth Traugott (2002) has identified regularities in semantic change. CLASSIFICATION OF FALSE FRIENDS Domìnguez (2007) classifies false friends into two main categories: chance false friends and semantic false friends. a mapping within the same domain. “To fail to fulfil the hopes or expectations of someone. even though it is not true. cit. hyperbole. Radden and Kovecses (1999: 21) define metonymy as a cognitive process in which one concept provides mental access to another inside the same cognitive model. typically as a symptom of mental disorder. the Italian noun delusione means. the purpose of this paper is also to provide a factual analysis of three false friends’ situations between English and Italian. Metonymy is based on relations such as part-whole. which is still used by Cattaneo (op. In 1500 English delusion had the same meaning that current Italian delusione has today (“We haue paciently suffred many delusions. to disappoint someone”. Similarly. Other mechanisms of semantic change are specialization or narrowing (the semantic passage from a broader meaning to a more specific one). and notably the laste yere. degeneration or pejoration. Both words come from the Latin verb deludere. “To mock someone”. On the contrary. obvious” and only in appropriate contexts “seeming real or true. and derivatives delusione and delusion. The first case regards a pair of total false friends: Italian deludere and English delude. elevation or amelioration. “fallacious. apparente used to have the primary English meaning but it has fallen into disuse. A Declaration of the cause of war with Scotland. in Oxford English Dictionary). These pairs of words actually shared their origins once. a person or thing that causes disappointment”. in Battaglia). it is the English adjective apparent that kept the original meaning of verb appear whereas the Italian participle apparente specialized in the connotation of what comes only into sight but not into reality. the English adjective means. but not necessarily so”. “To let someone believe that something is true. These two words are partial false friends . and derivatives apparentemente and apparently. generalization or widening (the semantic passage from a specific meaning to a broader one. “Clearly visible or understood. that is. On the other hand. The English noun delusion means. artificial” (Battaglia). meaning. “coming into sight. the action of deluding or the state of being deluded”. from -de (with pejorative force) and ludere (to play). causeeffect and content-container. 1542. and had the same meaning for a long time until it changed significantly in the course of time. CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF FALSE FRIENDS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND ITALIAN Along with the theoretical approach followed until this point.” Henry VIII. The Italian present participle apparente means. euphemisms and avoidance of obscenity (Hock 1991: 301-305 and McMahon 1994: 178185). In Boccaccio. and kept the same meanings for a certain period. Previously. superficial. the English verb delude means. Therefore. when we made preparation at Yorke for his repaire to vs. cit.1999: 1). to deceive someone”. The second case regards a pair of partial false friends: Italian apparente and English apparent. for instance through metonymization or metaphorization). On the other hand. becoming visible or noticeable” or with a negative connotation. “Sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfilment of one's hopes or expectations. “an idiosyncratic belief or impression maintained despite being contradicted by reality or rational argument. The Italian verb deludere means. op. delusione had also the meaning of delusion. translations and examples of wrong use. The point is that this dictionary can practically be used only in conjunction with another dictionary. 1993. Hill. 1972. A detailed false friends dictionary (Akulenko. Gottlieb. 1993). This sophisticated approach may however interest linguists and perfectionist users. 1992. . or in the United States a tuxedo. which employs pseudo-anglicisms. The Italian language then improperly borrowed the term smoking to refer to what is now called in the United Kingdom a dinner jacket. and this may cause misunderstandings. The words here analyzed are Italian smoking and English tuxedo. 1987. As for derivatives apparentemente and apparently. Thody and Evans. 1985) offers an in-depth analysis of the word pairs and presents pieces from original texts. This is an academic type of dictionary. Afterwards. Pseudo-anglicisms are related to false friends and false cognates since many speakers of a language. by dandy Griswold Lorillard at Tuxedo Club in New Jersey. Therefore. however. Some of these dictionaries show examples and translations of limited scope (Sane and Schepisi. Parker and Cornell. its only function is to raise awareness of the danger. interest and ability. any explanation. it made its first appearance in the United States in 1886. 1994) give the main meanings of both false friends in order to offer the possibility of judging the real difference in meanings. 1982) aims at drawing the user’s attention to the multiple meanings of the formally similar word pairs but does not provide. FALSE FRIENDS DICTIONARIES: A TOOL FOR TRANSLATORS AND LEARNERS Since false friends may pose a serious threat to beginners or learners of foreign languages at any level of proficiency. interpreters and students. hence the word tuxedo. Labarre and Bossuyt. Veisbergs. 1992. Schwarz. There is a multitude of false friends dictionaries. which has a smaller number of users. It is widely thought that London tailors Henry Poole & Co. More expanded false friends dictionaries (Browne. designed this type of jacket for the first time in 1865. Dictionaries of false friends is a sphere of bilingual lexicography addressing the needs of translators. because they initially followed the same path but then the Italian word underwent a process of semantic specialization. 1969. Pseudo-anglicisms are words in languages other than English that were borrowed from English but are used in a way that native English speakers would not immediately recognize or understand. to prevent the suits from absorbing the smell of tobacco. there are precise tools used to avoid this problem. 1989. which fall into four general categories: The basic false friends dictionary (Muravyev. since its consultation may require time. “As far as one knows or can see”. since originally it was a jacket worn by men in smoking rooms. 1969. believe that the relevant words are genuine anglicisms and can be used in English. and provide the correct variant. The third and last case regards a comparison between a pseudo-anglicism and its semantic English corresponence. the difference in meaning is subtler since both mean. Prado. The Italian word smoking derives from the English noun smoking jacket. REFERENCES Akulenko. diachronic digression). there are dictionaries that aim to give learners tools to elude the traps that false friends pose. Dretzke and Nester (1990) say that this type of dictionary sometimes seems more like a textbook. it is more detailed than the first type. instead. In terms of practicality. Learner’s dictionary of false friends (Breitkreuz. 1961-2002. False friends have numerous main reasons to exist since they are a result of a semantic change throughout history. teachers’ experience is fundamental in this matter to elucidate words that actually occur when speaking. collocation limitations. false friends are a rather complex phenomenon. the beginner obviously tends to have interest in the sphere of total false friends. THE USER’S APPROACH Generally. Partial false friends. V. which the translator is supposed to be. Ergo. V. A poll conducted among translators and MA students of Interpreting and Translation suggests that they prefer the second type dictionary and judge the third type as intellectually complex and timeconsuming. Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana. Ultimately. 1969. such as semantic limits. total false friends are of little interest for a mature bilingual speaker. providing the user with more than a mere warning. simpler to use than the third type and qualitatively better than the fourth type. Moskow: Sov. partial false friends and pseudo false friends as well as sometimes in that of regularly mistaken confusables (Carpenter. S. the second type (more expanded dictionaries) would be certainly preferable since it includes the word pairs but also their meanings. 1992) focuses on the most frequent false friends pairs and provides exercises for recognition and training of the right use. 1991. 1993). and their misleading nature causes technical problems and misunderstandings for both beginners and advanced users of languages. On the other hand. Enciklopediya Battaglia. that is. along with the help of experienced teachers. stylistic coloring. CONCLUSIONS The linguistic phenomenon of false friends is a recurring problem in several steps of language learning at almost any level of competence. Hence. that is why gradual mastery over them is an important stage to reach proficiency in a foreign language. word pairs that have the same denotative meaning but connotative differences. with more polysemantic meaning in one of the languages are likely to present difficulties.hnih druzei'perevodchika. Torino: UTET . Thus. 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