English is the most learned language in France. Its structure is so simple that it is relatively easy to master the basics. Yet many pitfalls creep into learning. Find out what they are and how to avoid them.
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LMost of us have to learn English sooner or later. Some are just starting out, while others want to retake lessons to regain their previous level, for work or to travel. However, you will often have problems translating your ideas into English. Wrong friends, untranslatable, or different words between British and American English, the barriers do not diminish. Here are three common mistakes or difficulties that prevent you from speaking English well.
False friends or false friends
Sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, the French and English remained neighbors. As such, they have happily influenced each other over time, giving birth to our Anglicisms and spreading Gallicism across the Channel. These exchanges are a boon to learning because they make it possible to have reference points and common roots. However, this advantage quickly turns into a trap, because we tend to associate all similar words with the same meaning, but this is not always the case; This is called false friends.
If train (By train), a table (on the table), an elephant (An elephant), or even a president (A president), be similar in content and form from one language to another, with many exceptions.
Clever, business, character and present example, shows well the limitations of this crossover. In English, Bright, affair, character, And indeed Although the spelling is very similar, it does not have the same meaning.
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Brilliant It means wonderful or wonderful. To indicate something clever, we say Shiny Where Bright.
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A connectionFar from the French meaning as translated Commercial Where matterUsually refers to adultery or at least a love affair.
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character If translated as character or protagonist, we would use Personality Talk about French character.
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Finally, In fact Used in the sense of actually. The current would be the correct translation Currently.
To avoid this trap, there is no miracle recipe, you just need to learn the list of English-French false friends and the correct translation.
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Differences between American and British English
English has evolved differently from one corner of the world to another. Although these are not errors per se, it is useful to know the differences between American and British English in order to understand, understand, and adapt. Toilets, petrol, subway or elevator are all words that translate differently.
- If you’re looking for toilets in the UK, chances are they’ll be pointed out ToiletWhereas Restaurant And Bathroom More so in the US.
- The essence will be written Petrol Where gas You refuel across the Channel or across the Atlantic.
- To find the metro, look for the signs Underground in London and Tunnel In New York.
- Lifts will be indicated lift up by the British, and elevator By the Americans.
Again, there is no other way to know its differences better than to learn them!
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Direct translation errors and untranslatables
Like false friends, we like to model the French we know, the English we learn, etc.
However, literal translation is a great way to make mistakes. In fact, both the structure of the sentences and some vocabulary words did not lend themselves to it.
For example, the word dépaysé has no English equivalent. Likewise, siblings Since it is a neutral version of “brother and sister”, it has not been translated into French. Other words like JudgmentWhere Important Translate poorly and sometimes require a full sentence to convey the same idea. In order to speak English well, it is very important to learn the correct translations of French words or concepts, that is, not to translate word for word, but to translate the meaning: called literary translation. Accurate rendering of ideas makes the difference between a beginner and an intermediate
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