My favourite list of false friends

From : https://www.thelocal.es/galleries/culture/funny-false-friends

Hello people,

Today I'm going to show you my favourite list of false friends. It's not that I don't have many real friends, hehe. As you know, false friends are words that are similar to other words in one language, but the meanings are different, in other words, terms that have a very different meaning than expected but a similar form in another language. Most languages have false friends and they are words that we must carefully study if we do not want to be misunderstood. Today I will be presenting the selection of my favourite false friends in English (in contrast with Spanish) :

WORD	MEANING	SENTENCE	HOW DO YOU SAY…?
assist	help	I need some assistance. Can you help me ?	‘asistir’ in English is ‘attend’ (‘go to’)
attend	go to	I can’t attend lessons today. I’m busy.	‘atender’ in English is ‘assist’ (shop-assistant)
embarrassed	ashamed	She felt embarrassed after falling down in front of the whole class.	‘embarazada’ in English is ‘pregnant, with child’.
success	triumph, victory	He gained his success because of his hard work.	‘suceso’ in English is ‘event’ (‘news’)
succeed	get success, triumph	You need a lot of effort to succeed in life.	‘suceder’ in English is ‘happen’
exit	way out	I can’t find the emergency exit.	‘éxito’ in English is ‘success.’
fabric	textile fibre	This jacket is made with high-quality fabric.	‘fábrica’ in English is ‘factory’
carpet	rug, tapestry	I wasn’t careful and I accidentally spilt the milk on the carpet.	‘carpeta’ in English is ‘folder’
actual	real	We want to know the actual cost of the repairs. If not, we won’t pay for it.	‘actual’ in English is ‘current’
rope	piece of string to tie things up	In the past, people were hanged. Yes, they used rope to hang people.	‘ropa’ in English is ‘clothes.’
casualty	death	When we are at war, there are a lot of casualties.	‘casualidad’ in English is ‘coincidence’, ‘chance’
college	university	In the US, teenagers become independent the moment they go to college.	‘colegio’ in English is ‘school.’
constipation	The opposite of diarrhoea	Eating vegetables is the best thing to prevent constipation.	‘constipado’ in English is ‘cold.’
pretend	fake, feign	Don’t pretend that everything is OK ! You’ve got real problems.	‘pretender’ in English is ‘intend.’
intend	have the intention of	I intend to become a doctor. I’ll do whatever it takes.	‘entender’ in English is ‘understand’ or ‘comprehend.’
lecture	chat or talk about a topic	My favourite professor is giving a lecture today. I’m so excited !	‘lectura’ in English is reading.
professor	university teacher (highest degree)	He is not just a simple teacher. He is one of the best professors. His research on genetics is amazing.	‘profesor’ in English is ‘teacher’
library	the place where students study.	You can borrow this book from the library.	‘librería’ in English is ‘bookshop’ or ‘book store’.
support	encourage someone, stand by someone	We have to support him. He’s been through a lot. He needs us.	‘soportar’ in English is ‘stand’, ‘put up with’, ‘tolerate’.
sensible	thoughtful, considerate, realistic	John is good at making decisions. He is quite sensible.	‘sensible’ in English is ‘sensitive’.
sensitive	emotional, sympathetic, someone easily affected by other people’s feelings.	She is quite a sensitive girl. She always cries when she sees other people suffer.	‘sensato’ in English is ‘sensible.’
sympathy, sympathetic	sensibility, empathic	Joe has always been so sympathetic. He understands how other people feel. His sympathy is amazing !	‘simpatía’ in English is friendliness. ‘Simpático’ in English is ‘nice’ or ‘friendly.’
large	big	I’ve got a really large family : twelve brothers !	‘largo’ in English is ‘long’

So, how do you like false friends ? As you know they are extremely important not to cause misunderstanding. False friends will haunt you during your language-learning process, so you'd better start learning them. Next week I'll be writing another post related to false friends, only this time a bit more interesting ! What's your favourite false friend ? Post it in a comment.
P.S. If you want to laugh for a little bit, visit this webpage. You will find humorous examples of sentences with false friends. 

European Day of Languages : The importance of learning foreign languages

Hello folks,

As some of you may know, last Monday was the European Day of Languages. This day was established by the Council of Europe so as to encourage the learning and promotion of foreign languages in this multicultural and multilingual world. In this entry, I will analyze some reasons why it is extremely important for you to learn foreign languages :

From : http://edl.ecml.at/

1. Learning a language involves getting to know its culture : Learning a foreign language implies getting to know other cultures. As the Canadian singer Buffy Sainte-Marie once expressed : "language  and culture cannot be separated." The language reflects the culture of the country and, in the same way, the culture of the country is reflected in the language, for instance, Eskimos use different words to refer to different tonalities of white because for them white (and snow) is extremely important. 

From : http://quotio.com/quote/Language-and-culture-cannot/100023

2. Personal enrichment : Learning languages  makes your brain more supple. It has been proved that people who learn more languages live longer than people who can't speak foreign languages !  Charlemagne once forecast this by saying : "to possess a second language is to possess a second soul." Poetic, isn't it ?

3. Better jobs opportunities : Languages play an important role in today's job market. Speaking several languages will certainly make a difference in your résumé, especially in big busy cities receiving a bunch of tourists from different countries ! So, if you want to get that promotion you were looking for, or simply... get a job, you may wanna think about learning a foreign language.

4. Travelling : The more languages one speaks, the more countries one can visit and, what is more important, understand everything. Plus, if you don't want to sound like "dagoes", speaking several languages will help you ! 

5. Independence : By learning a language you can travel overseas, become independent, study abroad, get to know native friends and become more open-minded. Like that you can enjoy life with a new perspective. As a man in Eritrea once said : "if I speak one language I can help my country as one man, If I speak two languages, I can help as two men but if I speak all the nine languages, I can speak like nine men."

6 You become a better person : By becoming a speaker of different languages, you see the world in another way. You can understand things more easily, see the world with a new perspective, boost your self-confidence and ease your decision´-making process. In addition, people will surely be impressed by your skills.

7. When you learn a foreign language it is easier to learn another one : Several studies have proved that once you are proficient in a language, it is easier for you to learn the second one. So, why don't you just start right away ? Pay attention to this guy in this video, who is able to speak no less than nine languages incredibly well. 

Impressed ? You can read his tips for you to learn foreign languages in this webpage.

8. Read /watch films : What better way to assimilate the culture of a country that by reading its books and watching its films ? You will learn hundreds of colloquial expressions, cultural patterns and you will improve you language capacity on the way...

9. Metalingual reflection : As you progress with languages, you will think about the language code in itself : verbs, adverbs, adjectives  and stuff like that will suddenly become familiar for you.

What is the reason you love languages ? Post it in a comment. In addition, here you have the link to a very interesting page with some quirks about foreign languages. Don't miss it.

Exercise : match the images with the the appropriate colour idiom

How are you feeling today ? Are you feeling blue or great ? Last week, I wrote a post about some idioms related to colours. Now I propose a quick exercise. Have a look at these images and try to identify the idiom each one of them is referring to. If possible, try to remember the meaning of them. After that, as usual, you can check your answers by having a look at the bottom of the page. Understood ? Let's get to it, then :
1)                                                     2)

3)                                        4)

5)                                             6)

7)                                              8)

Answers :

1) Once in a blue moon = rarely, when pigs fly.
2) Go red in the face / go red as a beetroot / go red as a lobster / go red as a beet / go beet red  = Blush because of an embarrassing situation.
3) To be green with envy = become envious of someone
4) To be someone's blue-eyed boy  = Someone who is prized and favoured over others.
5) To have blue blood = To have royal or aristocratic backgrounds or lineage.
6) To feel blue = To feel sad, down in the dumps, depressed.
7) To paint the town red = To go partying or on a binge alcohol.
8) To have a black heart / to be a black-hearted person = To be cruel, merciless and despicable.

I really hope you've been able to remember most of the idioms from the previous post. I'm off to Salamanca now but next week I will be writing a post about the importance of English to commemorate the European Day of Languages.
Have a nice weekend.

What colour are you associated with : colour idioms I

Hello everybody in this colourful day !

Today's entry is about colours and colour idioms ! As you know have different symbols and today I am here to check if the symbol of the different colours reflect on some English. idioms and similes. Let's get this started :

From : http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/blue-color-clipart

Blue is often linked to serenity and calm, as well as cold and, extensively, lack of emotions and empathy. Let's analyze if blue idioms correspond with their symbol :

1. As blue as the sky : A simile somehow associated to serenity and calm.

2. To feel blue : To feel sad or depressed. This idiom somehow contradicts blue symbolism.

3. Blue Monday : The most depressing day of the year.

4. Once in a blue moon : Rarely, when pigs fly.

5. Out of the blue : Unexpectedly, without warning or preparation.

6. A bolt from the blue : Something very surprising, for example, having a president in Spain right now would certainly be a bolt from the blue.

7. A blue-eyed boy : Someone who is prized and favoured over others, as in "my boss only favours all his blue-eyed boys. If you are not one of them, you are done."

8. A blue joke / a blue story : A dirty joke, a joke involving sexual anecdotes or somehow inappropriate events to cause laughter. Do you see the differences with Spanish ? In Spanish that would be a green joke. 

9. To have blue blood : To have royal or aristocracy backgrounds.

10. Blue-collars / blue-collar workers : Workers who ply their jobs doing manual labour, e.g. miners or firefighters.

As you can see, blue in English is far away from the concept of serenity. In fact, it is often associated to a negative meaning : depression (as in idioms 2 and 3); surprise (as in idioms 4, 5 and 6).

From : http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/green-clipart

Green is a colour closely associated with fertility, the creation of life (flora, vegetation...) and the environment. This is why it represents hope, health and freshness and it is often linked to spring. However, it has some negative connotations, one of which is immaturity and youth. Green is associated with things that have yet to flourish and thrive (also in a metaphorical sense). Another negative connotation of green is poison. Indeed, being the colour of some snakes, reptiles and some dragons. Let's see if this matches with some idioms :

1. To be as green as grass : Something very green, like peas. A good simile connecting green with the environment. 

2. Green shots : Prosperity, growth and thriving, signs of recovery and hope. 'We are in a deep economic crisis, but there are green shots.'

3. Go green : Become environmentally friendly by recycling, saving energy,... Thanks to this expression, we have green energies, green initiatives...

4. Give someone the green light / To get or receive the green light: To give or receive permission to do something as in 'the police constable gave green light to arrest the suspect.'

5. Grass is always greener on the other side : This idiom refers to the fact that people always think best of other circumstances and this is not always right. 'My mum always says that the neighbours seem happier than us. You know, grass is always greener on the other side.'

6. To be green / to be green as a gooseberry : To be immature or inexperienced. 'He is the new teacher but he is unable to control the class. He can be a little green on some occasions.'

7. To be green with envy : To covet or envy someone, to desire someone's possessions.

8. To go green on someone : To get angry or violent at someone. 

Green idioms perfectly match green symbolism. Idioms 1-4 are linked to a positive meaning of prosperity and hope, whereas idioms 5-8 are somehow connected to a negative connotation of envy or lack of experience. 

From : http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/red-clip-art-c

When we think of red, we think of passion, love, revolution, vitality, energy and strength. This is why red is the colour of fire, blood and heat. However, it has negative connotations such as danger, impulse and rage. Let's analyze the different English idioms with this colour:

1. To be as red as a cherry / as red as poppy / as red as a rose / as red as a ruby / as red as a lobster / as red as blood / as red as a beet / as red as a beetroot : Bright red (in Spanish : red as a tomato)

2. To go as red as a lobster / to go as red as a beet / go beet red / to go red in the face : Become embarrassed by an embarrassing situation (when you fancy someone for example, or when you've done something wrong in front of a lot of people).

From : http://it-rings-a-bell.blogspot.com.es/2011_11_01_archive.html

3. To be caught red-handed : To catch a person doing something wrong or illegal. 'The police frequently catch criminals red-handed.'

4.  Code red / red flag: An emergency situation or a serious threat.

5. To see red : To become really angry. 

6. Red tape : It refers to paperwork and regulations that make things progress really slowly. 'The red tape does not let me get my certificate right now. I have to wait for a month.'

7. To be in the red : To have debts or owe money to different people. The opposite is to be in the black / to be out of the red. 

8. Red-hot : Someone really successful

9. To paint the town red : To go partying, to celebrate and get drunk.

10. Roll out the red carpet : To give someone an honorary treatment as often done with celebs in Hollywood. 

As checked, red idioms in English are often associated with their negative meanings. The only exceptions are idioms 8, 9 and 10.

From : http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/black-clip-art-free

Black cannot be separated from its negative connotations, namely, death, violence, darkness, the rotten and wickedness. However, it is also associated to mystery and elegance. Does this correspond with the idioms ? Let's delve into this :

1. To be as black as night / black as a skillet / black as a stack of black cats / black as a sweep / black as coal / black as the ace of spades / as black as the devil / as black as a raven / as black as ink /  to be pitch black / to be ivory black / to be jet-black : When something is really black, for example, ravens.

2. To have a black heart to be a black-hearted man or woman: To be evil and cruel.

3. To be the black sheep of the family / a black sheep stands out of the flock : To be the worst member of the family, the member who is always in trouble. 

4. A black day : A day featured by a horrid or unfortunate event.

5. The black market : A hidden network where illegal things (e.g. weapons, drugs,...) are sold  off the books.

6. Code black : An emergency related to terrorist attack or a natural disaster.

7. To look black : To have unfavourable prospects. A tumour can look black, for instance. 

8. To be as black as thunder : To be really angry and upset. 

9. To paint someone black : To consider someone as evil, disreputable or questionable. 

10. To be in the black : When your bank account is in the blank, it means you don't have any debts.

11. Not be as black as you are / as black as it is painted : When things or people are better than you expected / than it is said. It does not rain as often in Dublin as you may think. It is not as black as it is painted. 

12. Black Friday : It's the day following Thanksgiving when shops start the Christmas season and sell lots of products at incredibly cheap prices. 

It is quite obvious that black idioms represent negative feelings. However, have a look at idioms 10-12. Amazingly, they represent something good ! 

Well, I have finished so far with some idioms of colours that I hope you will have liked. This is not the end as soon, I will be writing another post dealing with other colours such as white, brown, yellow.... In addition, you can revise some of the idioms by doing a quick, straightforward exercise. What is your favourite colour and your favourite colour idioms ?

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