False Friends in Spanish

Falsos Amigos

The expression false friends, or falsos amigos in Spanish, is a literal translation from the French faux amis, which appeared in the teaching scene in a 1928 play by Koessler and Derocquigny entitled, “Les faux-amis ou les trahisons du vocabulaire anglais”.

For some time now, many educators have defended the exclusive use of Spanish in the Spanish as a foreign language classroom, insisting that translations or the use of other languages as learning tools must be avoided. It’s an interesting approach, albeit a bit idealistic, because let’s face it, we’ve all resorted to the use of translation at some point in our teaching careers. And there’s nothing wrong with that.   

When you are in a class where the majority of students are of a single nationality, each sharing the same mother tongue, it’s easier to end up using their language during class and it can be a lot more difficult to stop using it.

How to face a false friend

The question of how to face a false friend, who lurks behind the dictionary just waiting to pounce at us, is not an easy one to tackle. It is, in my opinion, important to control attacks of the giggles (likely justified) we so often suffer when comical situations are produced by these little linguistic monsters.

The tendency is for our students to abuse the use of the dictionary and occasionally this produces other problems which I’ll mention later. What interests us right now is how putting together a collection of false friends in the different languages, or the single language, of your students (whichever the case may be) can prove convenient. When the energy levels of your students begin to fade and the pace of your class could use a quick pick me up, you can always toss out one of these little “gems” as a fun and thought-provoking way to stimulate class interest.

I will always remember the sign, handwritten with great care, that hung in the window of a small New York store which said, “deliberamos groserías”. I stood their imagining how store employees discussed the best swear words to use to insult their boss… then a light suddenly went off in my head: “We deliver your groceries”. ¡Olé, y olé y otra vez oléééé!

You also come across those who are constipados, and need not just a tissue but an entire toilet; a simple request for “una copa de café” can also cause confusion… Not to mention that when a Portuguese person speaks of Presunto Fumado, this isn’t a drug addict but smoked ham. Remember that in Italy you don’t se sube, but se sale and that el exito is not an exit as the English might think. Again, when you go to an Italian restaurant, be very careful not to gasp too much at the apparently zoological pasta, like pasta al burro.

Finally don’t use the word manco with a Japanese person if you can help it, and don’t tell a Sweed that they“roncas mucho por la noche”.

Do your research, but don’t stop using these pearls of joy. Well used false friends can bring a lot to a classroom.