False Friends - Taschen Guide

False friends for beginners
    When it comes to doing business, you always need to be prepared. If you are doing business in English, but your mother tongue is German, then you need to be prepared for the traps that the English language holds for you.
    The following chapter will provide you with information about:
the different kinds of false friends (page 6),
the effect on your business contacts of language errors (page 8),
typical mistakes in CVs, applications and interviews (page 9).
    Different types of false friends
Same or similar word but different meaning
    Take the German word Mappe. ‚Map‘ exists in English but, while you are talking about something to put papers in, your English-speaking business contact thinks you mean a large piece of paper with roads and towns on it (Landkarte). The correct English word for Mappe- in this particular case – is ‚folder‘. Other examples are Gift/gift, Kredit/credit, Fabrik/ fabric. You will find a list of the more frequently heard false friends in the latter half of this book.
Same or similar word and similar meaning
    These are words that generally mean the same, but it depends on the context. Here is a standard example: extra and Extra- If you say in German Ich habe es extra so hingestellt, damit du es sofort siehst, you would need to say in English ‚I put it there deliberately so that you would see it‘. If you are in a restaurant, though, and order eine Extra-Portion Gemüse you can say in English ‚an extra portion of vegetables‘. There is one verb which deserves special mention here, because it is probably the most frequently made mistake, namely: machen/make. We make mistakes, we make coffee, we make a fuss, but we do sports, we do courses and we do the accounts.
Via direct translation
    You probably already know not to describe an Unternehmer as an undertaker, unless of course that particular entrepreneur or business owner really is an undertaker ( Leichenbestatter ). Similarly, it is widely known that a Hochschule is not the same thing as a high school.
Pseudo-anglicisms
    These are English words that have found their way into everyday German usage but mean something completely different to the original English word, such as Handy, Peeling and Body . Others, such as Wellness and Neckholder , do not even exist in English; and some can shock your audience or perhaps make them laugh although you meant to be serious: take public viewing , for instance, which until now meant solely öffentliche Aufbahrung (einer Leiche) ! It is better to talk about a ‚live transmission on a big screen‘. Who knows, perhaps these terms will gradually find their way into everyday English.
Non-existent English words
    There is a strange phenomenon which occurs with just a few German words. They are often translated by German speakers into words that do not exist in English. One false friend of this type is reservieren , which many express as ‚ reservate‘. ‚Reservate‘ does not exist, but it is said automatically by many people due to what they have learnt so far of the English language.
Only a false friend in certain contexts
    Take the German word isoliert : if the context is a location that is far away from anywhere else, then the translation is indeed ‚isolated‘. However, this is a false friend if we are talking about buildings and stopping the heat escaping from them; in this context you need to speak of ‚insulation‘.
    Degrees of confusion
    How disappointed or confused (or perhaps shocked!) will your conversation partner or email recipient feel if you use a false friend? The answer is: it depends. It depends on the word itself, and on how tolerant your opposite number is of hearing mistakes. It also depends on whether the person you speak or write to has any knowledge of German. The less German they know, the more potential there is for misunderstandings.
The cringe factor
    Below is a simple scale to show you how other speakers of English, but especially native speakers, may feel when they hear mistakes made by (other) non-native speakers. These signs will help you to see how critical the use of a false friend can be, and it will hopefully help you to recognize which things you need to pay particular attention to:
    ↓
small error; it can cause some confusion,
↓↓
more critical; potential for big misunderstandings,
↓↓↓
don't say this: it may cause shock or embarrassment!
    Applying for a job
    There is no denying it: English is everywhere. If you are