False Friends - Taschen Guide

Bill. It's Birgit isn't it?
    Birgit: Yes. It's nice to see you. I have some blooms for you because I heard it is your birthday today. Congratulations!
    Bill Johnson: (Hears the small mistakes, but understands and does not correct Birgit.) Thank you very much, what a nice surprise!
How do we really say it?
‚Stock‘ means Lagerware. The correct word for the numbered levels in a building is ‚floor‘ . ↓ ↓
You can say ‚things were a little hectic‘ but not ‚there was a little hectic‘, because this word is an adjective in English, not a noun as in German. ↓
Birgit's ‚machine fell out‘. Non-German speakers will be scratching their heads over this. The correct phrase is ‚my flight was cancelled‘ . ↓ ↓ ↓
Taking a gift to someone who has a birthday is a kind gesture, but ‚blooms‘ are better described as ‚flowers‘ . ‚Blooms‘ are Blüten. ↓
The correct greeting for someone with a birthday is ‚happy birthday‘ . ‚Congratulations‘ sounds almost ironic – almost like ‚it's great that you made it through another year‘! ↓ ↓ ↓
    Important
    Although it is usual to say the afternoon and evening times in German using 13, 14, 15 etc, it is not said like this in normal everyday English. Any time after 12.59 in the afternoon should be expressed as ‚1pm, 2pm, 3pm‘ and so on.
    Example 2
    Birgit is back at reception at the end of her day in the UK.
    Birgit: We've finished our meeting now. Could you help me find a taxi?
    Receptionist: Oh I can call you one. It will only take 10 minutes for it to arrive.
    Birgit: Great. I need it to bring me to my pension. Oh dear, look at my costume! I spilled sauce on myself at lunchtime. That's typical of me.
    Receptionist: (Is smiling politely, but is getting distracted by the strange English she's hearing). It doesn't look bad. I am sure the mark will come out easily.
    Birgit: I have a free day tomorrow. Can you recommend anywhere to visit? I'm not a city person – I like to be in the nature, but I have heard there is a beautiful dome near here.
    Receptionist: That's right. I have a brochure here if you're interested. There is a concert taking place there tomorrowevening. My husband is playing in the orchestra.
    Birgit: That sounds good. I love classic music.
What can be improved?
Birgit wants a taxi to bring her to her pension – ein Taxi, das sie zu Ihrer Rente bringt. She needed to say ‚to take me to the guesthouse I'm staying at‘ . ↓ ↓ ↓
She spilled sauce on her costume – verschüttete Soße auf Ihre Verkleidung. It is no wonder that the receptionist was beginning to get confused. To be precise, she spilled gravy on her suit . ↓ ↓ ↓
She likes to be ‚in the nature‘ ( ‚outdoor's‘ or ‚ in the countryside‘ ) and wants to visit a ‚dome‘ (Kuppel) - though she clearly meant a ‚cathedral‘ . ↓ ↓
Last but not least, Birgit loves classic music – Klassiker - though she no doubt means ‚classical music‘. ↓
Useful vocabulary
    whereabouts
Verbleib
voucher
Gutschein
essentials
Lebensnotwendige
grin
grinsen
underwrite
garantieren
motion to sb.
jemandem ein Zeichen geben
matching
passend
denim
Jeansstoff
to mingle
ein Bad in der Menge nehmen

False friends in different departments
    So far you have been seeing some situational examples of false friends used in English. This chapter takes a different perspective and deals with the functionally relevant false friends: those that crop up in some of the different departments of a company.
    The following situations will show you typical false friends that can occur in the departments of:
human resources (page 48),
logistics (page 50),
finance and accounting (page 52),
sales and marketing (page 54),
and production (page 55).
    Human resources
    One of the responsibilities of the HR department is to collaborate with other departments in the preparation and writing of job descriptions.
    Example
    An HR assistant has received some information about a vacant position from a colleague and has translated it into English for the job description.
    Job description
Examples
Job title:
Leader of IT
Reports to:
Company direction
Start date:
As soon as possible.
Advertising of vacancy:
Internally and announcement in national newspaper.
Stand-in:
Colleagues
Objectives of this function:
Development of department according to company's actual goals. …
Responsibilities:
Controlling the department's processes and implementing methods of improvement. Cooperating with leaders of