Friday, October 2, 2009

Friday's False Friend

It's been a week solidly dedicated to language which finishes off with the weekly "false friends".

front v. fronte

The most common definition of front in English involves the forward part or surface of something, such as a building. In Italian, la fronte, refers to the upper part of the head, between your eyebrows and hairline - the forehead.

Fortunately another meaning of the words is shared between the two languages: as in a military front (il fronte militare). Since the second one is less used, pay attention when translating front. For the first definition mentioned in English, used the Italian word facciata or parte anteriore.

Also, the difference between the masculine (il) and feminine (la) fronte in Italian, changes the definition from the military association to the part of the head.

Most common use and false friend:

Eng) The front of the Sant Sophia's Church in Padua demonstrates the Romanesque style often found in medieval architecture.

It) La facciata della Chiesa di Santa Sofia a Padova dimostra lo stile romanico che si trova spesso in architettura medievale.

2 comments:

  1. Just found your blog through Expat blogs. Love your Friday False friends...wish I had had this resource while I was teaching English! Keep them coming, they are still fun anyway :)

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  2. Thanks for the positive feedback. Languages can be confusing yet so much fun to compare and contrast!

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