Philip Thody - Mistakable French : Faux Amis and Key Words in DOC, EPUB
9780781806497 English, French 0781806496 This book is a dictionary and guide to 1,000 words which look alike in French and English but are faux amis -- false friends indeed. Thus the French word colon means a colonial settler, patron can be a pattern (as for a dress) or an employer, while defiance means distrust, une bombe can mean art insect spray or also an elaborate dessert And impotent is not necessarily sexually impotent, which in French is impuissant, but seriously crippled. The individual entries also provide the wide social and cultural context within which the words are used in French. This book is very instructive as well as great fun., Witty, entertaining, and informative, this book will be of immediate use to anyone using the French language and needing to understand French society and culture. Its focus is upon those words and phrases which can be seriously misunderstood because of their seemingly close resemblance to English wrods. The book also includes a number of key words used in each of the subject areas into which the text is divided: Literature, Economics and Industry, Religion and Morals, The Arts, Language, Travel and Health, Sex and the Family, Food and Drink, and Clothes and Houses. The individual entries have been carefully designed to carry the basic linguistic information required and then develop into a wider consideration of the social and cultural context within which the specific words and phrases are used in French. Includes ample illustrative examples taken from current French usage.
9780781806497 English, French 0781806496 This book is a dictionary and guide to 1,000 words which look alike in French and English but are faux amis -- false friends indeed. Thus the French word colon means a colonial settler, patron can be a pattern (as for a dress) or an employer, while defiance means distrust, une bombe can mean art insect spray or also an elaborate dessert And impotent is not necessarily sexually impotent, which in French is impuissant, but seriously crippled. The individual entries also provide the wide social and cultural context within which the words are used in French. This book is very instructive as well as great fun., Witty, entertaining, and informative, this book will be of immediate use to anyone using the French language and needing to understand French society and culture. Its focus is upon those words and phrases which can be seriously misunderstood because of their seemingly close resemblance to English wrods. The book also includes a number of key words used in each of the subject areas into which the text is divided: Literature, Economics and Industry, Religion and Morals, The Arts, Language, Travel and Health, Sex and the Family, Food and Drink, and Clothes and Houses. The individual entries have been carefully designed to carry the basic linguistic information required and then develop into a wider consideration of the social and cultural context within which the specific words and phrases are used in French. Includes ample illustrative examples taken from current French usage.