About this page:
This is your dedicated space for tips and advice on settling smoothly and engaging most efficiently with your new neighbors and local community.
We’ll post regular content features to share some linguistic, idiomatic and cultural pointers with all; whether you’re a newby or a long-stay visitor already with some conversational French.
Amongst other things, the “Culture-Concierge” will explain, with examples, why in France some things will be done differently or how best to avoid typical misunderstandings and awkward situations.
You’ll also learn about how the French language uses some seemingly identical words in a completely different way to English (false friends).
Over time, the Culture-Concierge will provide you with valuable keys to engaging more rewardingly with your local French community .
Follow the blog feed and enjoy learning!
False Friends
False Friends We’ll start our blog feed with a series of articles about linguistic “False Friends” or “Faux-Amis”. The French and English languages have many false friends and one can only imagine the opportunities for miscommunication and tripping oneself up that could arise from the misuse of these treacherously false friends.
Our next entry:
According to Collins English dictionary©, a false friend is a word or expression in one language that, because it resembles one in another language, is often wrongly taken to have the same meaning.
In French, quid pro quo is pronounced very differently than in English but most importantly. It means an entirely different thing! Quid pro quo in French simply means a misunderstanding. In English it means to return a favor for a favor or one thing for another. Interestingly, both languages share the same core meaning in Latin.
Thus, it’s quite clever to observe that quid pro quo in French means mistaking one thing for another; misunderstading!
The mistake is to pronounce it as read in English or Latin.
Eg: Ce rendez-vous manqué est un quid pro quo. This missed meeting is a misunderstanding.
Here is the correct pronunciation in French :
If you enjoyed reading our Culture-Concierge blog, stay tuned for a more soon!
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