Product Description
It’s easy to assume that French words mean the same as English words when they look and sound pretty much the same. Most of the time you would be correct. However, occasional word pairs look the same, and may even be spelled the same, but have different meanings. They are called “false friends,” or faux amis. These faux amis can cause misunderstandings, uncomfortable situations, and even embarrassment when you use them in conversation and they mean something entir… More >>
Speaking Better French: Faux Amis
#1 by Soozie on June 1st, 2010
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Anyone who studies French for any time at all learns about the infamous faux amis — the words that look like English words but have very different meanings. I was a little skeptical when I ordered this book, and felt it would end up being just a list of words I’d have to memorize. But is it an amazingly interesting book. The French words are listed in no particular order, with an explanation of their French meanings, compared to the meaning of their English look-alikes. And then, just to add one more level of clarification, the author provides French terms to accurately translate the English word. It reminded me of my recent trip to Paris for three weeks of French immersion — pointing out, for example, the shades of meaning distinguishing malicious in French (mischievous) from its meaning in English (deliberately harmful or evil), and whether the two words are related or not.
I thought that it would be dense and uninteresting, and I wondered how many faux amis can there be. Well, there are many more than I imagined, and there is a second volume as well. I’m very pleased, and look forward to moving onto the second book….
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Caroline McMASTER on June 1st, 2010
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This is an excellent book for those individuals wanted to learn French without making serious communication mistakes. In the introduction the author writes:
I wrote this book to help you avoid possible awkward misunderstandings when you encounter faux amis, those confusing words pairs which appear the same in French and English but which can have problematically different meanings.
What I have tried to do is to write an easy-to-read book in conversational language. It’s not meant to be a textbook either. I want you to be able to read it for fun, and I hope that you will find it to be fascinating.
I have tried to explain the nuances and to give lots of examples so that you will understand the differences in usage between French and English. The examples will help you understand how the words can be used, but I also have tried to make clear how the shouldn’t be used.
YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK AS I DID. YOU HAVE FOUND A BOOK THAT WILL HELP A LOT WITH YOU CONVERSATIONAL FRENCH,AND IT IS A FUN READ!
Rating: 5 / 5