Local words with similar meaning/pronounciation in English

[Thomas H. Slone]

Maybe not a linguistic term, but one that's used in language 
learning: "false friend", is when a word sounds similar in a foreign 
language but has a different meaning.
--Tom

>Felix
>
>That's way cool.
>
>I don't what the lingistics term is. I seem to remember Michael 
>Quinion, I 
>think, (<http://www.worldwidewords.org/>http://www.worldwidewords.org/) running 
>a competition for useful words in other languages that we ought to 
>have in English and don't, but that's a different thing.
>
>Of course, there are many cases of the same thing meaning the 
>opposite in another language. For example, yawo! means goodbye in 
>Western Province and Torres Strait, but - more or less the same - 
>'come here' in Middle Wahgi.
>
>John Burton
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>From: Felix Nanesa [mailto:FelixN at daltron.com.pg]
>Sent: Wednesday, 13 November 2002 11:32 AM
>To: BURTON John
>Cc: Multiple recipients of list
>Subject: Local words with similar meaning/pronounciation in English
>
>John I have question...
>
>There are some words in our local languages that mean and sound the 
>same as (almost) some words in English.
>Is there a linguistics team for it?
>
>eg.     "kondolenge" in Enga means to express sorrow and sympathy....
>          "condolence" in English means the same.
>
>I can't find how its started but the word is not one of those made 
>from English pidgin, etc.
>It's an original Engan word.
>
>
>Cheers
>Felix


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