The
False Friends
April
14, 2017
By:
Gina Yoryet Román
Every
language has its own personality, colors, intonations, sounds, emphasis,
culture, vision that uses diverse vocal cords. Every system of words for
communication, serves its own purpose through its idiosyncratic terminology.
Each language is so rich in its own unique way, through the use of homographs,
homophones, homonyms, true cognates, false cognates, and other important
terminology. As a professionals Translator, Interpreter, and Language Professional,
the one aspect I have to constantly walk on egg shells with is false cognates,
or AKA, the false friend. According to Wikipedia, false friends are pairs of
words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds and meaning, but have
different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different
languages. For example, actual in
Spanish, is the equivalent to current,
in English. Actual in Spanish is real,
realmente. Or the world’s most
expensive cognate so far, intoxicado, and intoxicated, is worth $71 million
dollars. The article, Language, Culture, and Medical Tragedy: The Case ofWillie Ramírez, published on November 19, 2008 gives a thorough overview of how
that word´s worth got to $71 million dollars. A false friend can cost someone´s
life, and $71 million dollars is the price for that someone´s life because of a
deceitful term. It can cost someone´s job, profession, an entire empire, it can
put someone´s life at stake.
As
a language professional, I have to be constantly vigilant of the false friend.
The same way these false friends can betray me the moment I let my guard down,
Jesus’ disciples forsaked their loyalty towards him. I´ve learned
through trial and error that everyone in my life has come to help me, to use
me, to love me, abhor me, to hurt me, to stay with me, or to leave me. Everyone
that is in one’s life whether it is temporarily or permanently, has a reasoning
underneath it all. Said logic shapes one’s character and it molds the person
one is meant to be.With age comes wisdom, through wisdom comes acceptance, and
a new mindset, and with that frame of mind, one becomes more frugal and
discerning towards those false friends lingering around us. Hence, one is
entitled to who we want to keep in our lives, and who we want to let go, for
false friends are cunning, and they can make one pay a high-price if one allows
them to beguile one.
Three
things I am very devoted to are, faith, grammar, and health and fitness.
Through my journey I’ve encountered many fraudulent friends who for some reason
hate you, or something about you because you are healthier or in “better”
shape. Yet, they don’t look at the whole picture. Most people fear sacrifice,
and they are not willing to do what it takes to be in healthy. So, they fake a legitimate
friendship and try to instill their unacceptable habits. It’s happened to me,
in my early twenties when I was a prominent amateur runner, I ran into a few of
those here and there. Back then I chose to draw the line. Even back then I
assimilated that I am my toughest opponent, going through a daily battle against
me. That’s why I chose to not have other counteragents. I am more than a
handful, so I keep clear from false friends. I don’t care about not having many
people in my life. I’d rather stick to quality vs quantity, transparency vs hypocrisy,
good vs evil, love vs hatred, peace over hostility, truth vs falsehood…
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