Language Slip ups to watch out for

Anyone dutifully trying to learn a new language has been there - slipping up while innocently trying to communicate.

Here are a few examples, but Eva shares many more!

Sometimes, when learning a new language, especially those with Latin roots, it can be tempting to modify an English word to suit the new language… hoping that it will mean the same thing. In many cases this works: ignorant (English) to ignorante (Spanish); arrogant (English) to arrogante (Italian). But other times….

13. Embarassed/Embarazado. In English, the former means to feel shame, but in Spanish, the latter means to be pregnant. Raise your hand if you’ve ever accidentally told your Guatemalan relatives that you’re eating for two.

14. Preservatives/Préservatifs. For all the red-faced American foreign exchange students who’ve ever asked their French host mothers to pass the préservatifs – that is, the condoms – we feel your pain