Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc False friends are interesting because it is necessary to translate them appropriately to avoid being misunderstood and because it is necessary to explain the origin of the semantic difference. The problem of phraseological false friends (PFFs) has not been researched exhaustively. This article focuses on thirteen idioms that are the same or similar in form but different in meaning in English and Slovene, the aim being to look at phraseological components of English and Slovene lexicons with a view to identifying and describing the false semantic equivalence between idioms in these two languages. Details are given about each individual idiom. The idiom in English is followed by the definition of its meaning and its appropriate semantic equivalent in Slovene with a literal translation of the Slovene equivalent. The PFF in Slovene is listed, which is also followed by the definition of its meaning and its appropriate semantic equivalent in English. The similarities and differences between the idiom in English and the PFF in Slovene are commented upon. Since PFFs may represent a problem in communication, translation and lexicographic treatment, it is necessary to raise awareness of the lexical traps into which non-native speakers of English as well as any other language may easily fall, regardless of their level of linguistic knowledge. 1. Introduction False friends is a term coming from language teaching and referring to pairs of words in two languages that are perceived as similar but have different meanings. It is not a novel occurrence since the term ‘false friends of the translator’ was introduced as early as 1928 (Koessler and Derocquigny 1928). False friends are a well-known problem in teaching of and translating into foreign languages as well as in bilingual lexicography. Since false friends resemble one another to a great extent, they often AAA - Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik Band 39 (2014) · Heft 1 Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 72 deceive learners of either language and, consequently, they are a source of mistakes. Teachers should therefore be concerned with helping students to fully understand the meanings of false friends and to avoid using them erroneously. Teaching a language should also include acquainting students with differences between languages and with the ways in which languages increase their vocabularies including aspects of etymology. As mentioned by Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005: 107-108), different historical processes affect word meanings, which results in two groups of false friends: a. pairs of words in two closely related languages, which can develop semantically in different directions (e.g., the English word gift in the meaning of ‘present’ vs. the German word Gift in the meaning of ‘poison’) b. internationalisms, i.e., Euro-Latin and Euro-Greek words, which have been borrowed repeatedly during different phases of history; they often undergo different semantic developments in two or more languages (e.g., the Latin word concursus, which may mean ‘bankruptcy’ in e.g., German (‘Konkurs’) or Slovene (‘konkurz’) or ‘competition, music or art contest’ in e.g., French (‘concours’)) It has further been proposed to classify false friends into grammatical and lexical ones (Sheen 1996). Grammatical false friends are relatively rare and fall outside the scope of this article. Lexical false friends, on the other hand, may be either absolute or partial: a. absolute: words in two languages that have no common meaning (e.g., concurrence in English vs. konkurenca (‘competition’) in Slovene) b. partial: the L1 and L2 words have at least one common meaning and at least one different meaning (in Slovene proces, which corresponds to the English word ‘process’ in all meanings, but proces in Slovene is also used with reference to the English word ‘trial’) Due to their unpredictable nature, false friends are of interest to linguists and lexicographers for two reasons: firstly, from the point of view of practice, it is necessary to translate them appropriately to avoid being misunderstood; and secondly, from the theoretical and linguistic aspect, it is necessary to explain the origin of the semantic difference by an adequate methodological process (cf. Matešić 1995: 239, 240). It is true that the problem of false friends has been researched exhaustively (e.g., Wandruszka 1978, 1979; Neuhaus 1988; Gorbahn-Orme and Hausmann 1991; Kroschewski 2000; Chamizo Domínguez and Nerlich 2002), but at the same time it has to be stressed that all these studies mostly deal with one-word false friends. This may give the false impression that in the field of phraseological units no such phenomena as false friends may exist. This is certainly not true although it has to be pointed Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 73 out that false-friend relationships in phraseology are far less frequent since fixed expressions, especially highly colourful and metaphorical idioms and proverbs, are relatively infrequent. According to Moon (1994: 117), they appear to be more frequent in spoken than in written text, although to date there have been few extensive studies of their actual distribution. In contrast to numerous studies focusing on one-word false friends, studies on phraseological false friends (PFF) are not at all so numerous, but some do exist. One of these studies concerns German-Russian PFFs (Rajxštejn 1980), PFFs in French and German are the subject of Ettinger’s research (Ettinger 1994), German and Dutch PFFs are discussed by Piirainen (1997, 1999), and the same author also considers other language pairs (Piirainen 2001, 2004a, 2004b). English and Polish PFFs are studied by Szpila (2000), whereas Croatian and German PFFs are dealt with by Matešić (1995). In this article, we will concentrate on PFFs rather than on false friends in general, which is why we have to define the phenomenon in question. Without a doubt, PFFs pose more subtle and complicated problems than one-word false friends because they resemble each other on the level of mental images and lexical constituents, i.e., on the level of inner form, whereas they display significant differences on the semantic level. PFFs evoke different images, and their identity does not concern the form, as is the case in words (e.g., the Slovene adjective aktualen meaning ‘topical’ in English vs. the English adjective actual). Therefore, Dobrovol’skij and Piirainen (2005: 109) define this lexical phenomenon by focusing on mental image and meaning: “False friends in conventional figurative language are two or more expressions that evoke almost identical or very similar mental images but show significant differences in the actual meaning”. Szpila (2000: 79), on the other hand, concentrates on formal characteristics and meaning and defines PFFs as “phraseological units in two or more languages whose lexical and syntactic structure is identical or similar but which differ in the scope of their extension”. The explanation of PFFs, however, should not be based only on etymology. On the contrary, the images behind many phraseological units can very often be attributed to folk etymology, which means that the images trigger certain associations in native speakers who try to explain the origin of a phraseological unit in this way. Dictionaries of false friends mostly include one-word lexical items, which is logical because they are more numerous and more frequently used, the consequence being that they represent a more common trap for non-native speakers. Szpila studied twelve dictionaries of false friends, only one of which included PFFs (there designated as phraseological traps or misleading phraseologisms) (Szpila 2006: 82, 83). Learners of a foreign language should certainly be encouraged to use (monoas well as bilingual) dictionaries, including dictionaries of false friends, but their teach- Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 74 ers should also make them aware of the fact that PFFs may not be found in a dictionary of false friends. The aim of this article is to look at phraseological components of English and Slovene lexicons with a view to identifying and describing the false semantic equivalence between idioms in these two languages. The term ‘idiom’ is here understood as a linguistic unit comprising two or more items whose meaning does not represent the sum of meanings of its individual components, i.e., it is characterized by semantic irregularity. In other words, an idiom is complex regarding its form and simplex regarding its meaning. 2. Classification of idioms based on analysis of the relation between their form and meaning When making a contrastive analysis of idioms in English and Slovene, the following groups of idioms can be established: 1. idioms identical in form and meaning: raise/ lift a/ one’s hand against/ to sb - dvigniti roko nad koga go in (at) one ear and out (at) the other - pri enem ušesu gre komu noter, pri drugem ven sth comes to sb’s ears - kaj pride komu na ušesa 2. idioms similar in form and identical in meaning: the other side of the coin - druga plat/ stran medalje (‘the other side of the medal’) when the cat’s away, the mice will play - kadar mačke ni doma, miši plešejo (‘when the cat isn’t at home, the mice dance’) between you, me and the gatepost - med nama/ nami rečeno (‘said between ourselves’) 3. idioms different in form and identical in meaning: throw in the sponge/ towel - vreči puško v koruzo (‘throw the gun in the corn’) out of the frying-pan (and) into the fire - z dežja pod kap (‘from rain under the eaves’) make a mountain out of a molehill - delati iz muhe slona (‘make an elephant out of a fly’) 4. idioms identical in form but different in meaning (i.e., phraseological false friends): jump out of one’s skin - zdrzniti se od groze/ strahu (‘recoil in horror/ fear’) and NOT skočiti iz kože (‘be very excited or angry’) Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 75 lead sb by the nose - plesati tako, kot kdo gode (‘dance in the way somebody fiddles’) and NOT vleči koga za nos (‘lead sb up/ down the garden path’) step/ tread on sb’s toes - užaliti koga (z vmešavanjem v njegovo delo) (‘offend sb (by interfering with their work)’) and NOT stopiti komu na prste (‘get on to sb’) Since the paper focuses on idiomatic expressions in English and Slovene whose component elements correspond lexically but whose meanings diverge, we will here present in detail only the idioms included in group 4 above. We will concentrate on the semantic aspect of PFFs rather than on their grammatical/ syntactic structure. 3. Idioms in English and their phraseological false friends in Slovene When studying false lexical equivalence, the closeness or sameness of form has been made tertium comparationis. Thirteen idioms equal or similar in form but different in meaning in English and Slovene have been identified and are analysed in this section. Some of these pairs of idioms show certain common features, whereas many of them have nothing in common. First, a table is included giving details about each individual idiom. In the left-hand column, the idiom in English is followed by the definition of its meaning and its appropriate semantic equivalent in Slovene with a gloss in brackets indicating a literal translation of the Slovene equivalent. The right-hand column lists the PFF in Slovene, which is also followed by the definition of its meaning and its appropriate semantic equivalent in English. Then, the similarities and differences between the idiom in English and the PFF in Slovene are commented upon. The first two examples have a common feature, that is, they both represent a comparison in Slovene but not in English: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene apple of one’s eye used only in combination with the verb paziti (‘take care’): paziti na koga kot na punčico svojega očesa Definitions a person or thing that is loved more than any other take care of somebody very much Translations ljubljenček koga (‘one’s favourite’) guard with one’s life The pupil at the centre of the eye was known as the apple, because it was supposed to be a globular solid body. In Old English, the phraseological Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 76 unit apple of one’s eye referred to the pupil of the eye and was used as a symbol of something cherished and watched over (cf. OED, Oxford Dictionary of Idioms: 8). The same holds true of the Slovene phraseological unit paziti na koga kot na punčico svojega očesa, which according to Keber (2011: 780) originates from Latin Quasi pupillam oculi sui and is of Old Slavonic as well as of Biblical origin. Thus, in English, apple of the eye was used as a figure for a much loved person or thing. The great West Saxon king, Alfred (848-99), used the unit in this sense in his translation of Gregory’s Cura Pastoralis (c. 885). When the Bible was translated into English, William Tyndale used it to render a number of texts such as Deuteronomy 32: 10, where the Lord’s care for Israel is described as follows: He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye (Flavell and Flavell 2006: 8-9). (Note: This passage contains the verb keep meaning ‘have or take charge or care of’, which closely resembles the meaning of the verb paziti in the Slovene phraseological unit.) Interestingly, a comparison of the King James Version of the Bible from 1611, the Slovenski standardni prevod (Slovene Standard Translation) from 1997 and Dalmatinova Biblija (Dalmatin’s Bible) from 1584 reveals that all the occurrences of apple of one’s eye correspond in the Slovenski standardni prevod to punčica svojega očesa or to the shortened form punčica, where the meaning of svojega očesa is implied, and to sèrkala njegoviga ozheſſa or sérklu v’ozheſsi in Dalmatinova Biblija (see Table 1 below). In the older Slovene translation of the Bible, the noun zrklo (as it is spelt in standard modern Slovene) is used as opposed to punčica in the contemporary translation (these two Slovene nouns both refer to parts of the eye). Thus, both English and Slovene versions of the Bible are identical as far as lexis is concerned. It is evident from the Slovene versions of the Bible (see Table 1 below) that paziti na koga kot na punčico svojega očesa (as used in modern Slovene) is similar in lexis to the Slovenski standardni prevod from 1997, whereas Dalmatinova Biblija from 1584 uses a noun that is not present in the phraseological unit today. This means that the development of the phraseological unit in Slovene went in a direction opposite to that in English. In English, the lexis in the phraseological unit resembles that in the King James Version of the Bible from 1611 (i.e., the older version) and not that in the Contemporary English Version from 1999 (i.e., the more recent version). The Biblical meaning of the lexical item in question is ‘something that is treasured/ protected/ loved greatly’, which means that the original meaning corresponds neither to the current meaning in English nor to that in Slovene (or maybe to a certain extent to both). In the Contemporary English Version from 1999, the apple of one’s eye is nowhere to be found. If we study the translation of the above extracts in the Contempo- Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 77 rary English Version, we can see that some other metaphorical expressions are used (see the parts in bold in the examples taken from the Contemporary English Version below). By comparing the King James Version and the Contemporary English Version, we can establish that the semantic meaning is retained, although it is realized by different lexical items. The fact that apple of one’s eye is absent in the Contemporary English Version may suggest that the translators considered it stylistically inappropriate, thus not using it in the latest translation of the Bible. In both examples taken from the Contemporary English Version and quoted in the table below, the comparison is expressed by the structure ‘as precious [...] as’ and ‘as much as’, whereas King James Version uses the apple of the/ his eye. Here, a parallel can be drawn between the Contemporary English Version and the Slovenski standardni prevod, since in both versions of the Bible comparison is expressed in these passages. Comparison is, however, also preserved in the current meaning as well as in the grammatical structure of the idiom in Slovene. Zech 2,8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory had he sent me onto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you touchet the apple of his eye. Source: King James Version Sakaj taku pravi GOSPVD Zebaot: On me je poſlal k’Ajdom, kateri ſo vas obrupali: nyh muzh ima konez. Kateri ſe vas dotakne, ta ſe dotakne sèrkala njegoviga ozheſſa. Source: Dalmatinova Biblija Then the glorious LORD All-Powerful ordered me to say to the nations that had raided and robbed Zion: Zion is as precious to the L ORD as are his eyes. Whatever you do to Zion, you do to him. Source: Contemporary English Version Kajti tako govori GOSPOD nad vojskami, ki me s svojim veličastvom pošilja k narodom, ki so vas plenili, kajti kdor se vas dotakne, se dotakne punčice njegovega očesa: Source: Slovenski standardni prevod Sir 17,22 The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and he will keep the good deeds of man as the apple of the eye, and give repentance to his sons and daughters. Source: King James Version On téh ludy dobru djanje hrani, kakòr en pezhatni pèrſtan, inu dobra della varuje, kakòr sérklu v’ozheſsi. Source: Dalmatinova Biblija The Lord values our gifts to the poor as much as we value fine jewelry or a most prized possession. Source: Contemporary English Version Človekova miloščina je pred njim kakor pečatni prstan, na človekovo dobroto gleda kakor na punčico. (Svojim sinovom in hčeram daje možnost spreobrnjenja.) Source: Slovenski standardni prevod Table 1: The apple of one’s eye in two English and two Slovene versions of the Bible. Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 78 Interestingly, the idiom in English and its literal counterpart in Slovene both originate from the Bible. One would therefore expect full semantic equivalence, but strangely enough, this is not the case. This deviation could be due to the history of language development: at one point the meanings in English and Slovene diverged and acquired the connotations we know today. In the Slovene idiom, the focus is on comparison; thus, the meaning of the verb paziti (‘take care’), which is the obligatory component element of the phraseological unit, is emphasized by kot na punčico svojega očesa (‘like the apple of one’s eye’). The part of the Slovene phraseological unit that corresponds to the English idiom has the adverbial meaning, which is strongly emphatic, implying ‘very much’ (i.e., intensifying meaning typical of a great majority of similes in English as well as in Slovene). It should be stressed that the meaning of the phraseological unit in Slovene is closer to the original meaning as found in the Bible. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene walk on eggs/ eggshells hoditi kot po jajcih Definitions be very careful how you behave around someone because you might easily make them angry or upset walk with careful, soft steps Translations ravnati s kom v rokavicah/ z rokavicami (‘deal with sb in gloves’) walk carefully The origin of this phraseological unit is disputable, but the general consensus is that a parallel can be drawn between walk on eggs/ eggshells and some other phraseological units (e.g., walk on thin ice) denoting cautionary actions and implying that something is easily broken. The common feature of the English idiom and the Slovene PFF is the ‘carefulness’ component. The nominal slot can be filled with two nouns in English and just one in Slovene (jajce ‘egg’). However, egg as well as eggshell is associated with thinness and delicacy, with something that is very brittle or fragile. Consequently, eggs should be handled with care. In Slovene, the verb is used in its literal meaning (hoditi ‘walk’) and kot po jajcih (‘as if on eggs’) expresses comparison, implying ‘in a careful way, carefully’. In English, the idiom indicates careful behaviour towards somebody else in order not to upset him/ her, which means that the phraseological unit is demotivated to a greater extent than in Slovene, where it is the very way of walking that is implied (i.e., walk softly, quietly). Among the collected PFFs in English and Slovene, another common semantic element has been identified in some idioms, i.e., phraseological units expressing strong emotion. An in-depth analysis has indicated that a Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 79 very different emotion is involved when comparing the meaning of the English idiom and that of its literal counterpart in Slovene. For the sake of more thorough elucidation of the ‘emotion-meaning’ relation, we have chosen two pairs to show the difference in meaning: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene jump out of one’s skin skočiti iz kože Definitions move violently because of a sudden shock be very excited or angry Translations zdrzniti se od groze/ strahu (‘recoil in horror/ fear’) go up the wall In both the English idiom and its PFF in Slovene, strong emotions are expressed: in English, surprise, unpleasant shock or a feeling of being frightened are implied, whereas in Slovene, the underlying feelings are those of excitement and anger. A closer comparison of the semantic meaning of the English and Slovene idioms reveals that the idiom in English is used in a more direct sense (= a person is jumping in order to get rid of his/ her skin) than its Slovene false friend (= a physical activity is transferred to an emotional feeling). In Slovene, the meaning is much more figurative, that is why it can be claimed with a high degree of certainty that the Slovene idiom has undergone a meaning extension: from concrete to abstract or from physical to mental. Literally, jump out of one’s skin suggests a physical activity: When frightened, one may jump so quickly that skin is left behind. Skin represents an external protective covering of a human body that cannot be stripped off except in exceptional circumstances, such as anger, rage, pain, and here may lie a possible explanation for the meaning extension of the Slovene idiom. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene tear one’s hair (out) puliti si lase Definitions show that you are very angry or anxious about sth be very unhappy Definitions 1. delati si sive lase (‘make oneself grey hair’) 2. znoreti, ponoreti (‘go mad’) be very sad and upset This pair of idioms deserves special attention in that the meaning in English is broader than that in Slovene. The English idiom refers to several emotions: anger, anxiety, worry, grief, desperation. In Slovene, however, Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 80 the meaning is limited to unhappiness and desperation. This means that to a certain extent, these two idioms are full equivalents, but only in contexts where desperation and grief are implied. In this narrower meaning, the origin can be attributed to ancient rituals in which mourners expressed grief forcefully by tearing their clothes or hair (Keber 2011: 449). If, on the other hand, the English idiom expresses emotions other than grief and desperation, the Slovene idiom puliti si lase can be regarded as a true false friend and should be translated using other (phraseological) expressions. A subclass of this type of relation is represented by idioms that express emotion in one language but not in the other. The following example represents emotion on the Slovene side: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene lose one’s nerve izgubiti živce Definitions lose courage to do sth difficult or dangerous become angry or excited Definitions srce komu pade v hlače (‘the heart falls into sb’s trousers’) lose one’s cool The false friend relationship in this pair of expressions probably stems from the metaphorical meaning of the noun nerve in English and živec in Slovene. The noun nerve implies ‘courage’, whereas the plural form of the noun živec in Slovene implies various kinds of strong emotion (such as excitement, anger, nervousness or irritation) in different fixed expressions. There are, however, some more or less isolated cases of phraseological units in Slovene where the noun živec could imply ‘courage’ (e.g., imeti (dobre) živce - have (good) nerves, meaning ‘have the courage to do sth’), which is certainly not the case in izgubiti živce (‘lose the nerves’). It is interesting to note that the appropriate translational equivalent for the English lose one’s nerve is the idiomatic expression srce komu pade v hlače, where the noun srce (‘heart’) symbolizes courage. It should be stressed that idiomatic expressions containing the noun srce with the semantic component ‘courage’ are also relatively infrequent in Slovene. In the following two examples, emotion is expressed by the English idioms: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene with one’s tail between one’s legs used only in combination with the verb stisniti (‘squeeze’): stisniti rep med noge Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 81 Definitions feeling ashamed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished move away, escape, give up Definitions ves osramočen (‘ashamed’) turn tail This idiom refers to the way a dog behaves when it is punished - it walks away with its tail down. Regarding the etymology, this idiom has the same roots in English and Slovene, but the semantic meaning differs. In Slovene, it relates to ducking responsibility like a frightened dog that puts its tail between its legs and runs away. Here, a parallel can be drawn between the English idioms with one’s tail between one’s legs and turn tail because they both contain the lexical element tail, thus implying canine behaviour and suggesting the same origin. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene over the moon za luno Definitions extremely happy and excited stupid, naive Definitions v devetih/ malih nebesih (‘in the ninth/ small heaven’) in cloud-cuckoo land Someone who is over the moon is elated. The phrase was frequently used in the 1970s by footballers and their managers to express their delight at victory. This overuse was seized upon by the satirical magazine Private Eye, which proceeded to ridicule televised post-match interviews with the result that both over the moon and its counterpart sick as a parrot have become football clichés. The phrase over the moon alludes to feeling so high with excitement that jumping or flying over the moon seems easy. A character in John Vanbrugh’s play The Relapse (1969) talks of leaping over the moon, and, in the well-loved nursery rhyme (Hey diddle, diddle/ The cat and the fiddle/ The cow jumped over the moon ...), whose earliest known date in print is 1765, there is an enormously happy cow who does just that (Flavell and Flavell 2006: 202-203). There are several phraseological units in Slovene containing the noun luna (‘moon’), and it can be established that they all express something negative, or more precisely, strange behaviour by a person (e.g., a state of confusion, absent-mindedness, stupidity or not being up to date). The moon is associated with the irrational or unconscious. An extreme emotion, even a positive one, borders on madness (this is reflected in a number of collocations, such as madly excited, madly jealous, madly in love in English and noro razburljiv, noro ljubosumen, noro zaljubljen in Slovene). Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 82 The meaning of the Slovene phraseological unit za luno (‘behind the moon’) can be explained in line with these thoughts. The next two idioms contain the nouns word and beseda, which indicate a kind of spoken or written communication: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene put words into sb’s mouth polagati komu besede v usta Definitions suggest that sb has said sth when in fact they have not help sb say sth that is expected or needed Definitions obračati besede koga (‘turn sb’s words’) put words into one’s mind The idiom in English and its idiomatic translational equivalent in Slovene as well as the PFF in Slovene and its idiomatic equivalent in English all contain the noun word (‘beseda’) in its plural form. This noun certainly refers to something that is said or written, i.e., to communication in general, which is also a common feature of the English idiom and the Slovene false friend equivalent. The difference is that the English idiom implies that something is deliberately not understood in the way it was uttered (negative connotation), while the Slovene false friend implies that somebody tells the speaker what to say and how to say it (positive connotation). On the other hand, it can be claimed that in both cases putting words into somebody’s mouth has the same underlying idea, i.e., suggesting what somebody has said (idiom in English) or should say (idiom in Slovene). Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene eat one’s words požreti/ snesti besedo Definitions admit that what you said was wrong not do what was promised/ said Definitions vzeti besedo nazaj (‘take back the word’) backtrack The idiom eat one’s words and its Slovene translational equivalent vzeti besedo nazaj both imply that somebody publicly admits that what he/ she said was wrong. If, on the other hand, we take into consideration the Slovene idiom požreti/ snesti besedo, which is a word-for-word translation of eat one’s words, we can see that this idiom also refers to something that was promised, but the implication here is that you promised something but did not keep the promise. One of the senses of the Slovene word Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 83 beseda is ‘promise’, which means that beseda (‘word’) is used in this sense in the idiom požreti/ snesti besedo. We could say that eat one’s words and vzeti besedo nazaj, on the one hand, and požreti/ snesti besedo, on the other, do share the semantic component implying that somebody said or promised something, but the difference is that in the first case, you have to admit that you were wrong, whereas in the second case, you do not fulfil your promise. In Slovene, the slot for the verbal component can be filled with two verbs, namely požreti (‘gobble (up)’) and snesti (‘eat’). The former is considered slightly rude or impolite, whereas the second one is neutral as far as register is concerned. The same characteristic (i.e., neutral register) also applies to the English verb to eat. The group of idioms presented below does not have any common feature, such as comparison or emotion: Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene lead sb by the nose vleči koga za nos Definitions control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do make sb believe sth which is not true Definitions plesati tako, kot kdo gode (‘dance in the way somebody fiddles’) lead sb up/ down the garden path The concept of the English idiom is relatively easy to understand. We can imagine that if somebody leads somebody else by the nose, they grab the person by the nose, which means that they cannot breathe properly. Moreover, this person can be pulled into a certain direction without being able to offer resistance. The situation itself suggests that this person does everything the other one wants. The metaphorical meaning of this idiom evolves from the situation in which bulls and other animals sometimes have rings through their noses so that a rope can be tied to the ring in order to lead them along. The purpose of leading an animal was transferred to a human being, but the underlying image was retained. This expression is also used in Shakespeare’s play Othello, when Iago says Othello “will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are” (Act I, Scene 3). In Slovene, however, the idiomatic expression vleči koga za nos (‘pull sb by the nose’) has not been extensively etymologically researched, but it seems that its motivation is similar: when a person is told a lie, they move in the direction suggested by the liar, i.e., the liar leads them in a certain direction, which is, of course, not the right one. Since the idiomatic expression implies ‘lying’, it has a negative connotation. The noun nose and its corresponding Slovene noun nos frequently express the semantic component of lying, especially in combination with Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 84 the adjective long (‘dolg’). An absurdly long, extended nose has become the visual symbol of a liar. The same metaphor is used in a number of children’s stories, the most famous one being that of Pinnochio. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene step/ tread on sb’s toes stopiti komu na prste Definitions offend or annoy sb, especially by getting involved in sth that is their responsibility prevent sb from doing sth bad Definitions užaliti koga (z vmešavanjem v njegovo delo) (‘offend sb (by interfering with their work)’) get on to sb By comparing the idiom in English and the PFF in Slovene, we can establish a common semantic component: interfering in somebody else’s activities. The difference is that in English, the person affected is offended or annoyed as a consequence of this interference because the activities are necessarily negative, whereas in Slovene the interference prevents a negative deed. In Slovene, the connotation is ‘to prevent sb from doing sth bad, negative or even illegal’. Keber (2011: 775) explains the origin of the Slovene idiom by the fact that fingers and toes play a very important role in a great majority of man’s manual and motor activities. By stepping on somebody’s toes, however, these activities are prevented. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene let sb stew in their own juice cvreti/ kuhati se v lastnem soku Definitions leave sb to worry about and suffer the unpleasant effects of their own actions sweat heavily Definitions pojesti, kar si je kdo skuhal (‘eat what one has cooked for oneself’) sweat buckets Etymologically, this idiom comes from cooking meat in its own juice. This idea is preserved in the Slovene idiom cvreti/ kuhati se v lastnem soku, where lastni sok (‘one’s own juice’) implies ‘sweat’, and both verbs (cvreti se ‘fry’, kuhati se ‘cook’) are used metaphorically with the meaning ‘to be in a very hot place’. A parallel can be drawn between the meat juices that are emitted when meat is cooked and a person who starts sweating when it is hot. If someone sweats heavily because of heat, this is perceived as something unpleasant; a person who breaks into a sweat does not feel Friends or Foes? Phraseological False Friends in English and Slovene 85 well, and the same applies to the meaning of the English idiom: an unpleasant situation which is a consequence of one’s own past actions. Idiom in English and false friend in Slovene get one’s wings dobiti krila Definitions pass the exams that mean you are allowed to fly a plane become more energetic Definitions narediti izpite za pilotiranje (‘pass the exams for flying’) gain new/ fresh impetus to sth In this case, one and the same concept is expressed by an idiomatic expression in English (get one’s wings) and by a free combination in Slovene (narediti izpit za pilotiranje). The literal, word-for-word equivalent in Slovene has the status of an idiom, but with a completely different meaning. In English, the noun wings refers to a certificate of ability to pilot an aeroplane, indicated by the addition to the uniform of a badge representing a pair of wings. The literal interpretation of the English idiom is therefore ‘to get the badge with a pair of wings’. Nowadays, the meaning is extended: it no longer suggests only a badge but the documents proving that somebody is qualified for the job of a pilot. The reason for the drastic difference between English and Slovene is likely to lie in cultural differences. In Slovenia, getting a badge of this kind is not associated with passing an exam or flying a plane, although the wing (of a plane) is translated by krilo, the noun that is used in the PFF dobiti krila. The noun krilo is used in a metaphorical sense implying something that encourages a process or activity to develop more quickly. In Slovene, the idiom developed from the animal world, where a bird uses its wings to fly high up. People associate wings with the ability to fly and consequently with the ability to make good progress, having a lot of energy. 4. Conclusion This contribution deals with a topic that has not so far been the subject of numerous linguistic studies. Phraseological as well as lexical false friends represent a great problem in communication, translation and lexicographic treatment. It is therefore necessary to first raise awareness of the lexical traps into which non-native speakers of English as well as any other language may easily fall, regardless of their level of linguistic knowledge. As a small-scale experiment carried out within the framework of a seminar intended for professional translators has shown, even experienced language users do not even think of such idioms as being problematic; Marjeta Vrbinc & Alenka Vrbinc 86 consequently, they translate these units word for word, which results in incorrect translation and incorrect comprehension of a text. To avoid this, it is essential to find and treat these pairs of idioms appropriately and at the same time to acquaint learners with them in the course of learning a foreign language. The best way to achieve this is to include them in coursebooks and, of course, in bilingual, general and especially phraseological dictionaries. Interestingly, many Slovene idioms included in the study whose findings are presented in this contribution are not in a false-friend relationship with German, thus being closer to German than English. This may be explained by the fact that a long shared history of language contact and bilingualism between Slovene and German is reflected in the phraseology of both languages. However, this falls beyond the scope of the present study but may be an interesting topic for further research into the influence of language contact on phraseology. 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Marjeta Vrbinc University of Ljubljana Faculty of Arts Slovenia Alenka Vrbinc University of Ljubljana Faculty of Economics Slovenia