I have a cold, and I thought everybody should know that I’m feeling sick, so I hope wou will show mercy, and forget about my grammar mistakes, or misspelings…
Yesterday I was talking to some of my workmates about my cold (not being egocentric, just talking about the weather and its consequences: it’s freezing here in Madrid!). Most of my workmates are native English speakers, with an intermediate level of Spanish, so they started to say that I was "constipated", since "constipado" is one of the words we use for "cold"... I had learnt long time ago, while learning French, about this false friend.
Could someone tell me why this change in meaning, and some other "dangerous false friends" I should be aware of?
Interesting, dama! Idiomatic expressions are a favorite of mine!
It would appear, based on this article, that the term was adopted to describe infections of rhinovirus, etc., based on its effects. Since it typically causes production of abnormally high amounts of mucous and leads to sinus congestion, the effect is that of having been "taken hold"...
Se extrañan, en efecto, de que hablemos con tan poca reserva de nuestros problemas intestinales con gente con quien no tenemos ninguna familiaridad. Al consultar esta palabra en un diccionario español-francés o español-inglés nos remitirá sin más a términos equivalentes a catarro y resfriado. Según los diccionarios vigentes, constipar es cerrar y apretar los poros impidiendo la transpiración. Pero es también, y en este sentido se usa en las otras lenguas, la irritación de las mucosas del intestino, que produce estreñimiento. Y en la tercera acepción, que es aquella que ha dado lugar al popularísimo "costipado", es sinónimo de catarro, enfriamiento y resfriado. Se usan las expresiones "agarrar, coger, contraer, pillar o pescar un costipado". Se refiere a la enfermedad que se manifiesta por la inflamación de las mucosas del aparato respiratorio, que produce, entre otras molestias, estornudos, tos, abundante mucosidad nasal…
So, what is the origin of the word? The author writes about that, as well.
Si consultamos el artículo constipation en cualquier diccionario francés o inglés, veremos que se usa exclusivamente este término para referirse al estreñimiento. Ni una sola alusión a lo que nosotros llamamos "costipado". ¿Y cuál ha sido el camino para llegar hasta aquí? A partir del latín con-stipatus, que es su origen, se entiende bastante mejor el estreñimiento que el resfriado. Del sustantivo stipa (puede haber dado lugar a estopa), que es el nombre que se daba a la paja de relleno para los embalajes, se formó el verbo stipare, que transcrito al español nos da "estibar" (se ha sonorizado la p).
My Spanish is not fluent enough to quickly translate this into English for the rest of our folks here… If you wouldn’t be too imposed, I’m sure others would like to know what this author has said.
I used the Babel Fish Translation service at AltaVista to translate, for my edification, but the results are not clean enough to simply copy and paste here.
Not to be vulgar, but I remember a young American woman talking about all the "preservativos" in food these days.
The Spaniard was confused, but somewhat encouraged!
‘Preservativo’ is Spanish for ‘condom’ last I heard.
What she was talking about were ‘conservantes’, although ‘preservativo’ might be used for food additive. I don’t remember hearing it used that way.
What do you think, dama?
Sorry about your cold. Try some Ephedra Tea with Brandy (not at work though)! And steam with some lavender and rosemary!
An agency working on a campaign for a milk product asked their translator why he had chosen the word "conservante" to translate "preservative" instead of "preservativo." The answer, it turned out, was simple; in Spanish the word "preservativo" refers not only to food preservatives, but also to condoms, which the translator thought might be rather unappealing when advertising a milk product.
I remember a young American woman talking about all the "preservativos" in food these days.
I actually saw once on TV Gloria Estefan using such a word… It seems she has forgotten her Spanish!
One of the meanings of "preservar", is "conservar", so after all she was right, althoug for some reason, it would sound better to say "preservante". Maybe, just to avoid confusion, we say "conservante".
Sitran, thanks for the link with false friends…
Tim, thanks for the article; I’m sorry, my English isn’t good enough to translate it. Is there anyone there who wants to try?
Here’s my (somewhat free) translation of the second part of the article quoted by Tim:
If we look up "constipation" in any English or French dictionary we will see that this term is used exclusively to refer to the bowel condition ("estreñimiento") without a single reference to what we call "costipado". So how did we get here? Well, the Latin word constipatus, which is its source, certainly conveys the idea of packing rather than that of a cold. From the noun stipa, meaning packing-straw (and possible source of the word "estopa"), there was formed the verb stipare, which by the usual rules of transformation (together with voicing of the p) gives us Spanish "estibar".
Is this what you were looking for, dama? (Did you want the first part too?)
That mention of the word "estibar" gives an interesting connection between "constipation" and "stevedores" (estibadores) which hadn’t occurred to me before!
Well, the one dangerous false friend that comes to my mind is embarrassed. To be embarazada means to be pregnagnt in Spanish, and I’ve known more than one English speaker really embarrassed after doing the quick and obvious translation while chatting. Ifound this link, it has some good-to-know false friends, but it’s not very thorough.
I hope I’ll be around here more often, but sometimes I don’t have the time…
A translation for the first paragraph Tim quoted, more or less:
They (English & French speakers?) find it strange, in effect, that we speak with so little reserve about our intestinal problems with people we hardly know. On looking up this word in a Spanish-French or Spanish-English dictionary, we are simply redirected to [entries for other words for minor respiratory ailments]. According to authoritative dictionaries, constipar refers to the closing and tightening of the pores, impeding perspiration. However, it is also - and it is in this sense that it is used in other languages - the irritacion of the mucous membranes of the intestines, which produces constipation. And in the third sense, which is the one which has given place to the popular term "constipado", is a synonym for [cold]. There are in common use [several expressions meaning "to catch a cold" that contain the word "constipado"]. It refers to the sickness that manifests itself in the inflamation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory system, which produces, among other annoyances, loud and difficult breathing, coughing, and overly abundant snot.
If we look up the word constipation in any French or English dictionary, we see that this term is used exclusively to refer to intestinal difficulties. Not a single alusion to that which we call "constipado". And just what [etymological] route has this word taken? From the construction of the Latin word, constipatus, it is better understood in the digestive sense rather than the repiratory. From the noun stipa, (possibly the source of the modern Spanish word for flax or hemp, estopa) which is the name that was given to the straw used for packing items for transport, the verb stipare was formed, which gave us estibar, "to pack, cram", in Spanish (with the ‘p’ becoming the voiced consonant ‘b’).
I’ve heard about the small print on an insurance claim form that was badly translated from French:
"If one pretends abusively, then one can pretend again at all time."
The Italian caldo occasionally causes problems in the shower!
In Denmark, you may get a glass of Carlsberg if you ask for øl for your car.
And I hear that Poles are very good at helping you through your grief if you talk about your caravan.
- Garzo.
Small Print: French prétendre is ‘to claim’, and abusif is ‘incorrect, excessive’. Italian caldo means ‘hot’ not ‘cold’. Danish øl is ‘beer’. And Polish karawan is a ‘funeral procession’.
[quote author=Garzo link=board=omni;num=1070536766;start=15#16 date=06/30/04 at 08:09:22]
In Denmark, you may get a glass of Carlsberg if you ask for øl for your car.
Danish øl is ‘beer’
the Danish one had me cracking up, because i knew that one.
btw a famous German one for those that may not know-
Talk about giving a ‘Gift’ at a wedding or party, etc. I imagine the grammar might be a bit odd, but thats because English is my first language, and I don’t normal give a ‘Poison’
