YU ISSN 0352-7808

UDK 651.926(05):5/6

i 97991

MOSTOVI \ POSEBNA ŠTEVILKA

Strokovno ol»«ilo
Oruitva znanstvenih
In tehntilclh txev«|alc«v
Slovenil«

c n

G

Z

UJ

d

LL

UJ

c n

<

LL

X

c n

0

z

Ul

1

UJ

z

UJ

>

o

-J
C f)

X >

V ^

mSm  —h

></) -J

LL! LL!

O <
Z 12
< DC
• 0.

S|

2<

ŠE

°Z

C/)

/. DRUŠTVO ZNANSTVENIH IN TEHNIŠKIH PREVAJALCEV SLOVENIJE

£•/:%. fk

'"/j?



LJUBLJANA, 1988

SLOVENE-ENGLISH FALSE FRIENDS

The present work is divided into two parts. The first_
theoretical part gives some insight into the linguistic
phenomenon called false friends and the second, more practical
part, is a compilation of about 340 false friends. The latter
section also provides the correct translation of the Slovene
false friends, gives examples and comments on their usage.

Just what exactly are false friends, sometimes also called false
pairs, deceptive cognates, or faux amis? This linguistic
phenomenon has been defined as "pairs of linguistic (not only
lexical) units in two different languages which have something in
common, but are not entirely egual." 1 2  Another author defines
false friends as "items which sound and/or look as if they should
be equivalent in (a) particular context (or even, in some cases,
in ali contexts) , but which in fact are not." =  We, however,
propose to go a step further and give a more comprehens ive
definition of false friends as well as attempt to classify they.
If we sum up the two above definitions, there are certain
similarities and certain differences between false friends. We
entirely agree. We propose to establish at this point just what
these similarities and differences are, and whether or not they
are significant for the translator. Words can be similar or
dissimilar at different levels: phonemic, morphologic,
etymological, grammatical, semantic, orthographic. The
translator, hovever, should be interested in only one level of
words - the semantic level. It is the meaning of the word which
teliš the translator whether or not he wi11 include it or not in
his translation. For this reason, this discussion shall be
concerned with only semantic differences and similarities of
false friends. Let us, therefore, define false friends in terms
of semantic fields 3  : False friends are words which may sound,
look, and are spel led alike, but whose two semantic fields do not
completely,- or not at ali, coincide. The semantic fields of
Slovene "hotel” and English "hotel" coincide exactly, which means
that the two words are not false friends. On the other hand, the
semantic field of Slovene "dres" is quite different from the
semantic field of its English counterpart "dress". They
therefore form a false-friend re lationship.

In order to shed more light on the complexities of false-friend
relationships and provide a more complete definition of false
friends, we decided to classify them. The first category is
called Absolute False Friends. False friends belonging to this
group are those whose semantic fields never coincide, i.e., The
Slovene false friend is never translated by its English
counterpart, regardless of the context, which may determine the

1  Ivir Vladimir, Teorija i tehnika prevodenj a  (“Translation
Theory and Technique) . The work contains an excellent discussion
on the theory of false friends and gives- some good examples of
Serbo-Croatian-Eng1ish false friends.

2  Limon David, "False Friends and Slovene-Eng1ish
Translation" in Mostovi  1, 1986, pp. 25-26. The article deals
with the difficulties of translating false friends and provides a
limited glossary of Slovene-Eng1ish false friends with their
correct trans lations.

3  A semantic fie.ld is the sum total of
given word.

ali meanings of a

** iii ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

different shades of meaning. This means that Slovene words
"dres","šef", "ambulanta", "aktualen", "evidenca", "fen",
"fotograf", "hazarden", "konkurenca", "kravata", "moda”,
"reklamacija" would under no circumstances be translated into
English by "dress", "chef", "ambulance", "evidence", " f an." ,
"photograph", "hazardous", "concurrence", "cravat", "mode", and
"reclamation", respectively.

The category of Contextual False Friends is the most extensive
and the most problematic. In one context, the pairs of this
category form a false-friend re1 ationship, in another they may
not. Slovene "solata", which the context defines as "a type of
dish", is translated into English by its counterpart "salad" and
therefore does not form a false-friend re1 ationship. However,
when the context defines Slovene "solata" as a vegetable plant,
it is translated into English by "lettuce” and not "salad". In
this context, the Slovene "solata" and English "salad” do indeed
form a false-friend relationship. To put it in another way, the
semantic fields of Slovene "solata" and English "salad" overlap
only to a certain degree. Some other examples from this category
are "kultura — culture", "bencin - benzine", "pedagog—
pedagogue", "sinhronizacija - synchronization".

A subgroup of Contextual False Friends is called Regional
Contextual False Friends. The same object or idea may be referred
to by different names in the various parts of the English—
speaking world. This is the reason that a given Slovene word may
function as a false friend in relation to its English counterpart
as it is used in one English language region, but is a "true
friend" to its English counterpart, as it is used in another
corner of the English-speaking world. Slovene "film" is not a
false friend to its English counterpart as it is used in Great
Britain. Across the Atlantic, however, they do become false
friends, because in North America the terms movie, motion Picture
and picture are preferred. Some more examples of Regional
Contextual False Friends are "kotlet - cutlet", "kino - cinema",
biljon - billion", "biljard - billiards", "direktor - director",
"pasjansa - patience", "sprint - sprint".

The last category of false friends is called Pseudo-False
Friends. Belonging to this group are false friends whose English
counterpart does not exist as a single term, but rather as two or
more English morphemes. Slovene "avtokamp" has no direct
counterpart in the English language, but is made up of two
English morphemes "auto" and "camp". Some more pseudo-false
friends are "rekonvalescent - re- + convalescent",
"termoakumulacijski - thermo- + accumulation", "grafoskop - graph
+ scope", "raketoplan - rocket + plane".

Fjnally, false friends may prove to be quite a bard nut to crack.
In order to avoid the pitfalls of direct, literal and therefore
incorrect translation of false friends, the translator ought to
identify false friends by looking up the English counterpart in a
good English dictionary and then find the correct translation of
the Slovene item of the pair. We hope that this discussion, and
the glossary that follovs, wi11 be of some Service to Slovene
translators, and wi11 thus make a contribution, hovever modest,
to the general guality of Slovene-Eng1ish trans lations.

Marjan Golobič
Ljubij ana
November, 1988

* *

a v

* *

FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

GLOSSARY

Each item of
false pair,
parentheses.
translation

the glossary
which may be
After the

begins with the Slovene item of the
folloved by an explanatory notation in
hyphen comes the correct English
or translations of its Slovene counterpart, or a
Slovene collocation immediately followed by the correct English
translation. Ali Slovene examples are separated from their
English translations by a colon. The semi-colon marks the
beginning of Slovene examples and their English translations.
Then follows a short explanatory statement

underlined English item or items
glossary item may also contain a

of the false pair.
reference note.

containing the
Finally, the

♦* 1 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

******************* A *****************

ADMINISTRACIJA - manaqement; Administration  usually refers to the management o-f a
branch o-f government while in private enterprise the term management is preferred.

ADMINISTRATOR - clerk, o-f-fice cierk; Administrator  is usually a person managing other
people's private property-.

ADVOKAT - lawyer; An advocate  is a person who argues tor a cause or supports or pleads
on behal-f o-f another; "Zagovornik" in Slovene. Devil's advocate: zagovornik zla or hudičev
zastopnik.

AFIRMIRATI SE - establish onesel-fi gain a reputation, make a name tor oneself; A-f-firm
means "potrditi" in Slovene.

AGILEN - enterprising, energetic; Agile  re-fers to the physical flexibility o-f the body,
although it can also stand -far mental alertness. Mlad, agilen direktor: an enterprising
young executive.

AGILNOST - initiative, enterprise, spunk (Am, col); Agilitv  means physical nimbleness.

AGREGAT(el) - generator, electric generator; Aggregate  means a group o-f distinct
particulars massed together: The empire is the aggregate o-f many States. Perhaps
"vsota" "skupek" or "združba" in Slovene.

AGREGATE N (phy s) - tekoče agregatno stanje: lipuid State; Aggregate  as an adjective means
gathered together into a sum so as to constitute a total; aggregate time (ski); skupni čas
(also combined time).

AKADEMIK - academician, fellow o-f the academy; An academic  means a teacher or študent
ot a -faculty.

AKCIJA - drive, effort; delovna akcija: work drive; papirna akcija: paper drive. Action  has a
too general meaning and is not used in this context.

AKT(art) - nude; ležeči akt: reclining nude; In English act means a part o-f a play; "dejanj"
in Slovene.

AKTUALEN - topical, current; aktualne novice: current news; aktualna problematika: topical
issues; aktualne filmske novice: current news film; aktualni dogodki: current events;
Actual  describes something that is real, factual, in existence, without any time
reference. "Stvaren," "resničen" in Slovene.

AKUMULACIJSKI - akumulacijsko jezero: reservoir. Accumulative  means shovving the effects
of aecumulation: accumulative power. The Slovene equivalent is "kumulativen."

AKUMULATOR(auto) - battery (Am), car battery (Am); In British English the word
accumulator  has the same acceptation as the Slovene term.

** 2 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

AKVIZITER - traveling salesman, daor-to-door salesman; the Slovene term corresponds to
English morphemes acguis-  and -ter  , although the composite term does not exist in the
English language.

ALKOTEST - Breathalyzer, breath test; “Alkotest” corresponds to English morphemes alco-
and test .but the two are never combined to -form an English word.

AMBULANTA - outpatient dinic, dispensar'/; Ambulance  is a vehicle for transportation o-f
the sick and wounded, corresponding to Slovene "rešilni avto," "rešilec."

AMORTIZER(auto) - shock absorber; "Amortizer" seems to correspond to English amortize
and -er. but the composite word does not exist in the English language. Furthermore,
the verb amortize  is never used in the automotive CDntext. Also see AMORTIZACIJA.

AMORTIZACIJA - depreciation cost; Amortization  may have the same meaning as its
Slovene friend but is rarely used.

ANGAŽIRANOST - commitment; angažiranost za mir v svetu: commitment to world peace;
Engaoement  has no poiitical connotations. It is a -format promise to do something.

ANGAŽIRATI SE - commit oneself, become involved; Zelo zgodaj se je angažiral v
narodnoosvobodilnem gibanju. : He very early committed himsel-f to the cause o-f the
national liberation movement. To enoage  in something means to busy onesel-f with
somethingi but has no poiitical connotations.

ANORGANSKI - inorganic; anorganska kemija: inorganic chemistr/; The Slovene term
corresponds to English ar£ and orgamc , although they are never combined to -form a
composite English word.

ANSAMEEL(mus) - band; plesni ansambel: big band; Ensemble  re-fers to a theatrical or
dance group.

ANTENA(TV, radio) - aerial; Antenna  denotes an insect's feeler—“tipalka" in Slovene—but
is o-ften also used to mean an aerial.

APARAT - appliance, set, machine; brivski aparat: shaver; -fotografski aparat: stili camera,
camera; TV aparat: TV set; kuhinjski aparat: Kitchen appliance; aparat za zobe: braces;
aparat Demokratske stranke: Democratic party machine; Aoparatus  consists of a number
of machines put together to accomplish a task, as in "heating apparatus of a building."

APARTMA - suite; Aoartment  in American English means "stanovanje."

ARHIVSKI - arhivski posnetek: file footage, file film; Since English is so fond of
alliteration it prefers not to use archival  in the above collocation. Note: In an

Australian film clip the caption "archival film" has been spotted.

ARMATURA - chassis, framework; Armature  (el) is translated into Slovene by "rotor." It can
also mean a framewark for a day sculpture.

ARMATUREN(auto) - armaturna plošča: dashboard (Am), fascia (Er). For armature see
ARMATURA.

ATOMSKI - atomski reaktor: nudear reactor; atomsko zaklonišče: fallout shelter;
podmornica na atomski pogon: nuclear submarine. In English, nudear seems to be more
widely used than atomic .

** 3 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

ATRAKTIVEN - atraktiven šport: spectator šport; attractive  usualiy refers to the physical
appearence of a person,

AUT(sp) - out o-f bounds; Žoga je v autu.: The bali is out o-f bounds. Except in tennis where
"The bali was out," is perfectly correct English.

AVTOKAMP - campsite; The Slovene false friend corresponds to two Englis.h terms, auto
and camo , although the composite English term does not exist.

AVTOGRAM - autograph; The Slovene term corresponds to English morphemes auto  and
aram , although they do not form a composite English term.

AVTOPORTRET - self-pcrtrait; Slovene "avtoportret" corresponds to English auto  and
portrait , although the twa morphemes do not combine ta form a single English word.

AVTOBUS - bus; Autcbus  is rarely used in English.

AVTOBUSEN - avtobusno postajališče: bus stop; avtobusna postaja: bus station, bus depot
(Am); For autobus  see AVTOBUS.

AVTOSALON - car show (Am), motor show (Br); the Slovene term corresponds to two English
morphemes, auto  and salon , although the composite English term does not exist.

AVTOŠAMPON - car shampoo; The Slovene term corresponds to two English morphemes:
auto  and shamooo .

AVTOSTOP - hitchhiking, thumbing; "Avtostop" corresponds to English auto  and stop , but
the two words are never combined in a single term.

**************** B ****************

BANDA - ring, gang; banda kriminalcev: a ring o-f criminals; voditelj bande: ringleader; Band
is de-fined as a group o-f persons doing something together, and usually has no
derogator'/ connotations. The term can, however, be used in collocations such as a "band
o-f robbers."

BANKROTIRATI - go bankrupt, go under (col), go belly up (col); Podjetje je bankrotiralo.: The
company went bankrupt. the English verb to bankrupt  can only be used transitively: High
in-flation rate and mismanagement bankrupted the company.

BAR - nightclub, nitespat (Am); English bar corresponds to Slovene “bife", "pivnica",
"točilnica".

BARAKA - shed, hut, shack; English barracks  is translated into Slovene by "kasarna."

BAZEN - swimming pool; In Slovene, basin  means a "lavor," "umivalnik" or , in geography,
"kotlina," "porečje": the Sava basin, the Soča basin, the Ljubljana basin.

BENCIN - gasoline (Am), gas (Am,col), petrol (Br); Bencin  or bencine  is defined as a mixture
of hydrocarbons and is never used to refer to a kind of fuel.

** 4  ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

BILJARD - pool (Am); Billiards —used with a singular verb--while quite common in Bntish
Enalish, is much less common than pool in North America. The game is played in a
pool-hall (Am) or in a billiards-room; "biljardnica" in Slovene.

BILIJON - trilijon (Am); In Norih America, billion  is 1 follovved by ? zeros and in the U.K. 1
is follcvved by 12 zeros. In Norih America, 1 follovved by 12 zeros is called a trillion.

BLOK - aparimeni block (Am), a block of -flats (Br); A block  is a rectangular seciion of a city
or tovvn bounded on each side by consecuiive sireeis. The term block is rarely used to
denote an apartment block.

BLOKIRATI - blokirati liter mleka (v trgovini); check out a liter of milk; The English verb
to block has nothing in common with the its Slovene counterpart.

BOJLER - hot water heater (Am), water heater; the Slovene "bojler" refers to a household
appliance while the English boiler  is used far commercial or industrial purposes; "kotel"
in Slovene.

BOKS - boxing; Bo:;  refers to a single blow or slap with the hand and not to the spori of
boxing. Unlike "inženiring" and "marketing", "boks" has dropped the English suffi>:
"-ing."

BOMBA(container) - cylinder, tank; kisikova bomba; oxygen cylinder, oxygen tank (diving);
acetilenska bomba; acetylene cylinder; plinska bomba; gas cylinder; Bomb  does mean a
Container capable of withstanding high internal pressure, but is rarely used in the above
collocations.

BONBON - candy; Bonbon  is a specific type of chocolate candy with a filling of fruits, nuts,
etc.

BUFFET, BIFE- bar (Am), pub (Br); Buffet  refers to a counter where food and drinks are
served, mostly found in railway stations or on a train.

CAMPING- campsite; Camping  refers to the activity itself and not to the area where that
activity takes plače; We spent our vacation camping on the island of Hvar.

CELULOZA - pulp; tovarna papirja and celuloze; a pulp and paper mili. Cellulose  is defined
as the main constituent of ali plani tissues and fibers used in the manufacture of paper,
textiles» and explosives. This term is used in technical contexts,while the term pulp has
generalcurrency.

CILINDER(cloth) - top hat; The English cylinder  has nothing in common with the Slovene
word, which got its name from the cylindrical shape of this piece of dothing.

CIVIL - civilian, biti v civilu; wear plain dothes; policaj v civilu; plain-clothesman; A noun
in Slovene, an adjective in English, civil  means pertaining to citizens or to the Citizen as
an individual. It can be translated into Slovene by "civilen,” "ljudski"; civil defence;
civilna zaščita.

** 5 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

**************** C *******************

v

ČIPS - potato chips; Chips or French fries (Am) are French "pommes frites." A very
popular British dish is called -fish'n'chips.

**************** D ********************

DATOTEKA(comp) - -file; Podatki iz datoteke se lahko prikažejo na zaslonu ali pa izpišejo na
papir.: Data can be displayed on the screen or printed on paper. The Slovene term
corresponds to English data  and suffi>: -thegue .

DEFEKTEN - retarded, mentally retarded, mentally handicapped; de-fekten otrok: retarded
child. The term "retarded" sounds a bit harsh nowadays. The euphemism "special needs
persons" has recently been gaining acceptance. Defective  is used in connection with
faulty praducts: a de-fective valve.

DEKLAMIRATI - recite; Although declaim  means exactly the same as its Slovene friend, it
does not enjoy the popularit'/ of "recite."

DEKLINACIJA - declension; Declination  means a sloping or bending downward, a decline. In
Slovene "pojemanje."

DEPANDANSA - annex; Dependency  or dependence  is translated into Slovene as
"odvisnost."

DEVIZA - -foreign currency; menjati devize: exchange (buy) -foreign currency. Devise  is a
legal term and means the act o-f giving real property by will. Perhaps "oporoka
nepremičnin" in Slovene.

DEVIZEN - devizni tečaji: -foreign currency eschange rates; devizna lista: foreign currenc/
list. For devise see DEVIZA.

DIAPOZITIV - slide; English morphemes dia-  and positive  correspond to the Slovene term,
but the two are never combined to form a composite English word.

DIREKCIJA - top management, head office, board of directors; Direction  is translated into
Slovene as “smer" or "vodenje."

DIREKTOR - executive (Am), head (Am), general manager, senior executive; direktor zunanje
trgovine: foreign trade department head, generalni direktor: chief executive; Although
the term director  is perfectly acceptable in English,"executive" and "head" are more
common in North America. Head is used for positions at a lower level, i.e., heads of
various departments of a company, while executives deal with the overall policy of a
company. Note: the collocation "board of directors" is also very common in North
America.

** 6 ** FALSE FRISNDS-NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

DISERTACIJA - thesis; doktorska disertacija: Doctoral thesis; magistrska disertacija:
Master's thesis; Dissertation  has exactly the same meaning as its Slovene friend, but
is less common.

DISPECER - messenger; Dispatcher  is a person who sends out buses t  trains, or trucks
according to a schedule.

DIVERZANTSKI - diverzantska bomba: booby trap (Am); In ali other collocations the term
diversionary  is used.

DRES (sp) - uniform, leotard (gimnast); English noun dress  refers to a type of lady's
dothing, but soccer players wear uniforms.

DZINS - denim (Am); krilo iz dzinsa: a denim skirt; Jeans  or blue jeans  refer to slacks made
of denim. "Kavbojke" in Slovene. Jeans, as a type of cloth, is also used, but is not
current in American English.

S************************* E *-**********-!HHHHHH******

EKIPA - team, part'/; ekipa alpinistov: a party of alpinists; kosarkarška ekipa: basketball
team; Eouio  is an English verb translated into Slovene by "opremiti.”

EKSPERTIZA - e>;pert analysis, expert opinion; E:<oertise  is translated into Slovene by
"strokovno znanje."

EKSPONAT - exhibit, exhibited item, exhibited object; Exbonent  is a mathematical term
translated into Slovene as “eksponent."

EKSTRAVAGANTEN - eccentric; Extravaqant  is translated into Slovene by "razsipen,"
"pretiran."

ELEKTRIKA - power; Zmanjkalo je elektrike.: There's no power.; izpad električnega toka:
power failure; Power refers to electricity used as a means for operation of household
and other appliances and machines. The term electricitv  is used in more technical and
scientific contexts.

ELEKTROENERGETSKI - elektroenergetski sistem: the national grid; The Slovene term
corresponds to English electro -  and eneraetiCj Vvhile the compound word does not exist
in English.

ELEKTROMAGNET - solenoid; Electromaonet  has exactly the same meaning as its Slovene
counterpart, but "solenoid" is preferred in the electronics jargon.

ELEMENTAREN - elementarna nesreča: natural disaster; While the English plural noun the
elements  refers to the farces in nature, its adjective elementary  has no such
connotations. It simply means "fundamental."

EMANCIPACIJA - emancipacija žene: women's lib (col), women's liberation; In this
particular collocation emancioation  is not used in the West, although it does mean
liberation, freedom. The Emancipation Proclamatian: osvoboditev sužnjev v ZDA. Note:
“emancipation of women" is a term often used in Third-World countries.

** 7 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

ENERGETSKI - power, energy; energetski objekti: povver stations, power plants; energetski
problemi: energy problems; The noun "energy" can often be used adjectivally in different
conte>:ts where Slovene "energetski" appears. Its adjective energetic  however, should
never be used. It usually refers to a personal trait, i.e., "vigorous;" In Slovene "agilen,"
"poln energije," "poln moči."

EVENTUALEN- possible, in the event of , should it happen that; V eventualnem slabem
vremenu bo srečanje v zaprtem prostoru.: In the event of bad weather, the meeting will
take plače indoors. The English term eventual  in most cases does not say anything
about the possibility o-f an action. It only informs us that something will occur at some
unspeci-fied time in the future. The Slovene equivalent would perhaps be "končen."
Although rarely, eventual  may also mean "eventualen." The English phrase "his eventual
death" would be best rendered in Slovene by the verbal phrase "ko je Končno umrl."

EVENTUALNO - possibly, at the most , at the latest; Pridem of sedmih , eventualno of pol
osmih.; I'll be there at seven, at seven thirty at the latest. Eventualno je sestanek lahko
naslednji petek.: The meeting can possibly be ne>:t Fnday. Eventually  is translated into
Slovene by "sčasoma," "končno," "nazadnje."

EVERGREEN (mušic) - old favorite (Am), oldie but goodie, oldie moldie (Am, col); In North
America, the noun evergreen  refers to evergreen trees, shrubs and other plants. It can
possibly be used in the expression "evergreen melodies."

EVIDENCA -record; imeti v evidenci: have on record, have on file, keep on file, keep on
record; Vas pa nimamo več v evidenci.: We don't have you on file anymore. English
evidence  can mean either "dokaz" or, in legal terminology, "pričevanje".

EVIDENČNI - evidenčni karton: file card; Evidential  simply means pertaining to or having
the nature of evidence.  Also see EVIDENCA.

***************-****** F *********-*********»****•*

FAKULTATIVEN - fakultativni predmet: elective course; The English facultative  means
capable of occurring or not occurring while the Slovene term means "optional" or
"elective."

FAMOZEN (col) - terrific (col), fantastic (col), groovy (Am, col), out of sight (Am, col), far
out (Am, cdD,  bad (Am, col); Ima pa res famozen avto.: That's a terrific car he's got
there. The Slovene colloquial term can be used to describe the good, positive side of
almost anything, while English famous is used to describe well-known things or persons.

FANTASTIKA - znanstvena fantastika: science fiction, SciFi, SF; The English adjective
fantastic  is not used in this collocation.

FANTAZIJA - imagination; bujna fantazija: wild imagination, vivid imagination; "Fantazija"
has two English friends: fantasta  is a kind of musical composition and fantasv  can be
defined as the realm of vivid imagination. The Slovene rather colloquial term on the
other hand refers to the capacity of the mind to imagine and invent. Fantasy  is
translated into Slovene by "svet domišljije."

FEN - hair dryer, blow dryer (Am); English fan corresponds to Slovene "ventilator". See
VENTILATOR.

*« 3 *» FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

FILOZOFSKI - filozofska fakulteta: facult/ of arts; Both terms "filozofska" and "arts"
encompass a wide scope of disciplines including those which have nothing to do with
philosophy or the arts: geography, paleontholog'/, geolog'/, etc. The English term
philosophy  is not used in this collocation.

FILM - movie (Am, col), motion picture (Am), picture (Am, col); English film  is chiefly used
in the U.K. and rarely in colloquial North American English.

FLOMASTER - felt pen; This term is a brand name which gained the status of a common
noun in Slovene. It corresponds to English flow  — sometimes spelled flo in North
American English—and master . The two morphemes are never combined to form an
English word.

FLUKTUACIJA - turnover; Fluctuation  is never used to mean the number of workers hired
to replace those who have left.

FORMULAR - form; Izpolnite formular prosim.: Fill out (or in) the form, please. Formula  is
an English word that comes closest to the Slovene term and means the same as Slovene
"formula."

FOTOGENIČEN - Ta igralka je zelo fotogenična.: This actress takes a very good picture or
This actress photographs well.; Photogenic  has the acceptation of the Slovene term, but
is rarely used in everyday spoken English.

FOTOGRAFIJA - photograph, photo, snapshot; When fotografija stands for a single image
printed on a piece of paper, it qualifies as a false fnend, its counterpart being
“photograph." It is not a false friend, however, when it refers to the art of taking
photographs - DhotoQraphy.

FOTOGRAF - photographer; English ohotooraoh  designates the object itself and not the
person who makes it.

FUNKCIJA - Office, position; imeti funkcijo: hold an Office; English function  refers to a
specific, even temporary role or occupation of an individual and not to his permanent
position in the company.

FUNKCIONAR - official, officer; Functionarv  means the same as the Slovene term but is
much less frequently used.

44444444444444444444444444  G 44444444444444444444444

GALANTERIJA - vvares, goods, articles; usnjena galanterija; leather goods ar leather
articles; kovinska galanterija : metalvvare; kuhinjska galanterija: kitchenvvare; Gallantry
has absolutely nothing to do with its Slovene friend. It means "courtliness."

GARNITURA - set, kit, team, lot; garnitura posod: set of dishes; garnitura orodja: tool kit;
garnitura rezanega lesa: lot of cut wood; garnitura rudarjev: team of miners; English
garniture  has a totally different meaning. It stands for something that decorates - an
embellishment: garniture of a birthday cake.

GAZIRAN - carbonated; gazirana pijača: carbonated beverage; soft drink (Am), pop (Am, col);
The English verb qasify  means to convert into gas and is mainly used in scientific and
technologic contexts.

**  3 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

GENIALEN - ingenious, brilliant, highly gi-fted; Genial  is translated into Slovene by "blag, 11
"prijazen," "družaben."

GIMNAZIJA - high school (Am), grammar school (Br); English qymnasium  means
"telovadnica." Note: When referring to institutions in Continental Europe, English
"gymnasium" can mean the same as Slovene "gimnazija,"

GRAFIK - graphic artist; Graphic  is always an adjective meaning pertaining to graphic arts.

GRAFIKA - graphic art, work of graphic art, print; The plural noun graphics  is not used in
an arts context. It means the making o-f architectural drawings in accordance witn
mathematical rules.

GRAFOSKOP - overhead projector; English morphemes graoh  and scooe  correspond to the
Slovene term, but the two are never combined to form a single English word.

GRAMOFON - record player, turntable; Gramophone  is obsolete toda'/. It is used to re-fer
to record players manu-factured soon after its invention.

GUMA - tire; Gum  re-fers to the substance derived from the rubber tre e.

S-*#***************#********** H **************************

HAPPY END - hapoy ending ; For some obscure reason this Slovene colloquiai term did not
retain the "-ing" of the English original, cf. BOKS, CAMPING.

HARMONIKA - accordion; Harmonica  is a "mouth organ", in Slovene, "orglice." However,
Slovene "harmonika" can infrequently also be used to mean "mouth organ."

HAZARDEN - hazardna igra: aleatory game; Hazardous  simply means "dangerous."

HAZARDIRATI - gamble; Vso noč je hazardiral. He spent the whole night gambling. The verb

to hazard means "to dare," or "to run the risk o-f."

—

HIMNA - državna himna: national anthem; A hymn  is a song of praise or thanksgiving ta
God or any song of praise or joy in general. "Anthem" has a much similar meaning, but in
this collocation it is preferred to hymn .

HIPERPRODUKCIJA - overproduction; The Slovene term corresponds to English hyper-  and
oroduction , although the two are never combined to form a single English term.

HIPERPOPULACIJA - overpopulation; See HIPERPRODUKCIJA.

HIPNOTIZER - hypnotist; Hypnotiser  means exactly the same as "hypnotist", but the latter
term is much more common in English. -

HIPOTEKA - mortgage; Hypothec  means exactly the same but is limited to legal contexts,
while “mortgage" is the everyday term.

** 10 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

HOSPITACIJE - in-class observation; The Slovene term corresponds to English hospital and
5 uf-fix -ation,  but the composite word does not e>:ist in English.

***************************** I ************************

IDEJEN - conceptual, mental, spiritual* of the mind, ideologic; idejna skica: conceptual
outline; idejni projekt: conceptual project; idejnopolitičen: ideological and political; Ideal
simply means “idealen."

IMPULZ(comp) - pulse; Although impulse  can be and is used in scientitic conte>:ts, it has
not gained acceptance in Computer technology.

INDIGO - carbon paper; Indigo  is a blue dye used in the manu-facture of carbon paper,
although today most types o-f carbon paper are black and are called in Slovene "karbonski
papir."

INFARKT - stroke, heart attack; Irvfarct is the tissue resulting from -failure o-f local blood
supply.

ILEGALA - underground, resistance; iti v ilegalo: go underground; Slovene word "ilegala"
is associated with the National Liberation Movement. The English term illeoal  is an
adjective and cannot be used in this sense also because it carries negative connotations.

ILEGALEC - underground activist, resistance activist; See ILEGALA.

INŠTRUIRATI - give private lessons, tutor; To instruct  simply means to teach or educate
and does not say anything about the -form o-f this method o-f teaching. Slovene
“inštruirati", on the other hand, re-fers to intensive teaching process on a one-to-one
basis.

INŠTRUKCIJE - private lessons; inštrukcije iz matematike: private lessons in math; In
English* instruction  is a general term meaning the act o-f imparting knowledge.

INŠTRUKTOR - tutor* private instructor; English instructor  is another general term -for
teacner.

INŠTALATER - vodni inštalater: plumber; električni inštalater: electrician; The term
installer  is not used in the above two collocations.

INŠTALACIJA - električna .instalacija: wiring; vodna instalacija: plumbing; Although
English installation  means the same as its Slovene -friend* it is not used in the above
expressions.

INTEGRALEN - integralna moka: whole wheat -flour; In this collocation "vvhole" is
pre-ferred to integral .

INTENZIVEN - intenzivni tečaj angleščine: English immersion course; The term intensive
is not used in this collocation.

INTERESENT - the person interested; interesenti: those interested; interesenti naj se
prijavijo na spodnji naslov: those interested should apply to the address below; biti
interesent za: be interested in; Interested  is an adjective in English while its Slovene

** il ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

counterpart is a noun. Thus the correct English translation requires "a person" or
"those."

INTERNA(teleph) - e>:tension; Intern  refers to a študent, e.g., medical študent, undergoing
supervised practical training. "Stažist" in Slovene.

INTERNIST - boarder; English intern  has a narrower meaning than the Slovene "internist."
See INTERNA.

INTERPUNKCIJA - punctuation; English morphemes inter-  and punctuation  correspond to
the Slovene term, but they are never combined in a composite English term.

INVALID - handicapped person, disabled person, special needs person (euph); invalidi: the
handicapped; Invalid  means e>:actly the same as its Slovene fnend, but is used much less
frequently than "handicapped."

INVALIDNINA - disability benefits; Invalidity  has a completely different meaning: the
condition or quality of being void or unjustifiable. "Neveljavnost" in Slovene.

INVALIDSKI - invalidska pokojnina: handicap pension; invalidski voziček: wheelchair. For
invalid  see INVALIDNINA and INVALID.

INVENTURA - stock-taking; In North America inventorv  is used while the British prefer
"stock-taking."

IZOLACIJA - insulation; Isolation , which means "solitude", should not be con-fused with
"insulation."

IZOLACIJSKI- izolacijski material: insulation material; for isolation see IZOLACIJA.

************************** J ****************************

JUBILEJ - anniversary; Although the English equivalent jubilee  does have the same basic
meaning.it usually refers to an informal, joyful celebration o-f an anniversary. Its
Slovene counterpart, on the other hand, is used for more formal or solemn circumstances.

************************** K ****************************

KANALtTV, radio) - channel; Canal  is a man-made waterway used by ships. Channel can also
be used to mean a natural passage between two land masses: the English Channel.

KADER - personnel, management (personnel); V Jugoslaviji so delavci in kader člani istega
sindikata.: In Yugoslavia, workers and management are members of the same trade union.
Cadre  has the same meaning as the Slovene term, but is rarely used. It usually refers to
military personnel.

KANALIZACIJA - sewer, sewage, waste disposal system; Canalization  refers to a system
of above-ground channels used for water transport, while the Slovene friend denotes a
system of underground canals designed for waste disposal.

** 12 ** FALSE FRIENDS-NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

KARTON - cardboard; card; škatla iz Kartona: cardboard box; evidenčni karton: -file card;
Carton  is the object, the "cardboard bo:<" itsel-f, and not the material it is made of. e.g.,
a carton o-f mil«.

KARTOTEKA - card index, files, records, card register; The Slovene word corresponds to
English card  and thegue,  although the two are never combined to -form a composite
English word.

KASETOFON - cassette deck, cassette player; The Slovene term corresponds to two English
wards cassette  and phone , although they are never combined to -form a single English
word.

KASKADER - stunt man; The Slovene term corresponds to two English morphemes cascade
and - er , but the two morphemes do not -form a composite English word.

KAVCIJA - bail; deposit; Za izpustitev obtoženca se mora vložiti Kavcija.: Bail must be
posted -for the release o-f the accused. Za to steklenico se ne plača kavcija.: There is no
deposit on this bottle. Caution  has a completely different meaning -from its Slovene
counterpart: a warning.

KAVBOJKE - jeans, blue jeans; This Slovene colloquial barbarism comes from the
universally adopted English term cowboy .

KEKS - biscuit (Br), cookie (Am); English cake  is a much larger,usually round and soft piece
of pastry,usually translated into Slovene by "torta."

KEMIČNI - kemični svinčnik: bali point pen; In this specific collocation the term Chemical  is
not used.

KINO - movie theater (Am), theater (Am); "Kino" is a shortened version of dnema, common
in British but not in North American English. To avoid canfusion between a dramatic
performance and theater in the meaning of "dnema," the term "live theater" is used in
North America.

KINOOPERATER - projectionist; The Slovene word corresponds to English cine -  and
operator , although the two morphemes do not form a composite English ward.

KIOSK - newsstand (Am); Kiosk  is a cylindrical structure bearing advertisements and is
usually found in Eurcpe, also known as "advertisement pillar." It also means
"newsstand“, particularly in British English.

KLIMATIZACIJA - air conditioning; The Slovene term corresponds to English morphemes
climate , - ize  and - ation , although the two morphemes are never combined to form an
English word.

KLIMATIZIRANO - air conditioned; For climatized see KLIMATIZACIJA.

KOLEGA(col) - fellovv, chum, chap, guy (Am), buddy (Am); Colleague  is translated into
Slovene by "sodelavec."

KOLEKTIV - workers’ organization; Collective  is an adjective and is used in such
collocations as collective farm: zadruga; collective bargaining: skupna pogajanja.

KOLONA (auto) - back-up, traffic jam; Kolona seže prav do tunela.: The back-up stretches
right to the tunnel,-or better, Traffic is backed up right to the tunnel. Colon  means
"dvopičje."

** 13 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

KOMANDIRATI - order around, boss araund; The English term commandeer  means "to
con-fiscate" or "to force into military Service."

KOMERCIALIST - sales agent, broker; Commercialist  is a more general term designating a
person engaged in Commerce.

KOMISIJA - committee; "Komisija" is a common term denoting a group o-f people whose task
is to make decisions or pass judgement usually on a permanent basis. English
commission  has a much narrovver sense, re-ferring to a group o-f people lawfully
authorized to per-form a certain function as a government agency, usually on a temporary
basis.

KOMPLET - set; kit; komplet orodja: tool kit; hlačni komplet: pant suit; Complete  never
occurs in English as a noun. It is always an adjective or a verb.

KONDICIJA - physical fitness, shape (Am, col); imeti kondicijo: be physically -fit or be in
good shape (Am, col); In English, condition  means the same as its Slovene counterpart,
but is less frequently used.

KONKRETNO - in fact, in actual -fact, actually; Predlog je bil konkretno sprejet šele po
triurni razpravi.: The propasal was actually adopted only a-fter three hours o-f
deliberations. The adverb concretelv  is not as common in everyday English as Slovene
"konkretno". The adjective "concrete", however, is as common and has the same meaning
as its Slovene counterpart "konkreten;" konkreten primer; a concrete example.

KONKURENCA - competition; močna konkurenca: stiff (or serious) competition; Concurrence
is very seldom used to mean “competition." It is usually used in the meaning o-f
"accordance," "coincidence," "agreement" or "cooperation," in Slovene "soglasje,"
"naključje," "sporazum" or "sodelovanje."

KONSIGNACIJA - consignment; konsignacija hladilnikov; consignment o-f re-frigerators;
Although it means the same as the Slovene term, consionation  is rarely used.

KONSTRUKTOR - designer; Constructor is "graditelj" in Slovene.

KONTROLA - check, checking, veri-fication, supervision, inspection; kontrola proizvodnje:
production supervision; kontrola podatkov: data check; kontrola hitrosti: speed check;
Exception seems to be "kontrola kvalitete", which is translated by "quality control."
English control  is an awkward and tricky term to render in Slovene. It is usually
translated as "vodenje" or "upravljanje", and in Computer terminology as "krmiljenje."

KONTROLIRATI - check, supervise, monitor, veri-fy; kontrolirati let raketoolana: monitor
the -flight o-f the Shuttle; kontrolirati nivo vode: check water level; kontrolirati rezultate:
verify the results; kontrolirati potek proizvodnje: supervise production -flow; A very
tricky term to translate. It is never or almost never rendered in English as the verb to
control . English "control" is translated into Slovene by "voditi" or "krmiliti."

KONTROLOR - supervisor, inspector, checker; Kontrolor is a widely used term denoting a
person who per-forms various supervising or inspecting activities: kontrolor voznih kart,
kontrolor proizvodnje. In English, controller  or comotroller  has a very specialized
meaning: controller is an officer who audits accounts and supervises the -financial
a-f-fairs o-f a Corporation.

** 13 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

KOMANDIRATI - order around, boss around; The English term commandeer  means "to
confiscate" or "to force into military Service."

KOMERCIALIST - sales agent, broker; Commercialist  is a more general term designating a
person engaged in commerce.

KOMISIJA - committee; "Komisija" is a common term denoting a group o-f people whose task
is to make decisions or pass judgement usually on a permanent basis. English
commission  has a much narrower sense, referring to a group o-f people law-fully
authorized to per-form a certain function as a government agency, usually on a temporary
basis.

KOMPLET - set; kit; komplet orodja: tool kit; hlačni komplet: pant suit; Complete  never
occurs in English as a noun. It is always an adjective or a verb.

KONDICIJA - physical fitness, shape (Am, col); imeti kondicijo: be physically fit or be in
good shape (Am, col); In English, condition  means the same as its Slovene counterpart,
but is less frequently used.

KONKRETNO - in fact, in actual fact, actually; Predlog je bil konkretno sprejet šele po
triurni razpravi.: The praposal was actually adopted only after three hours ot
deliberations. The adverb concretelv  is not as common in everyday English as Slovene
"konkretno". The adjective "concrete", however, is as common and has the same meaning
as its Slovene counterpart "konkreten;" konkreten primer: a concrete example.

KONKURENCA - competition; močna konkurenca: stiff (or serious) competition; Concurrence
is very seldom used to mean "competition." It is usually used in the meaning of
"accordance," "coincidence," "agreement" or "cooperation," in Slovene "soglasje,"
"naključje," "sporazum" or "sodelovanje."

KONSIGNACIJA - consignment; konsignacija hladilnikov: consignment o-f re-frigerators;
Although it means the same as the Slovene term, consignation  is rarely used.

KONSTRUKTOR - designer; Constructor  is "graditelj' in Slovene.

KONTROLA - check, checking, verification, supervision, inspection; kontrola proizvodnje:
production supervision; kontrola podatkov: data check; kontrola hitrosti: speed check;
E;:ception seems to be "Kontrola kvalitete", which is translated by “quality control."
English control  is an awkward and tricky term to render in Slovene. It is usually
translated as "vodenje" or "upravljanje", and in Computer terminology as "krmiljenje."

KONTROLIRATI - check, supervise, monitor, veri-fy; kontrolirati let raketoDlana: monitor
the -flight of the Shuttle; kontrolirati nivo vode: check water level; kontrolirati rezultate:
verify the results; kontrolirati potek proizvodnje: supervise production flow; A very
tricky term to translate. It is never or almost never rendered in English as the verb to
control . English "control" is translated into Slovene by "voditi" or "krmiliti."

KONTROLOR - supervisor, inspector, checker; Kontrolor is a widely used term denoting a
person who performs various supervising or inspecting activities: kontrolor voznih kart,
kontrolor proizvodnje. In English, controller  or comptroller  has a very specialized
meaning: controller is an officer who audits accounts and supervises the financial
affairs of a Corporation.

** 15 s* FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

KULTUREN - kulturna prireditev: artistic event; kulturni dom: arts center; kulturni delavec:
worker in the arts; Bodi no kulturen.: Mind your manners. But kulturna dediščina: cultural
heritage; kulturni spomenik: cultural monument. For cultural se e KULTURA.

KURIR - messenger; while "messenger" is the common term, courier  is used -for a diplomatk
messenger on official or urgent business.

KURZ - kurz menjave: exchange rate; English course  has nothing to do with its Slovene
counterpart in this collocation.

KVALIFICIRANI - kvalificirani delavec: skilled worker; nekvalificirani delavec: unskilled
worker; polkvalificirani delavec: semi-skilled worker, visokokvalificirani delavec: highly
skilled worker; G.ualified  is a reference to a person who has specific qualifications for a
certain Job and does not refer to a general category of workers as it is the čase in
Slovene.

KVALITETEN - quality, good-quality; Since "kvaliteten" is an adjective, its false friend is
the English adjective gualitative , which is never used to denote a relative degree of
quality; kvalitetno blago: good-quality (or quality) material* nekvalitetno blago:
low-quality paper; zelo kvalitetni izdelek: superior-quality product.

********************* L

LASERSKI - laserski gramofon: compact disc player, CD player; Although a laser is used ,in

sound reprcduction of the compact disc player, the term itself is not used in the English
name of the device.

LEKTORIRATI - revise; Lecture  carries the meaning of "predavati" or "pridigati" (col).

LEKTOR - foreign lecturer; language editor; Lecturer  is "predavatelj" in Slovene.

LEVKOPLAST - Band-Aid, adhesive bandage; “Levkoplast" corresponds to English
morphemes IeuKo-  and olast  , but the term combining the two morphemes is never used in
English.

LICITACIJA - bidding, auction; javna licitacija: public auction. The Slovene term
corresponds to English licitation , which has the same meaning, but is rarely used.

LIKER - liqueur; "Liker" should not be confused with liguor  which means "alkohol" (col);
zgane pijače: hard liquor.

LIKVIDIRATI - do in, do away with, waste (Am, col); Švabi so ga likvidirali.: The Krauts did
him in. Liouidate  can also be used in the sense "to kili," but it does not carry the
colloquial flavor of the Slovene friend.

LIMIT - credit line; Limit  is never used in this conte>;t.

LOKAL - premises; Kartanje in petje v lokalu ni dovoljeno.: Card playing and singing are not
allowed on the premises. Local  as a substantive refers to a public conveyance which
makes many stops.

LUSTER - chandelier; Luster  denotes a decorative glass pendant which is part of a
chandelier, although it very rarely also refers to the entire lighting fixture itself.

** 16 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

********************* M **************************

MADONA - <expl) - Jesus, Christ, gees (Am); Madona, si nor!: Jesus, you're crazy! Madonna
usually preceded by "the" and capitalized means the Virgin Mary and is never used as an
expletive in English.

MAGNETOSKOP - video; The Slovene term corresponds to two English morphemes magneto-
and scope , although the two morphemes are never combined in English to form a single
word. Note: In recent times Slovene "magnetoskop" seems to be losing ground to the
internationally adopted "video."

MAGNETOSKOPSKI - magnetoskopski posnetek: video reccrding; For maaneto-  and scooe  see
MAGNETOSKOP.

MANIFESTACIJA - event, peaceful demonstration; Manifestacija koroških Slovencev:
peaceful demonstration of Carinthian Slovenes; kulturna manifestacija: artistic event.
Manifestation  has the same meaning as the Slovene term, but is used very infrequently.
(Also see KULTURA and KULTUREN.)

MARMELADA - jam; Marmelade  has a much narrower meaning than its Slovene friend,
usually referring to a type of jam made from citrus fruits, namely oranges.

MASA - plastična masa: plastic; Mass  is not used in the English collocaticn. (cf. PLASTIKA)

MEDICINSKI - medicinska šola: medical school; Medicinal  is translated into Slovene by
"zdravilen" and is not used in this collocation.

MEDUZA - jelly fish; Medusa  is a type of jelly fish and the term is usually used in
scientific contexts, while jelly fish is the generic name.

MILICA - police; ljudska milica: people's police; Militia  has a narrower meaning than police
and means a body of non-professional soldiers made up of ordinary citizens. The
English term is perhaps incorrectly translated into Slovene by "milica." A better
solution is possibly “izredne sile."

MILIJARDA - billion (Am); Milijard  has nine zeros in Great Britain, the same as in Slovenia.

MITING - rally, mass rally; English meeting  is translated into Slovene by "sestanek" or
"srečanje."

MODA - fashion; biti v modi: be in fashion; priti iz mode: go out of fashion; oblačiti se po
modi: be a follower of fashion, or, dress fashionably; Mode  very rarely does have the
meaning of Slovene "moda", but is usually translated into Slovene by "način."

MODEN - modna revija: fashion show; modni kreator: fashion designer; modni kroj:
fashionable cut; The meaning of modal  has nothing to do with Slovene "moden." The
English term is usually rendered into Slovene by "modalen" or "načinski."

MONTAŽA - assembly, installation; montaža avtomobilov: car assembly. Montaoe has a
much more specific meaning and is used in the arts and film industry.

MONTAŽEN - montažna hiša: prefabricated house or prefab house; In this collocation
montage  is never used.

MORTALITETA - death rate; Mortality  has exactly the same meaning, but is perhaps less
common than "death rate."

** 17 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

************************* N ************************

NAFTALIN - moth repellent, moth balls; Naohthalene  is a scientific "term referring to the
substance from which moth repellent and ather substances are made. It is also called
"tar camphor."

NAFTA- oil; Naphtha  has a more speci-fic meaning referring to a flammable liquid obtained
from oil.

NARKOMAN - drug addict, drug abuser, junkie (Am, col); This Slovene term corresponds to
English narcomaniac , which is rarely used.

NARKOMANIJA - drug addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence (form); The Slovene term
corresponds to English narcomania ) rarely used in everyday English.

NATALITETA - birth rate; Natality  has the same meaning, but is much less frequent.

NON-STOP - odprto non-stop od 9 do 20h: open 9 a.m. through 8 p.m.; Nonstop  is primarily
used in connection with transportation, e .g., a nonstop flight from Zagreb to New York.

NORMA - quota; izpolniti dnevno normo: fulfill the daily quota; The meaning of norm  does
not come close to the meaning of its Slovene counterpart.

NORMALNO(col) - naturally, of course, absolutely (Am,col); Greš z mano v Kino? -
Normalno.: Are you going to the movies with me? -Absolutely. Normally , used in
everyday speech would be translated into Slovene as "ponavadi" or “običajno."

NOTA - note (na papir Ju): sheet mušic; Brez not ne morem igrati klavirja.: I can't play the
piano without sheet mušic. Individual notations of mušic are called notes , but the entire
musical composition in written form is referred to as "sheet mušic."

NOVELA - short story; English novel  is Slovene "roman." Novelette  is a short novel, which
does not have the literary characteristics of a short story. Novella  is a literary form
developed by Boccaccio and is not the same as short story.

*********************** O ***********************

OBJEKT - facility, installation, building, piece of civil engineering, structure; Slovene
"objekt" is a general term encompassing a large number of diverse "constructional
formations." It is translated into English by different specific terms dictated by the
context. Consequently "objekt" can never perhaps be translated into English by object ;
športni objekt: sports facility; vojaški objekt; military installation; cestni objekt: road
structure; stanovanjski objekt: residential building; javni objekt: public facility.

OBJEKTIV - lens; širokokotni objektiv: wide angle lens; Objective  has the very same
meaning as its Slovene counterpart, but is much less frequently used than "lens"
particularly in the above collocations.

OKUPATOR - invader, conqueror, occupying forces; Occupier  has the same meaning as
Slovene "okupator," but is very rarely used.

ONDULACIJA - trajna ondulacija; permanent wave, perm; Undulation  is never used in
reference to hair and is, therefore, not used in this collocation. It simply means
“valovanje."

** 18 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

ORGAN - body» agent, authority, council; izvršni organ: executive body ar executive
authority; organ ljudske milice: people's police agent or perhaps law en-forcement agent;
upravni organ: administrative council; Note: English organ —a musical instrument is
translated into Slovene by "orgle."

*********************** P ****************************

PAPRIKA - green pepper (plant); Paprika  is the substance—dry powder—made -from
peppers.

PARABOLICEN - parabolična antena: satellite antenna, satellite dish, dish antenna;
Parabolic , which describes the shape o-f the antenna, is not used in the English
expression, perhaps because "dish" and "satellite" are more "consumer—friendly" than
"parabolic." Note: "Skleda" has also been detected in Slovene texts, usually appearing in
quotation marks.

PARCELA - lot, plot o-f land; zazidljiva parcela: building lot; Parcel  actually means the
same, but is very rarely used in this context. It is more commonly used to re-fer to a
package sent by mail; "poštni paket" in Slovene.

PARKING -parking lot, parkade (Am); Parking  alone is never used to mean a "parking lot" as
it is the čase in Slovene.

PARTICIPACIJA - contribution, financial contribution; Particioation  simply means
“sodelovanje."

PAROLA - slogan; mirovne parole: peace slogans; "To be on parole  is a legal term which
means "biti pogojno na prostosti." In military jargon, hovvever, the English term does
stand -for "parola" or "geslo."

PASAŽA - passageway, shopping mali; I-f a "pasaža" is lined with shops, restaurants, and
other public places, it can be translated by "shopping mali." Passage  is in-frequently
used to denote a corridor.

PASJANSA - solitaire (Am); In British English, patience  means exactly the same as the
Slovene term.

PASTA - polish, wax; avtopasta: car wax; pasta za tla: -fioor wax or -floor polish; Pasta
most likely came into English -from Italian and means "testenine" in Slovene. Another
possibility is paste,  which is o-ften used in the meaning o-f a type o-f adhesive, but very
rarely in the meaning o-f its Slovene -friend.

PATRON (-firearms) - cartridge; Patron simply means "regular customer" or "supporter," in
Slovene "stalna stranka" or "mecen."

PEDAGOG - educator, teacher, education worker; Although pedagogue  may be used in its
neutral sense, it has acquired negative and derogatory connatations, re-ferring to a
teacher who instructs in a pedantic and dogmatic manner.

** 19 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

PEDAGOŠKI - educational, education; pedagoška -fakulteta: faculty o-f education; pedagoga
ustanova: educational institution; Pedagogic  is rarely used, usually with derogatory
connotations (cf. PEDAGOG).

PARTIJA (chess) - partija šaha: a chess game; English oartv  has many meanings,none of
which comes close to the meaning of the term in the above Slovene collocation.

PENZION - full room and board (Am); In British English pension  has the same meaning vvhile
it is rare in American English. "Pension" in English also means a small hotel or
boarding house in Europe.

PERFEKTEN (col) - great, super; In its rather collopuial usuage, oerfect  occurs for example
in the collocation "perfect stranger" and means "complete" or "total." It is not,
however, used in the same contexts as its Slovene counterpart.

PLASTIKA (arts) - sculpture; Plastic,  as an adjective, is used in the meaning of Slovene
"plastika" in collocaticns such as "the plastic arts," but it is not used to mean the
product of this artistic activity.

PERSPEKTIVEN - promising; mlad, perspektiven nogometaš: a promising young soccer
player; The noun persoective,  which is also an adjective, corresponds to Slovene
"perspektiva" in the meaning of "representing three-dimensional objects on a
two-dimensicnal surface."

PERSPEKTIVA - prospect; Perspektive ca njegovo okrevanje so slabe.: The prospects for his
recovery are slim; English persoective  is rarely used in the meaning of its Slovene
friend.

PLAKAT - poster, placard; Plačate  is an English verb which means "to appease" or "to allay
the anger of." The true friend is "placard", much rarely used than the more popular
"poster."

PRETENZIJA - daim; pretenzija področja: territorial daim; Pretension  has exactly the
same meaning in English but is rarely used. It is usually used in the meaning of
“izgovor."

PROJEKT - design, project documentation; In the comprehensive sense, e.g.» IDV koncipira,
planira in zvaja gradbene projekte. : IDV conceives, plans and ejcecutes construction
projects., the Slovene term corresponds to English project . In the meaning of "ali
documentation, blueprints and dravvings required to execute the project", "projekt" is
usually translated by design.

PROJEKTANT - designer, developer, planner; The Slovene false friend corresponds to the
English mcrphemes project  and - ant , although the composite word does not exist in
English.

PROJEKTIRATI - plan, design; the Slovene "projektirati" derives from the English verb to
project,  which is rarely used in the sense of its Slovene friend.

PROMOCIJA - graduation ceremony, presentation of avvards ceremony; English promotion  is
translated into Slovene as "napredovanje" or "povišanje" and also as "reklama,"
"ekonomska propaganda."

PROPAGANDEN - propagandna oddaja: advertising program, commercial messages (Am);
Propaganda  usually has derogatory and political connotations, e.g., political propaganda.

PROTEKCIJA - favoritism; English protection  corresponds to Slovene "zaščita".

** 20 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

PROVIZIJA - commission, brokerage; Provision  is translated irrtoSlovene by "oskrba,"
"zaloga," or "klavzula."

PROVIZORIČEN - provizoričen oder; makeshitt stage; provizorična zgradba: temporary
building; Provisional  is not otten used in connection with concrete objects. It is,
hovvever, used in the meaning ot "temporary," e.g., provisional government: začasna
vlada.

POLIGRAF - lie detector; Polyqraoh  is a less commonly used technical term tor a "lie
detector."

POLITIKA - zunanja politika: toreign policy; notranja politika: domestic policy; English
□olitics  is usually a talse friend when reterring to the national level. At an
international level it ceases to be a talse triend - world politics: svetovna politika. In
addition, when reterring to the Science or the protession ot politics, Slovene "politika"
and English politics  are synonymous. He is in politics.: Ukvarja se s politiko.

PORCIJA - helping, serving; porcija sladoleda: a serving ot ice cream; Portion  has the same
meaning as its Slovene counterpart, but is not current in spoken English.

PUDING - mousse; English pudding  differs markedl'/ trom its Slovene counterpart. The dish
that comes closest to Slovene "puding" is "mousse." English "pudding" can perhaps be
rendered inta Slovene by "kipnik" or "narastek:" rice pudding: rižev narastek.

PROFESOR - high school teacher (Am); Protessor  is reserved in English to university-level
instructors.

RACIONALIZACIJA - streamlining (Am); Racionalizacija postopka je neobhodno potrebna.
Procedure streamlining is absolutely necessary; Rationalization  is used in British
English in the meaning as its Slovene triend.

RACIONALIZIRATI - streamline (Am); racionalizirati proizvodnjo: streamline production;
Rationalize  very otten means to devise selt-satistying but incorrect reasons tor one's
behavior. "Rationalize" is used with the same meaning in British English while
"streamline" is more popular in North America.

RAKETOPLAN - space shuttle; Two English morphemes, rocket  and plane  correspond ta the
Slovene term, although the English word combining the two morphemes does not exist.

RAPORT (mil) - repart; Rapport  means in Slovene "stik," "pozitiven odnos" as in "The
teacher must establish a rapport with his students.

REAKCIJSKI - reakcijski pogon: jet propulsion; reakcijski motor: jet engine; Reaction  is used
in physics and has the same meaning as the Slovene triend, e.g., atomska reakcija:
nuclear rection. In the tield ot aircratt construction, however, "jet" is preterred.

REALEN - realistic; realna pričakovanja: realistic e>:pectations; Real is best translated
into Slovene by “stvaren," "pravi" or "pravcati," e.g., real gold: pravo zlato.

REALIZACIJA - tultilment, execution, pertormance, carrying out, implementation; 'English
realization  can mean the same as its Slovene counterpart, but is used by English native
speakers much less otten than by Slovene practitioners ot the English language. It is
most otten used in banking. e.g., to realize a protit ot 5000 dollars.

** 21 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

REALIZIRATI - fulfill, execute, perform, carry out, implement; realizirati načrt: carry out a
plan; For realize  see REALIZACIJA.

RECEPT - recipe, prescription; recept za torto: cake recipe; zdravniški recept' doctor's
prescription; Receipt  is a written acknowledgement that something has been received.
"Prejemnica" in Slovene.

REDUKCIJA - power cut; In Slovene* "redukcija" is used in specific reference to power
supply, while in English, reduction  is a much more general term.

REFERENT - secretar'/; re-ferent za zunanjo trgovino: -foreign trade secretary; Referent  is
a linguistic term meaning a linguistic item in its capacity of referring to a meaning.

REKONVALESCENT - convalescent; The Slovene term corresponds to English mcrpheme re-
and convalescent,  although the two are never combined to form a single English term.

REVAKCINACIJA - booster shot, booster; The Slovene term corresponds to three English
morphemes, re- , vaccin  and -ation , which are not combined to form a single English vvord.

REKREIRATI SE- e:;ercise, get some exercise, work out; The English verb to recreate
means the same as its Slovene friend, but is not widely used.

REFLEKTOR - spotlight, floodlight; English reflector  is anything—a surface for
example—that reflects light sound or heat in a required direction. It is a term used
mostly in physics.

REGENERATOR - regenerator za lase: hair conditioner; Regenerator  is defined as one that
regenerates. In the above collocation "conditioner" is prefered.

REGRES - bonus, vacation bonus; The meaning of the English noun regress  has nothing in
common with the meaning of its Slovene counterpart: It means “return" or "withdrawal."

REKLAMACIJA - reklamacije: complaints, complaints department (sign); Reclamation is very
often used in the collocation "land reclamation" and can perhaps be translated as
"izboljšava tal."

REKLAMIRATI - complain about; advertise; Stranka je prišla reklamirati naš izdelek.: The
customer came to complain about our praduct; Fructal zelo uspešno reklamira svoje
izdelke.: Fructal is very successful in advertising its products.; Reclaim  has different
acceptations* none of which comes dose to the two Slovene acceptations: to make
suitable for cultivation; to procure from waste products, to turn a person from error or
evil.

RENTABILEN - profitable; Samo racionalizacija proizvodnje vodi v rentabilno poslovanje:
Only the streamlining of production leads to profitable operation. Rentable  in English
means "suitable to be rented out."

RENTGEN - X-ray; Si ze bil na rentgenu?: Have you had your X-rays taken? Roentgen  in
English is an absolete unit of radiation dosage. This word appears as a morpheme in
other English words such as "roentgenology" and "roentgenoscope." It is chiefly used in
scientific contexts, while “X-ray" is the common person's term.

RENTGENSKI - rentgenska slika: X-ray photograph; For roentgen  see RENTGEN.

** 22 **  FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

REPREZENTANCA (sp) - državna reprezentanca: national team; English recresentation  is
Just not used in this context.

RELACIJA - route, run; avtobusna relacija: bus route; Avtobus ne vozi več na tej relaciji.:
The bus doesn't make this run anymore. Relation  simply means "odnos."

REPROMATERIAL - production materials; The Slovene composite word roughly corresponds
to English repro-  and material , although the English composite word does not exist in
English. Note that "raw materials" are translated as "surovine."

RESTAVRACIJA - restaurant; If the Slovene su-f-fi>c "-acija" is construed as the translation
of English “-ation", then "restavracija" has its English false friend restoration , which
can be translated as "restavriranje." The English -false friend has nothing to do with an
eating establishment.

REVANS (sp) - return game (soccer), rematch (tennis); Revenge  does not belong to sports
terminology. It simply means "maščevanje."

REVIJA - magazine, journal; "Journal" is used for formal, scientific or technical
periodicals, while "magazine" refers to more popular, illustrated penodic publications.
Revievv  refers to a specialized periodical containing critical essays or reports of a
literary work or artistic performance.

REZERVEN - rezervni deli: špare parts; The English adjective reserve  is not used in this
collocation; rezervni igralec (sp, soccer) : substitute; Reserve  is just not used in English
in these two contexts.

REZULTAT (sp) - score; Kakšen je rezultat?: What's the score?; končni rezultat: final score;
Note: "score" is used primarily in team sports, tennis, badminton, etc., while result  is
used in track and field events.

ROTOR (el) - armature; Rotor  is synonymous with "armature," but is perhaps more widely
used in electricity.

4-iHHHHHHHHHHHHHJ*4#44-4* S 444444*444*444444444444

SALON - razstavni salon - e>:hibition hali, show room (Am); frizerski salon: hairdresser's,
beauty parlor; Salon  is a less common term and means an establishment offering a
product or Service related to fashion, e.g., beauty salon, but "beauty parlor" is more
common.

SELEKTOR (sp) - head coach; Selector  simply means one that selects and has no specific
acceptation in the world of sports.

SKLEROZEN (col) - senile; Sclerotic  is a medical term not used in colloquial English.

SIFON (plumbing) - U-bend, trap; 5yphon  is a technical term meaning the same as its
Slovene counterpart and is not used in plumbing terminology,

v

SIMPATIČEN - niče, amiable, likable; Sicer ni ravno lepotica, je pa zelo simpatična.: She
may not be exactly a beauty, but she is very niče. The adjective symoathetic  comes from
the nGun "sympathy", which means "sharing the feelings of others."

** 23 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

SINDIKAT - trade union, union; Svndicate  has rather negative connotations and is often
synonymcus with "the mafia." It is, however, used to denote an agency that sells
articles -for publication in a number of nevvspapers simultaneously.

SINDIKALIZEM - trade unionism; Svndicalism  is much less used; It usually has negative
connotations: a radical movement advocating direct action such as general strikes and
sabotage.

SINHRONIZACIJA (film, TV) - dubbing; lip-synching; Synchronization  means causing sound
or dialogue to coincide with an action. "Dubbing" or "lip-synching" means the inserticn
o-f a new soundtrack, a synchronized translation o-f the original dialogue into a -film. The
verbs are to "dub" and to "lip-synch." The latter is used in reference to the dialogue
and the -former in reference to the entire soundtrack.

SINHRONIZIRAN (film f  TV) - sinhroniziran film: dubbed film, lip-synched film; For
synchronized  see SINHRONIZACIJA.

SMOKING - dinner jacket (Br), DJ (Br), tuxedo (Am), tu:; (Am), English smoking  jacket is
usually worn at home and is elaboratel'/ trimmed.

SODA ali SODA BIKARBONA  - baking soda, sodium bicarbonate; English soda  refers to a
carbonated drink.

SOLATA (plant) - lettuce; English term salad  always means a prepared dish and never a
plant; zelena solata: green salad

SOLIDAREN - supportive, showing solidarity; Ves svet Je solidaren z borbo južnoafriških
črncev proti aparthaidu. The whole vvorld is supportive of South Africa's blacks' struggle
against apartheid. Solidar/  in English is much less frequently used. It is the
intensification of "united."

SOLIDARNOST - support; Solidarity  has the same meaning, but is quite infrequently used in
English.

SOLIDARNOSTEN - solidarnostni sklad: mutual assistance fund; for solidary  see
SOLIDARNOST

SOLIDEN (col) - dependable, reliable, quite good; soliden fant: dependable chap; soliden
rezultat: quite a good result; This is a tricky word. In a number of collocations solid  has
the same meaning as its Slovene equivalent: solidna igra športnika: solid performance of
an athlete; solidno znanje: solid knowledge, (more common) sound knowledge.

SPIKER - announcer, radio announcer; Soeaker  is a very broad term meaning anyone vvho
speaks. In its narrovver meaning, it refers to a person delivering a public speech.

SPRINT - dash (Am); sprint na 100 m: a 100-m dash; In British English sprint  is quite
common.

STABILIZACIJA - economic recovery; Stabilization  is a general term meaning the state of
being stable.

STABILIZACIJSKI - stabilizacijski ukrepi: economic recovery measures; for stabilization
see STABILIZACIJA - -

** 24 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

STRIP - comic strip, comics (Am), funnies (Am>; Strip  alone vvithout bemg preceded by
"comic" is never used in English m the sense of its Slovene friend.

SUBVENCIJA - subsidy, Subvention  means e>:actly the same as its Slovene triend, but
much less frequently used than "subsidy." The verb "subvencionirati" is translated into
English by “subsidize."

SUSPENZORIJ (sp) - športni suspenzorij, athletic supporter, jock strap (Am, col);
Suspensorv  is synonymaus with "athletic supporter", but is much less -frequently used.

s************************ S fr***************************

SAL - scar-f; 5hawl  is best translated into Slovene by "plet."

SOK - šok soba: intensive čare; Se vedno je v sok sobi.: He is stili in intensive čare. Shcck
is not used in this collocation.

SEF - boss, manager; sef oddelka: department manager; In English, chef  means "chief
ccok," or "glavni kuhar" in Slovene.

ŠTIPENDIJA - scholarship, bursary; Stipend  is a more general term and means a fi:<ed
amount o-f money paid for Services rendered or an allowance. It does not carry the
meaning of a grant for a študent in particular.

****#*****iHH**-******-!HH**-fr*#* T ***************************

TAKSIST - taxi driver, cab driver (Am), cabbie (Am, col); "Taksist" corresponds to English
ta:<i  and -ist , but the combined term does not exist in English.

TAKT (mus) - beat; igrati po taktu: play by the beat; In English, tact  means "discreetness."

TAMPONSKI - tamponska država: buffer state; Tampon  is not used in this collocation.

TANKATI - fill up, fill it up, gas up (Am, col), get some gasoline; Najprej moram še tanka ti:
I have to get some gasoline first. The verb to tank  simply means to store or plače in a
tank and is not used in automotive conte:<ts,

TELEOBJEKTIV - telephoto leris; "Teleobjektiv" corresponds to English tele  and objective ,
although the composite term does not exist in English.

TEMA - topič, subject; tema razprave: subject of the discussion; tema referata: topič of the
paper; Theme  has exactly the same meaning as its Slovene friend, but is much less often
used in the above collocations. It is much more common in literary and art criticism:
theme of a novel, a painting. It is also used to refer to the main song or melody of the
score of a film: The themes of James Bond movies usually become radio hits.

TEMPO (sp) - pace; narekovati tempo: set the pace (of a race); narekovalec tempa: pace
setter. Tempo  is not used in the above sports contexts.

TEREN - On je na terenu.: He is doing field work. Terrain  is not used in this context. It
refers to the physical characteristics of the ground.

TERENSKI - terensko vozilo: four-wheel drive or 4WD; For terrain  see TEREN.

** 25 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

TERMOAKUMULACIJSKA - termoakumulacijska peč electric heater, storage heater; The
Slovene friend corresponds to English thermo  and accumulative , although the two
morphemes are not combined to -farm a composite English word.

TETRAPAK - carton; mleko v tetrapaku: a carton of milk; The Slovene -friend corresponds to
English morphemes tetra  and pack , but the composite term does not exist in English.

TIP(col) - chap (Br), guy (Am); Type  is not used in this sense in colloquial English.

TOALETA - gown, dress; večerna toaleta: evening gown; plesna toaleta: dance dress; Toilet
and toilette  mean the same as their Slovene friend, but are much less frequently used
than the proposed terms.

TOBOGAN - slide; Toboggan  is the vehicie used for coasting down snow- or lce-covered
slopes. In Slovene, "sani," "sanke."

TOTALKA (auto, col) - write-off; Ta avto je totalKa.: This car is a vvrite-off. Total  is
simply not used in this context.

TRAFIKA - tobacconists; Traffic,  of course means "promet," "cestni promet."

TRAJEKT - ferry, ferry boat; In English, traject  is only used as a verb in the meaning of
"to transmit" or "to throw across."

TRAMVAJ - tram, trolley bus, streetcar (Am); Tramway  is the Street tracks or railway used
by trams.

TRANSPARENT - sign, slogan; Transparent  is an adjective and means "prozoren."

TRENER - coach (Am); Trainer  is much more frequently used in Great Britain than in North
America.

TRENING - practice; “Practice* refers to a specific period: Jutri imamo dve uri treninga.:
Tomorrovv we have a two-hour practice. The term trainino,  hovvever, refers to the
process of being trained: He's been in training for the past 6  months.: Trenira že 6
mesecev.

TRENIRATI - trenirati nekoga: coach somebody; trenirati 2 uri dnevno: practice 2 hours
daily. In both cases the verb to train  is quite acceptable, but is less frequently used in
North America.

TREZOR - vault, safe, treasury; nočni trezor: night safe. Treasure  meaning "zaklad" is the
false friend here, vvhile "treasury“ may mean the same as Slovene “trezor."

HfM*i»**»HHHt*««********« V #****•*■*#*•**#*****■*'»'»*'******

VAGON - railway car, živinski vagon: boxcar, jedilni vagon: dining car or diner. Waqon , with
its much narrovver meaning, refers to an open type of freight railway car usually used
for transporting coal.

VARIANTA - option, alternative, choice, possibility; Variant  means something that differs
only slightly from another*. the American variant of "colour" is "color."

VEGETATIVEN - vegetativno živčevje: autonomic nervous system; Vegetative  is not used
in the above collocation.

** 26 ** FALSE FRIENDS - NEPRAVI PRIJATELJI

VENTILATOR - fan; Ventilator  has the same acceptation, but is much less -frequent than
"fan."

VIKEND - vikend hišica: cottage (  summer house, holiday home; Weekend  is not used in
English in this collocation.

VISKI - scotch, scotch whisky; Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, rye or bourbon is whisky
made in North America. Just whisky  or whiskey  is less common, especially in spoken
English.

V

****#*#**###*s*$$-**-*-*#** Z s************************

v ^

ŽIRIJA - pannel of judges; strokovna žirija: pannel o-f e::perts; Jur v  is a legal term and
means "porota."


'