False Cognates
False cognates are pairs of words in two or more languages that sound and written similarly, but have different meaning. False cognates might confuse people.
If you are aware of false cognates from the beginning, you will prevent mistakes and misunderstandings from the early stages of language learning.
There are more than 3000 Uzbek-Turkish false cognate words. It is hard to know all of them, however, there some ways to detect these words.First, let's see some scenarios related to false cognates.
If you are aware of false cognates from the beginning, you will prevent mistakes and misunderstandings from the early stages of language learning.
There are more than 3000 Uzbek-Turkish false cognate words. It is hard to know all of them, however, there some ways to detect these words.First, let's see some scenarios related to false cognates.
Scenario one: Getting upset
EXPLANATION
Both Uzbek and Turkish languages have a common word for "name": "ot" in Uzbek and "ad" in Turkish. However, "ot" in Uzbek is very informal, and some people don't want to answer to the question "Oting nima?" ("Adin ne?" in Turkish). You can use this phrase only for young kids and informally. When you want to talk to adults, you should say: "Ismingiz nima?" In Turkish using "Adınız ne?" is totally normal. (They don't say "Isminiz ne?" even though they have a word "isim.")
Both Uzbek and Turkish languages have a common word for "name": "ot" in Uzbek and "ad" in Turkish. However, "ot" in Uzbek is very informal, and some people don't want to answer to the question "Oting nima?" ("Adin ne?" in Turkish). You can use this phrase only for young kids and informally. When you want to talk to adults, you should say: "Ismingiz nima?" In Turkish using "Adınız ne?" is totally normal. (They don't say "Isminiz ne?" even though they have a word "isim.")
Scenario two: Getting angry
EXPLANATION
False cognates may cause misunderstanding, therefore, people may get upset or even angry. The speaker may not be aware of what s/he is saying. For example, in Turkish "yaman" means "very clever" and in Uzbek "yomon" means "bad." If a person is not aware about the meaning of "yaman" in Uzbek, s/he may get people angry without knowing about it.
False cognates may cause misunderstanding, therefore, people may get upset or even angry. The speaker may not be aware of what s/he is saying. For example, in Turkish "yaman" means "very clever" and in Uzbek "yomon" means "bad." If a person is not aware about the meaning of "yaman" in Uzbek, s/he may get people angry without knowing about it.
Scenario three: Getting wrong message
EXPLANATION
If one will use a cognate word and the wrong message is received, a person will receive a wrong item or incorrect response. For example, "muz" means "ice" in Uzbek, and "banana" in Turkish.
If one will use a cognate word and the wrong message is received, a person will receive a wrong item or incorrect response. For example, "muz" means "ice" in Uzbek, and "banana" in Turkish.
Scenario four: Getting shocked
EXPLANATION
It is important to know lexical differences for appropriate communication. For example, when first business people visited Uzbekistan they were shocked to see in many places the word "sex" and "korxona." These words are translated into English as a "workshop" and "enterprise." In Turkish "kerhane" means "brothel." Can you imagine what they would feel?
It is important to know lexical differences for appropriate communication. For example, when first business people visited Uzbekistan they were shocked to see in many places the word "sex" and "korxona." These words are translated into English as a "workshop" and "enterprise." In Turkish "kerhane" means "brothel." Can you imagine what they would feel?