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Category Archives: Valse vrienden

Hernia

Scientifically, it means an internal body part protruding where it shouldn’t. In everyday speech, however, Dutch uses it for a back problem and English for an abdominal one.

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 22, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, hernia, liesbreuk3 Comments on Hernia

Beamer for Christmas?

My brother-in-law was astonished when I said I was getting Clare a beamer for Christmas. An SUV or a soft-top?

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 11, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Fake English, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:beamer, dunglish, engels2 Comments on Beamer for Christmas?

Psychic distress

Anything to do with the psyche – the human mind or soul, after the goddess of the same name – has to be referred to as “psychological” or “mental”, not “psychic”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 22, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, psychischLeave a comment on Psychic distress

Relations and relationships

Dutch uses the same word for both (relatie), but the meanings in English are distinctly different.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 9, 2020September 9, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Overused words, Style, Valse vriendenTags:BZK (ministerie), dunglish, engels, relatieLeave a comment on Relations and relationships

Cowboys and Indonesians

Unusually for European languages, Dutch has retained the word “Indisch” as the demonym for the former East Indies and people are always mistranslating it as “Indian”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 4, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Cultural, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, Indisch, Indonesisch, VOC1 Comment on Cowboys and Indonesians

Quartermaster

A quartermaster is a low or mid-level military administrator responsible for supplies and equipment, not some kind of high-level official trailblazer for projects.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 5, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Fake English, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, kwartiermakerLeave a comment on Quartermaster

Trajectories are for ballistics

The curve taken under gravity by a thrown object, or a metaphorical upward progression such as a career. Not a generic synonym for a route or pathway.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 10, 2020July 14, 2020Posted inMistranslations, Overused words, Style, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, Eurospeak, traject2 Comments on Trajectories are for ballistics

Eventually

Most Dutch writers are aware that “eventual” means “uiteindelijk”: in the end. But they’re still often unsure how to deal with the faux-ami “eventueel”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJuly 7, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, eventueelLeave a comment on Eventually

A monumental mistake

A monument is a structure erected in remembrance of a person or event. They’re often on a grand scale, which is why “monumental” simply means extremely large.

Posted byMike WilkinsonJune 23, 2020June 24, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, US-UK issues, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, erfgoed, monument, monumentaalLeave a comment on A monumental mistake

So-called

Watch the overtones: it’s not only telling you a term is used but also implying that it’s incorrect. A so-called expert or so-called friend is not to be trusted!

Posted byMike WilkinsonJune 19, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Overused words, Valse vriendenTags:dunglish, engels, zogeheten, zogenaamd, zogenoemdLeave a comment on So-called

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