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A pseudo anglicism is a real English word meaning something completely different from its original meaning. Pseudo-anglicisms are related to false friends so if you want to avoid misunderstandings in a conversation with a native French speaker, I recommend you listen to this episode and find out what we, French people, actually mean when we say “un smoking”, “un clip”, etc.! I’ll end up with a couple of French words that English-speakers often mispronounce, sometimes creating hilarious misunderstandings!
Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode
Un parking = a carpark
Une place de parking = a parking spot
Un lifting = a facelift
Un relooking = a makeover, a restyle
Le shampooing = shampoo
Un brushing = a blow-dry
Un jogging = a footing ; a tracksuit
Des baskets (nf)= sneakers, sport shoes
Une pom-pom girl = a cheerleader
Un tennisman, une tenniswoman = a male/female tennis player
Un sweat = a sweatshirt
Un baby-foot = a table football, foosball
Un camping-car = a camper van
Un clip = a music video
Un smoking = a dinner jacket, tuxedo
Le pressing = the dry cleaner’s ; dry-cleaning
Un planning = a diary, a schedule
La face / la fesse = the face / the bum
Le visage = the face
Un face à face
La gare / la guerre = the station / the war
LINKS and RESOURCES
- Episode 85: 10 common false friends (= faux amis) in French and English
- Episode 103 : PART 2 – 10 common false friends (= faux amis) in French and English
- French Voices Podcast, Episode 59: Rising up the Ranks with Professional Tennis Player Claire Feuerstein
- Video 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2stn9MlhI
- Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N7Qea39Ego
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