When you live your life in 2 languages, your brain will eventually mix up your languages. I had a funny experience today. I am in Recife visiting my family. Just got here yesterday :) And today I’ve already mixed up my languages because of some false friends (false cognates).
Do you know how to say fabric in Portuguese? I was buying a t-shirt for my brother and wanted to touch the fabric to see how soft it was. I said:
Posso ver essa camiseta vermelha, por favor? Eu quero sentir a fábrica.
Do you see where this pair of false friends tricked me?
Portuguese –> English
Tecido –> Fabric
Fábrica –> Factory
Here is what I should have said:
Posso ver essa camiseta vermelha, por favor? Eu quero sentir o tecido.”\
= “May I see this red t-shirt, please? I want to feel the fabric.”
Have you ever mixed up your languages?
