Sarcophagus

Sometimes new fields and specializations take existent terms that are related to a complete different field and assign them a new meaning. 
This was the case on the Internet with the "icons" (medieval art term) and now, with the horror of the tsunami in Japan with the term "Sarcophagus".

The Sarcophagus in ancient ages defined the place were (usually royalty) were buried, but on the latest news, you will find it relating to the burying place of nuclear waste. Sorts out that nuclear waste, after being used for generating energy, has to be buried, and the place where the radioactive residuals are placed is called "Sarcophagus".

During the terrible tragedy of the tsunami in Fokushima, the sarcophagus of the nuclear plant was damaged (as well as in Chernobyl) and will need to be reconstructed in order to make sure there are no leaks. I must say that the similarities with the precious ancient object that was specially designed for royalty and the horrible huge cement monsters that bury inside all the fears of the modern world have only one factor in common: the CURSE that will fell on the heads of all those attempting to break them apart...  

Crude/Crude

I have started reading a medieval novel which narrative takes place in Barcelona of the fourteenth century: "La Catedral del Mar", written by Ildefonso Falcones.

The first chapter is truly shocking, with a really CRUDE description of a maiden bride that is rapped by the "master" of the feudal farms on her wedding day, which was a privilege given to medieval rulers. On the following chapter, a baby is left to die while his mother is [yet once again] rapped by the castle soldiers. On the fourth chapter a moor female slave is whipped to death in front of the boy she raised…

I would say those are very CRUDE scenes, which take me to the theme of the present post, the English term "Crude" versus the Spanish term "Crudo"

The English term "crude" is translated by the free dictionary as:

1. Being in an unrefined or natural state; raw.
2. Lacking tact or taste; blunt or offensive: a crude, mannerless oaf; a crude remark.
3. Characterized by uncultured simplicity; lacking in sophistication or subtlety: had only a crude notion of how a computer works.
4. Not carefully or skillfully made; rough: a quick, crude sketch.
5. Undisguised or unadorned; plain: must face the crude truth.
6. Statistics In an unanalyzed form; not adjusted to allow for related circumstances or data.
7. Archaic Unripe or immature.


The Spanish term "crudo" is used only on the first definition (1), i.e., a RAW substance in its natural state (specially for raw-meat, i.e. "carne cruda"). I believe, a Spanish commentary of the book would describe those scenes as "duras" but, in no way as "crudas".

The professional part of this post is already written, but the question remaining is whether shall I go on reading the book and what are the "crude" scenes ahead ;)

Candid/Cándido/Candide

Maybe you remember the central character of Voltaire's Classic: Candide.
This masterpiece relates the adventures of Candide, who tries to get along as well as possible in this material world, that, according to Leibniz's philosophy it's supposed to be "the best of all possible worlds".
"In the Discours de Metaphysique (Discourse on Metaphysics) (1686) Leibniz emphasized the role of a benevolent deity in creating this, the best of all possible worlds, where everything exists in a perfect, pre-established harmony with everything else. Since space and time are merely relations, all of science is a study of phenomenal objects. According to Leibniz, human knowledge involves the discovery within our own minds of all that is a part of our world, and although we cannot make it otherwise, we ought to be grateful for our own inclusion in it." (quoting from philosophypages.com).

The meaning of "candide"in French or cándido in Spanish is: "innocent, ingenuous, naive". Today, the Spanish word refers to a non-manipulative and genuine person. On the other hand, the English word "candid" or "candidly" means: "open, openhearted, plain, straightforward, unconcealed, undisguised, undissembled, undissembling, unreserved".

Let's imagine for a moment that an American native speaker chooses to relate to a "hispanohablante" (Spanish speaker) with the opening sentence: "candidly speaking"… his intention in this case is to disclose sensitive or personal feelings that denote his true view of a certain situation, yet these very words would be perceived by the hispanohablante in a completely different fashion… likewise, for the native English speaker perceives "candidly" a "candid" person as a direct and sincere fellow, that says its mind without BEATING AROUND THE BUSH (**please do not translate literally to ANY language, yet, surprisingly, this idiom translates as IRSE POR LAS RAMAS (going on the boughs of a tree), an image that does not necessarily matches the "cándidos" of this world…

Molest /Molestar

The Spanish word "molestar" means "annoy, bother disturb", whilst the English term "molest" conveys negative sexual connotations of "sexual harassment".
According to the "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission":

"Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome."

At the present time, when all of us aspire to be politically correct, there is a need of being extremely careful when applying these verbal nuances… imagine then the reaction of a native speaker that was asked by his Argentinian colleague that wishes to brush up her English: KINDLY DO NOT MOLEST ME NOW…

Sanctuary/Santuario

The term "false-cognate" is sometimes used incorrectly for "false friend". False cognates are a pair of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be or are sometimes considered cognates when in fact they are not.
The mistranslation of a false cognate may not only lead to academic and linguistic mistakes, but even to real life conflicts.
One of these cases is the television coverage made by the Spanish television during the Vietnam War, in which the Spanish reporter informed that the American forces were "bombing the SANCTUARIES of the Vietnamese guerrilla". This item provoked a huge [and unfounded] media's spin…

Here is the story: after the American media informed on TV that the US forces had "detected and attacked the sanctuaries of the Vietnamese fighters (i.e. their hiding and refuge places), the reporter decided to translate the term to the Spanish word "santuario", which means "sacred or holy places"…
According to the"NTC's Dictionary of Spanish False Cognates" by Marcial Prado:

"Sanctuario" and "sanctuary" share the meaning of "shrine, temple". "Sanctuary also means "refugio", "asilo" (for persons)
"Buscar asilo en, acogerse a = to seek sanctuary in"

This is yet another example of the DEVASTATING EFFECT of MISTRANSLATION and MISINTERPRETATION of WORDS…

Constipation/Constipado

False Cognates
Constipation/Constipado
The term "false cognate" is sometimes used incorrectly for "false friend". False cognates are a pair of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be or are sometimes considered cognates when in fact they are not.

For example, the English term CONSTIPATION stands for a physiological state that is completly different to the meaining of the Spanish term CONSTIPADO.
While the English Word constipation indicates "a condition in which evacuation of the bowels is difficult and does not occur regularly", in Spanish, "constipado" means cold, i.e. "a common infection in which the mucous membrane of the nose and throat becomes inflamed, causing running at the nose and sneezing". As a matter of fact, this is one of the cases that the term "false cognates" gets an important medical meaning, and even an EXISTENTIAL one!

This reminds me the story of that Spanish friend of mine who, on her first overseas trip to the US, got a cold. When she arrived to the legendary city of New York, she went into a drugstore and asked for something that could relief her "constipation". Till this very day, twenty years later, my dear friend still wonders about the low expertise level of the big apple druggists, that, instead of giving her a product that could alleviate her cold, they gave her "some pills" that not only helped her condition, but added a non-wanted DIARREA!

The meaning of "False Cognates or False Friends"

False friends are those terms that look as identical words in Spanish or English, but, as a matter of fact have different meanings...