Del tratamiento de falsos amigos en un diccionario electrónico de dudas

Abstract

Translators and advanced learners of German tend to be perplexed by lexical units whose meaning and usage entail major stumbling blocks; though at first sight they may seem devoid of any difficulty. Conventional dictionaries do not always give this grouping of specific units; commonly referred to as “false friends”; the special attention they deserve. Several examples suffice to illustrate the complex relationship between several German and Spanish homonyms which stem from Latin roots. A thorough analysis of these “false friends” has led to a set of conclusions which will facilitate the confection of entries in an electronic German-Spanish advanced learners’ dictionary. It is aimed to provide the Spanish translator with a useful tool and to make aware the advanced student of these difficulties and to guide him in the acquisition of the German language.