Re: Pseudo-cognates?

erilar <drache@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:drache-489384.11320213122006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <4uah9hF15tjbcU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Harlan Messinger <hmessinger.removethis@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
izzy wrote:
Snis Pilbor wrote:
Is there a special word for the event when two languages share a word,
but only by sheer coincidence, NOT ... because of common heritage?

Informally, they are called "sound-alikes". Sometimes they are called
"false friends".

False friends aren't sheer coincidence--they're words that *are* related
but that cause confusion because their meanings are different. Examples
are English "eventual" and French "eventuel" (= "possible"), English
"actual" and French "actuel" (= "current", "at the moment"), English
"smoking" and French "smoking" (= "smoking jacket").

What the OP is asking about is words that *appear* to be false friends
but that aren't.

I believe "tori(or something with "tor" in it at any rate) is a kind of
gate in Japanese?? Tor is a gate in German. I can see no way these two
words can have any kind of linguistic relationship. So are they "false
friends"?

Since they are not etymologically related according to
Harlan's strict definition they are not false friends.

A Czech word "c^erstve'" (fresh) has an etymologically related
and sililarly sounding word in Polish meaning rotten, spoiled.
That should qualify. :-)

pjk


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