False Friends: a study of the challenges for Italian students

Since the last century, the English language has become essential for communicating in an increasingly globalized world. It is common knowledge that all European languages have a common root, and all these languages influenced each other over the Centuries. These influences have brought similarities between languages, but words with similar phonology have not always maintained the same original meaning, leading to a phenomenon called “false friends”. “False friends” are a linguistic phenomenon that causes various difficulties among Italian students, despite the fact that the study and the practical use of English as a second language have increased over recent years. The aims of this dissertation are many: first, it is important to define “false friends” and explain the phonological proximity between some Italian and English words. Secondly, it will verify how much Italian students are aware of the existence of this phenomenon; which are the most common mistakes they make and how much “false friends” affect the process of learning and comprehension of the English language at different levels of education in the Italian School System. To address these questions, this research will evaluate Italian students at various educational levels, including those in lower stages of education as well as university and postgraduate students. This research will proceed through an identical questionnaire for each selected sample; it will test not only the awareness of the meaning of this phenomenon, but it will also study the quantity and the quality of the mistakes made by Italian students.