Can we luck you in?

False Friend Alert! Linguistic "false friends" are words or expressions that look or sound similar or the same, but that mean different things. They are particularly common between closely related languages, or languages in close contact with each other. They tend to lead to misunderstandings. There are a number of false friends between Shetland dialect and Standard English. For example:

▪︎luck = 'entice, coax' in StE

▪︎silly = 'feeble, sickly' in StE

▪︎talk = 'speak English in an affected manner (knap?)' in StE

▪︎spaek = 'talk' in StE

To "correct" false friends is misguided. It is simply different words or expressions in two different languages that happen to sound very similar.

Examples:

▪︎luck = 'entice, coax' (Can we luck you in wi a cup o tae? 'Can we entice you [to come] in with a cup of tea?')

▪silly = 'feeble, sickly' (A'm vexed tae see you lookin dat silly. Ir de onythin I can dø fir you? 'I'm sorry to see you looking so weak. Can I do anything for you?')

▪︎talk = 'speak English in an affected manner' (Nah, whin d'ir in a meetin dey ey talk. 'Nah, when they're in a meeting they'll always speak St English (in an affected manner).')

▪︎spaek = 'talk' (We wid ey sit wi a pot o tae an jüst spaek an spaek fir oors. 'We would just sit with a pot of tea and talk for hours.')