Semantic Analysis of «False-Friends»: A Case Study of English and Siin Seereer

: The article is devoted to the semantic analysis of words called “False-Friends” in English and Siin Seereer. “False-Friends” are words belonging to two different languages and which have a great similarity in form between them or are written in the same, but whose meanings are different. In other words, a word is considered “False-Friend” when it is close in its writing or pronunciation to a term of another language but whose meaning is different. Thus, the study focuses on some words that belong both to English and Siin Seereer languages and whose meanings are different. English and Seereer are two different languages which do not belong to the same language family. English belongs to the Indo European language family, whereas Seereer is part of the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family. However, there are several identical words (in terms of writing) in these two languages and whose meanings may cause lots of difficulties to Seereer native speakers who learn English and to English native speakers who learn Seereer language. Furthermore, the study and/or analysis of these “False-Friends” arouse several questions some of which: Why do these two languages share these common words? Do these words have certain meanings in common? Do they belong to the same grammatical categories? Are they structured in the same way in both languages? Do these “False-Friends” have the same pronunciation in English and Seereer? What are their linguistic similarities and differences? To find answers to these questions, we will strive to explore the writings of some Seereer students. Field surveys as well as interviews of native speakers will also be organized and analyzed in this study. In addition, we will read documents (books, articles, novels, stories, etc.) written in English and in Siin Seereer. This research will help us have a lot of information and collect data for the corpus. After the elaboration of the corpus, we will move on to data analysis and we will end up with results that we are going to present during the discussions


Introduction
English and Siin Seereer are two different languages which do not belong to the same family group.English is a West Germanic language which is part of the Indo-European languages.As for Seereer, it is an African language belonging to the West Atlantic group of the Niger Congo language family [9].So, as it is said in Possibility and Probability in Siin Seereer [4], Seereer language, which is specially spoken in Senegal, is a language with many dialects all of which are mutually intelligible.Sauvageot [8] makes the observation that the differences between the dialects are principally in the phonetics and lexicon.So, these dialects are divided into two groups: Siin (mainly called Siin-Gandum) group and Cangin group.
However, in this article, the focus is on the Siin Seereer language, which shares several common words with the English language, in terms of writing.These words have a great similarity in form between these two languages or are written in the same, but there meanings are or may be different.In other words, these words are considered "False-Friends".In addition, a word is called "False-Friend" when it is close in its writing or pronunciation to a term of another language but whose meaning is different.Nevertheless, there are several identical words (in terms of writing) in these two languages and whose meanings (may) cause lots of difficulties to Siin Seereer native speakers who learn English and to English native speakers who learn Siin Seereer language.Furthermore, the study and/or analysis of these "False-Friends" arouse several questions some of which: Why do these two languages share these common words?Do these words have certain meanings in common?Do they belong to the same grammatical categories?Are they structured in the same way in both languages?Do these "False-Friends" have the same pronunciation in English and Seereer?What are their linguistic similarities and differences or what are the linguistic consequences?
Thus, the current study is devoted to the analysis of some words (False-Friends) found in both languages.In so doing, a list of collected words is on focus and these words are analyzed in the grammatical, morphological, syntactic, semantic, phonological etc. levels.

Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework on which this study will be based is the theory of the functionalism.In the linguistic field, there are several schools (one of which the Prague School) which have suggested many definitions of the functionalism.Thus, the functionalism can be defined as a theory that can refer to any one of various approaches to the study of grammatical descriptions and processes that consider the purposes to which language is put and the contexts in which language occurs.
According to Christopher S. Butler [3], Bates & Mac Whinney [2] discern at least four levels of functionalism, ranging from a relatively conservative historical view to some radical proposals about the nature of adult grammatical knowledge.Each level requires qualitatively different kinds of evidence, although the stronger levels presuppose the more conservative ones both logically and empirically.The four respective positions involve (1) claims about diachronic or historical correlations between form and function, (2) synchronic or ongoing correlations between form and function in real-time processing, (3) use of these formfunction correlations in the acquisition of language by children, and finally (4) a functionalist approach to the grammar or system of representation that mediates the relationship between form and function.
Butler keeps stating that a functionalist approach, however, given the emphasis on language as communication, must be centrally concerned with the relationship between linguistic patterning and contexts of use.Some functionalists are willing to recognize that there is a distinction between knowledge of rules and regularities, on the one hand, and the use to which this knowledge is put, on the other hand.But even for such linguists, the linguistic knowledge involved, goes far beyond knowledge of the syntactic, semantic, morphological and phonological rules, to include knowledge of how these rules can be appropriately used in particular types of context.Thus, as it is often said, the starting point for functionalists is the view that language is first and foremost an instrument for communication between human beings, and that this fact is central in explaining why languages are as they are.This orientation certainly corresponds to the layperson's view of what language is.

Hypotheses and Objectives
The current work focuses on the analysis of "False-Friends" in English and Siin Seereer.Thus, through the research we have conducted, we have pointed out that there are several common words, in terms of writing, in English and Siin Seereer languages.Furthermore, many of these words do not belong to the same grammatical categories and they are structured and pronounced in different ways.Their natures and functions are totally different in the two languages.
So, this article aims to bring out the formal structure of these words considered to be "False-Friends" in these two languages under study.In addition, it intends to enlighten the grammatical, syntactic, phonological, etc. functions of these common concepts.Through this work, we would also like to shed light on all the problems and semantic, grammatical and phonological misunderstandings of "False-Friends" and on the confusion made by Siin Seereer students or learners of English and by English students or learners of Siin Seereer language.Furthermore, this article will help understanding the very status of this West African language and its similarities and differences from the English language.

Data Collection
To collect information in order to write the article and answer all the questions related to these concepts of "False-Friends" which are some common words in English and Siin Seereer, much research has been carried out in certain libraries, books, sources and in the Internet.As a linguistic study, this part of the work aims to indicate the ways we have taken to write this research work.However, to complete the work at the right time, some research has been done.For literary documentation we have read books and documents containing some of these common notions under study in English and in Siin seereer.We have also searched on the internet for some definitions and explanations of certain concepts in English.
Moreover, we have gone to some libraries such as the university library, the library of the English Department, the library of CLAD (Centre de Linguistique Appliquée de Dakar) and so and so forth.We have also gone to WARC (West African Research Center), IFAN (Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire) and to other centers.Besides, several interviews with some Siin Seereer native speakers who can speak English have been organized.These interviewed people have helped us not only in the finding and collection of words, but also in the transcription and explanation of these words.
This research has allowed us to have a lot of information and build our corpus.After the corpus building, we have moved on to the presentation and analysis of the data and we have ended up in the following results.

Data Presentation
The collection of data has helped us to have a clear presentation, analysis and interpretation of our corpus data.This article provides new and authentic data drawn from a variety of documents, interviews, etc. that enable us to implement a new analytical approach of the "False-Friends" which are nothing but words belonging to two different languages and that have a great similarity in form between them or are written in the same way, but whose meanings are different in English and Siin Seereer.So, the data of this paper are composed of first-hand and second-hand data.The former are made up of some authentic documents, speeches and interviews from where some information about some common words in both languages is taken and analyzed in order to bring some contribution to the field of our study.The second-hand data consist of some insights analyses and research findings.
These sets of collected and processed data provide an overview of these concepts regarded as "False-Friends" in the two languages, in a context dominated by the contact of languages (local and foreign).The data are made up of sentences, paragraphs, speeches, etc. adapted, elaborated and analyzed in the current paper.The data analysis is based on various approaches, techniques and or theories of scholars or schools such as the functionalism.

Results and Discussions
The research we have conducted has allowed us to have a lot of information and build our corpus.After the corpus building, we have moved on to the presentation and analysis of the data.In so doing, some collected "False-Friends" (twenty) are analyzed one by one in an alphabetic order.
A "A" is a term which exists both in English and in Siin Seereer.In English, this word is a determiner and more specifically an article.This latter is a limiting word, not descriptive, which cannot be used alone, but always joined to a substantive word to indicate a particular thing or a group or class of things or any individual of a class or group.It is pronounced /ei/ or /ǝ/ and is derived from the number "one" [6].Furthermore, it is an indefinite article which is used, as Adamczewski says, to indicate that the determiner noun is a precise or particular one identifiable to the listener [1].It may be something that the speaker is mentioning for the first time, or its precise identity may be irrelevant or hypothetical.In addition, the enunciator may make a general statement about any such thing.In other words, the indefinite article "a" is used when the enunciator wants to make an extraction of a notion.It is always used with singular countable nouns [7].
1) a man, a house, 2) a job, a teacher In Siin Seereer language, this term is pronounced /a/ and it belongs to two different grammatical categories, unlike in English.At first, it is part of class markers; and as a class marker, it is used with some specific nouns.All or almost all the singular nouns which begin with a prenasal are used with "a" class marker.However, when there is a shift from singular to plural, this class marker is erased and there is a consonant alternation with the voiceless corresponding plosive.
1) a ndok (a room) → tok (rooms) 2) a mbeel (a backwater) → peel (backwaters) Apart from these nouns, the "a" class marker can be used with other nouns whose number is identical.In other words, this operator can be used with nouns that are both singular and plural.In so doing, to identify the number, one has to use the noun in a sentence in which it will be the subject or put it in the definite or possessive forms.
1) a caf (a foot) → a caf (feet) 2) a toq (a crow) → a toq (crows) The second category, to which this term belongs, is the one of pronouns.In Siin Seereer language, "a" can be regarded as a personal pronoun used with the third persons (singular and plural).Nevertheless, it is only used as a personal pronoun when the sentence is affirmative or positive.In negative statements, it does not appear as such category.
1) Mari -a -reta -saax -laa Mari -she -go (acc) -village-Def "Mary has gone to the village" 2) Goor -we -a -ngara Men -Def -they -come (acc) "The men have come" All in all we can say that the term "a" is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer, in so far as it exists in both languages but does not mean the same thing.In English it belongs to the grammatical category of determiner and it is only used with singular countable nouns, whereas in Siin Seereer, it belongs to two different grammatical categories.It is part of class markers and it can be used with both singular and plural nouns.It also plays the role of personal pronouns in the third persons (singular and plural).In addition, its pronunciation is different in both languages.However, there is a similarity in the two languages in terms of structure for, as a class marker in Seereer and an article in English, it is placed in front of the noun it goes with.
AND "AND" is a word found in English and in Siin Seereer, but is among the "False-Friends".In English it is pronounced [ǝnd] or [aend].It belongs to the grammatical category of the coordinating conjunctions.It is used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, sentences, etc. that are to be taken jointly.In other words, it connects two concepts of the same nature.It can also be used to connect two clauses when the second refers to something that happens after the first.
1) A man and a woman 2) He turned round and walked out.
3) I shall be ladylike and not probe.[10] Furthermore, this term is used to introduce an additional comment or interjection.It is also a word used, as it is said in the dictionary, to connect clauses, the second of which refers to something that results from the first.In addition, it can be used to connect two identical words implying great duration or great extent or two identical words to indicate that things of the same name or class have different qualities.
1) There was a flash flood and by the next morning the town was under water.
2) The student shouted and shouted.This term can also be a noun in English.That being so, it refers to a Boolean operator which gives the value one if and only if all the operands are one, and otherwise has a value of zero.Unlike in English, in Siin Seereer this term is part of the grammatical category of verbs.It is pronounced [and].It is a (transitive) verb and means "to know".It is used when the enunciator wants to express the knowledge that the grammatical has on the realization of the predicative relation.It is also used when the enunciator expresses their knowledge.
Mari -a -and -a -mbind -na Mari -she-know -acc-house -Def "Mary knows the house" "AND" is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer.It is pronounced differently in these two languages and it does not belong to the same grammatical category.In English, it is used as a coordinating conjunction which connects words, clauses, sentences, etc. or as noun whereas in Siin Seereer, it is used as a verb, mainly when the enunciator would like to express the knowledge that the grammatical subject has on the object.

AS
The term "AS" is a grammatical concept that exists both in English and in Siin Seereer but with different pronunciations and meanings.It is pronounced [aez] or [ǝz] in English and belongs to the grammatical category of conjunctions.As a conjunction, it connects two clauses.Furthermore, this concept can be a preposition or an adverb in English.
1) As you know you go to war with the Army you have [5] 2) He works as a farmer 3) Nylon is cheaper than leather, and it's just as strong.
In these examples, the term "AS" functions differently according to the context for in the first example it is used as a conjunction and can be replaced by "Since".In the second one, it refers to the grammatical categories of prepositions and means "like".In the last one, it is used as an adverb.However, in Siin Seereer language, the pronunciation of this term is different from English.It is pronounced [as] and belongs to two grammatical categories.At first, it is a verb and means (to advise).It is used when an enunciator would like to give advice to the co-enunciator.In addition, this term can refer to the noun "advice" if it is accompanied by "o" class marker.
1) Ka um -as -a -o -kaynaak -oxe I (am) -advise-dur -c.m -shepherd-Def "I am advising (or giving advice) to the shepherd" 2) O -as -a -faaxa c.m -advice-it -be good "Advice is good" English and Siin Seereer use differently the word "AS".In English, it is either a conjunction or a preposition or an adverb; what is not the case in Siin Seereer in which it is used as a verb or as a noun.It is pronounced differently according to these languages.In addition, in Seereer whether it is a verb or a noun, the meaning is the same whereas in English the meaning it has when it is a conjunction is different it has when it is a preposition or an adverb.
BET "BET" is among the "False-Friends" in English and Siin Seereer.In English it is used as a verb.An enunciator refers to it when they want to risk a sum of money or valued item against someone else's on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event such a race, game, etc. or likelihood of a future event.It can also be a noun and means a candidate or option offering a specified likelihood of successor or an act of betting a sum of money or valued item.
1) He bet on Senegal and Egypt match 2) Your brother had a bet on the match In these examples, the term under study is used to refer to the grammatical category of verbs (in the first example) and to the category of nouns (in the second example).Thus, there is a similarity with Siin Seereer language in so far as this concept belongs to the grammatical categories of verbs and nouns.However, even if there is a similarity, there are differences between these two languages.In Seereer, when it is used as a verb, it means "to surprise" and when it refers to the noun, it means "beginning or opening".
1) Jaaga -a -bet -a -Buure Jaaga -he -surprise-acc -Buure "Jaaga has surprised Buure" 2) A -bet -ale -ekol -ke c.m-beginning-Def -schools-Def "The beginning or opening of schools" All in all, we can say that "BET" is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer in so far as it does not have the same meaning in both languages even if it belongs to the same grammatical categories (noun and verb).In English, it is used when the enunciator wants to wager on something whereas in Seereer it refers to the surprise (when it is a verb) or to the beginning or opening (when it is a noun).

BIND
The current word is a term which exists both in English and Siin Seereer but whose meaning is different in the two languages.In Siin Seereer it refers to the grammatical category of verb and means to "write" and it is pronounced [bind].
O -maad -oxe -a -bind -a -a -safe c.m-king -Def -he -write -acc-c.m-book"The king has written a book" In English, even if it can be categorized in the verb class, it refers to the fact of tying up something or to the fact of constraining someone to do something.It is pronounced [bʌind].In addition it can be used when an enunciator wants to cause people to feel united.In linguistics, it is used to determine the relationship between the coreferential and the noun phrases.Furthermore, it can be used as a noun and it refers to a problematical situation.
1) The policemen bind the thief's legs and feet 2) He is in a bind that gets worse with every passing minute These examples show that "BIND" is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer.It expresses different meanings in both languages.However, it is a term which belongs to the grammatical category of verbs in the languages under study even if the pronunciation is different and it can also be used as a noun in English.
CAT "CAT" is a common term in English and Siin Seereer.It is used as noun English and refers to a small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short snout and retractable claws.In other words, it is a small, four-legged, fur-covered animal often kept as a pet.It can also be regarded as a verb and would mean the fact of raising an anchor from the surface of the water to the cathead.It is pronounced [kat].
1) The cat has killed the mice 2) A cat is running along the road 3) I kept her off the wind and sailing free until I had the anchor catted The examples show that the term under study can be both a noun and a verb in English.In Seereer, "CAT" is a noun that has several meanings.It can refer to the bit, tip, end, etc. of something.Furthermore, the term can be used when one would like to talk about the bad luck.Thus, it is pronounced like [tƒat].
1) Reti -cat -ka -no -qol -la go -end -Def -of -field -Def "Go to the end of the field" 2) Cat -faaxe -no -leng bad luck-be good (unacc) -for -nobody "Bad luck is not good for anybody" The studied term is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer.It is not pronounced in the same way in these two languages.Thus, even if it belongs to the grammatical category of nouns in both languages, the meaning is not the same.Nevertheless, it can be a verb in English.In Seereer, it can also belong to this grammatical category of verbs if one adds (an)other(s) morpheme(s).Ex: cat+u→ catu; (to bear bad luck to) cat+ ir → catir (bear bad luck one another).
COOL "COOL" is a term which exists both in English and in Siin Seereer.In English, it is pronounced [ku:l] and it can be an adjective and refers to low temperature.In other words, it can refer to soothing or refreshing because of its low temperature.In addition, it can mean the fact of showing no friendliness towards a person or enthusiasm for an idea or project.It can also refer to informal fashionably attractive or impressive.The term can, furthermore, belong to the grammatical category of nouns or verbs.
1) It is cool today 2) He gave a cool reception to the suggestion for a research center.
3) The cool of the day makes me happy 4) Peter was trying to cool him down In Seereer, the term under study is pronounced [tƒo:l] and belongs to the grammatical categories of nouns and verbs.As a noun, it refers to the plural of the noun "njool", which means a tall person.So, the term "COOL" designates "tall persons".The word can also be used as a verb and refers to a "bad changing situation".
1) Layi -cool -ke -da -ngar tell -tall persons -Def-they-come "Tell the tall persons to come" 2) Saax -le -ka -cool country-Def -it -badly change "The country has badly changed" The study of this "False-Friend" has shown that English and Siin Seereer work differently."COOL" exists in both languages and belongs to the grammatical categories of verbs, nouns and adjectives.But the meaning and the pronunciation are different from one language to another.DAY English and Siin Seereer share the common term "DAY".It is a "False-Friend" in so far as its meaning and pronunciation ([dei] in English and [day] in Siin Seereer) are different from one language to another.In Seereer, it is used as a verb.It refers to the fact of being limited to or limiting oneself to.
1) O -qol -le -meke -ta -day -u c.m-field -Def-here -it -limit -acc "The field is limited here" Unlike Siin Seereer, English language uses the concept as a noun.It designates each of the twenty-four-hour periods, reckoned from one midnight to the next, into which a week, month, or year is divided, and corresponding to a rotation of the earth on its axis.
2) I do remember the day I met him.
3) The teacher has worked all the day long."DAY" is a common term in English and Siin Seereer.But the pronunciation is different and it does not belong to the same grammatical categories, nor does it have the same meaning in both languages.
FAR "FAR", pronounced [far] in Siin Seereer and [fa:] in English, is "False-Friend" in these two languages.In English, it is an adverb that is used to indicate the extent to which one thing is distant from another.It can also be an adjective and, in so doing, it refers to something situated at a great distance in space or time.
1) The far reaches of the universe.
2) The university is far from the suburb.Seereer language uses differently this term.In such language, the term is a verb and refers the fact of parting or taking part with somebody or something.
3) Mosaan -ka -far -fo -Juma Mosaan -she -take part -with-Juma "Mosaan has taken part with Juma" All in all, the study has shown that the term "FAR" is a common word in English and Siin Seereer.Thus, it does not belong to the same grammatical categories and it does not have the same meaning either.

FIT
The term "FIT", pronounced [fit] in both languages, is a common word in English and Siin Seereer.However, however similar their pronunciation may be, the two languages do not use this "False-Friend" in the same way.In Siin Seereer, it is a noun that refers to the courage.In addition, it can be used as a verb and designates the fact of not being afraid.
1) Waagan -ka -jeg -fit Waagan -he -have -courage "Waagan is courageous or has the courage" 2) Waagan -fit -e -o -leng Waagan -courage-neg-c.m-one"Waagan is not afraid of anybody" On the basis of these examples, we can say that "FIT" in Siin Seereer can be both a noun and a verb and refers to the courage.Thus, unlike this language, English language uses the term as an adjective or a verb.As an adjective, it refers to something which is of a suitable quality, standard, or type to meet the required purpose.If it is a verb, it refers to the fact of being of the right shape and size for something or someone.
1) John's house is not fit for human habitation 2) That dress does not fit her.English and Siin Seereer use differently the word "FIT" even if it has the same pronunciation in both languages.Thus, it refers to the courage in Seereer whereas in English it designates the suitability.
GOD "GOD", pronounced [gɒd] in English and [god] in Seereer, is a common term in these two different languages.In English, when it is written with a capital letter (God), meaning in monotheistic religions, it refers to the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority, the Supreme Being.In certain other religions (written in small letter (god)), it refers to a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes.
1) God is the Almighty.
2) I believe in God.
3) The Hindu god Vishnu is very famous.In Siin Seereer, the term under study belongs to the grammatical category of verbs.It is used when an enunciator wants to express the idea cutting (off) something or someone.Most of the time, it is an action which is done with a sword or a hatchet.
Sebaan -ka -god -a -ndaxar -ne Sebaan -he -cut -unacc-tree -Def "Sebaan cuts or is cutting the tree" "GOD" is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer in so far as it is not pronounced in the same way and does not have the same meaning, let alone belongs to the same grammatical categories.
GIF Pronounced [gif] in Siin Seereer and [gif] or [dʒif] in English, the term "GIF" refers to a lossless format for image files that supports both animated and static images in English.
1) He has created a file in gif format In Siin Seereer, it used as a verb and denotes the fact of taking a girl out of her family house in order to bring her in a man's house so that he should become her husband from that day.In other words, it is the act of marrying a girl without informing her before.However, the girl's father or uncle or one of her relatives should know about the act before it is realized.It was a practice that was frequent in Siin Seereer society.But now, people tend to avoid it due to monotheistic religions.
2) Dibor -ka -gif -el Dibor -she -marry without her consent-acc "Dibor is married without her consent or her being informed" IN The term "IN" is a common word in English and Siin Seereer whose meaning is different.Pronounced [in] in both languages, the term is used in English as a preposition or an adverb expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.In addition, it can express a period of time during which an event happens or a situation remains the case.It can also be used as an adjective.
1) I live in Senegal.
3) Please help her, she is locked in.Contrary to English, Siin Seereer language uses the concept as a personal pronoun denoting the first plural person.In other words, an enunciator uses it when (s)he wants to refer to him/herself and the other (s) as subject of a verb or an object in a sentence.Nevertheless, it can also be used as a verb and refers to the action lifting someone or something.
4) In -wey -ndet -a -no -siir -ola we -are -go -unacc-to -herd -Def "We are going to the herd" 5) Samba -a -in -a -ndek -le Samba -he -lift-acc-bench-Def "Samba has lifted the bench" The examples show that English and Seereer use differently the term "IN" even if it is pronounced in the same way.In English, it is used as a preposition or an adverb or sometimes as an adjective whereas in Seereer it is a personal pronoun or verb.

JAR
The current term, pronounced [jar] in Siin Seereer and [dʒa:] in English, is a "False-Friend" in these languages.English uses it as a noun which designates a wide-mouthed cylindrical container made of glass or pottery and typically having a lid, used specially for storing food.It can also be used as a verb that denotes the action of sending a painful or damaging shock through something, especially a part of the body.
1) John has bought a large storage jar.
2) You jar your knee in training.
In Siin Seereer, it is used as a verb and refers to the action of costing.That is, an enunciator refers to it to express the price of the cost of something.
3) Naak -le -juni -a -jar -a cow -Def -thousand-it-cost-acc "The cow costs one thousand" "JAR" is a common word in English and Siin Seereer but does not mean the same thing and is not pronounced the way even if it belongs to the same grammatical categories.
LAY Pronounced [lei] in English and [lay] in Seereer, the term under study is a common word in both languages.It is used as a verb in English referring to the action of putting something down gently or carefully or setting it in position for use.In addition, it can mean to work out an idea or suggestion in detail ready for use or presentation.It can, furthermore, be a noun designating the general appearance of an area of land.
1) You lay the baby in his cot.
2) They can see the lay of the surrounding countryside."LAY", in Siin Seereer, belongs to the grammatical category of verbs and means to speak or to say or to tell.It is used when an enunciator wants to express his/her feelings, thoughts, words, etc.
3) Lay -i -a -Ndew -ta -ret tell -order-to -Ndew -she -leave "Tell Ndew to leave" "LAY" is a "False-Friend" in the two languages in so far as its meaning, pronunciation and the grammatical categories to which it belongs are different in these languages.In other words, it can be both a noun and a verb in English whereas in Siin Seereer it is used as a verb.
MUM "MUM" is a term that exists both in English and Siin Seereer.It is pronounced [mum] in Seereer and [mʌm] in English, in which it refers to one's mother.It can also be used as an adjective in English and denotes a silent state.In Seereer, it is part of the adjectives and refers to the fact of being unable or unwilling to speak.In other words, it means to be dumb.
1) My mum is a doctor.
2) Saandox -ka -mum Saandox -is -dumb "Saandox is dumb" English and Siin Seereer use differently the term.In English, it is a noun whereas in Seereer it is an adjective.
NUT Pronounced [nut] in Siin Seereer and [nʌt] in English, the term under study is a "False-Friend" in the two languages in so far as it belongs to the grammatical category of verbs in Seereer and designates to the action of shutting one's eyes.
1) Xaamad -ka -nut Xaamad -is -shut his eyes "Xaamad is shutting/ shuts his eyes" Unlike Siin Seereer, English language uses differently the word "NUT".In this language, it is a noun and denotes a fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel.It can also refer to a small lump of something hard or solid, especially coal.In addition, it can mean a small flat piece of metal or other material, typically square or hexagonal, with a threaded hole through it for screwing on to a bolt as a fastener.
2) John has bought a nut 3) The final wheel nut was tightened RAM "RAM", which is pronounced [ram] in English and Siin Seereer, is common word in these languages but whose meaning is different from one language to another.It denotes the state of being unable or unwilling to hear.In other words, it means to be deaf.
1) Saandox -ka -ram Saandox -is -deaf "Sandox is deaf" In English, the term belongs to the grammatical category of nouns and refers to an animal, mainly an uncastrated male sheep.Moreover, it can be a verb and means to roughly force something into place.
2) My father has bought a ram for my birthday.
3) They ram their stick into the ground.The studied term is a "False-Friend" in English and Siin Seereer, for, even if it has the same pronunciation, its meaning is different from one language to another.It is an adjective in Seereer and refers to the fact of being deaf whereas, in English, it is a noun denoting an animal.
SEED Pronounced [si:d] in English and [se:d] in Siin Seereer, the word "SEED" exists in both languages.It is a noun in English which designates the unit of reproduction of a flowering plant, capable of developing into another such plant.It can also mean, as it is said in the dictionary, any of a number of stronger competitors in a sport tournament who have been assigned a specified position in an ordered list with the aim of ensuring that they do not play each other in the early rounds.
1) The farmers have got some seeds from the Government.
2) He knocked the top seed out of the championships.In Seereer, the term is part of the grammatical category of verbs.It denotes the action of urinating or peeing or pissing.Thus, it can be used as a noun if it is combined with the "a" class marker (ex: a seed (urine)).
3) O -njaaƈ -onge -ka -seed -jong -ne c.m-child -Def -has -pee -bed -Def "The child has peed the bed" The examples show that "SEED" is a "False-Friend" in the two languages under study since it refers to grains in English whereas in Seereer it points the action of urinating or peeing.
WET "WET" is a common term used in English and Seereer but whose meaning is different from one language to another.Pronounced [wɛt] in English and [wet] in Siin Seereer, the concept under question is an adjective in which refers to the fact of being covered or saturated with water or another liquid.
1) Yande is wet; she was out when it was raining.
2) Her shoes are wet.Siin Seereer language uses the term as a verb referring to the action of opening something.It can also denote the action of beginning an activity.
3) Yande -wet -a -a -ndok -ale Yande -open-acc-c.m-room-Def "Yande has opened the room" The term exists in the two languages but it does not belong to the same grammatical categories, nor does it have the same meaning.That is, in English it is an adjective (it can also be used as noun) whereas in Siin Seereer, it is a verb which means "to open" or to "begin".

Conclusion
English and Seereer are two different languages belonging to different language families.But however different they may be, they share several common terms whose meanings are different.Among these common terms mainly called "False-Friends", twenty words have been selected and semantically analyzed.So, the analysis has shown that, even if these words are common in the two languages, there is no relationship between English and Siin Seereer.We have pointed out that all the common terms in these languages are monosyllabic words.In other words, they are composed of one syllable.
Thus, some of these "False-Friends" belong to the same grammatical categories.But, whatever the grammatical categories they belong to may be, these words are not structured in the same way.Every language has its own word structure and formation.Siin Seereer is an agglutinate language whereas English is not.The analysis has also shown that some of the "False-Friends" have the same pronunciation even if they do not have the same meaning, nor do they belong to the same grammatical categories.Most of them, when they are nouns in English, in Siin Seereer they are verbs or adjectives and vice versa.Some of them are both noun and verb in English whereas in Siin Seereer, to shift from verb to noun, a class marker (a or o) is needed.
However, the fact that English and Siin Seereer share some common words can affect the learning of English by Seereer people and vice versa.This can also cause problems or difficulties in translation for these words do not have any common meaning.Moreover, it can push some students (Seereer or English) to misuse or mispronounce these terms.