As many an English native speaker knows, we have lost control of the English language. Words keep cropping up everywhere and while we recognise the form, the substance has changed.
Classic Frenglish examples are, of course, le lifting or le brushing (a simple blow-dry). Incidentally, the Germans have scored a point for us by taking the French verb friser and coming up with the noun Friseur (hairdresser or barber - NB: Coiffeur tends to be used in Switzerland).
I once asked a Swiss friend if she skied and she replied Non, je fais du snow.
She makes snow...
Nonsense to ears attuned to English. The word snowboard has been shortened to snow by the youth of today. Having the word neige in French ensures there is no confusion.
So, as Hank the Yank would say, "What's the takeaway?" (Two cod and chips plus a pot of mushy peas, please).
Annual report season is upon us and, as ever, the word reporting is ubiquitous. Do we blindly translate it as "reporting" or "reported information", "company data", etc. The context will decide.
Still, let's be careful out there (!) when translating English words that have been hijacked by other languages.
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