Translation leads to language contact, which is a social and linguistic phenomenon by which speakers of different languages (or different dialects of the same language) interact with one another, leading to a transfer of linguistic features. It is a major factor in language change. Language contact is unavoidable in a multilingual set up. Languages must interact to develop and no human society can avoid such a linguistic dynamic. This paper examines language contact between English and French from a historical perspective, that is, how the contact came about, and the effects it has on the English language and its likely challenges for the translator with special reference to the concept of Faux-Amis (false friends). The paper also examines the effects of the internet on language use and how this could constitute new challenges to translation and translators. We used textual analysis method in carrying out this research. The theory used in this work is functional theory.
Keywords: French, English, Language contact, Internet, Translation
Written by:
Gold Iwala
Department of French
Faculty of Arts,
Federal University of Lafia
08036002673, 08166936363
diwala2003@gmail.com, goldiwala77@gmail.com