"When we talk about false friends, we talk about -- we're talking about..." -- why did the speaker correct herself?

Question

I was watching a video by EngVid and came across the following sentence (4:00):

When we talk about false friends, we talk about -- we're talking about words in both Spanish and English that look the same when you read them.

In the video, the teacher first uses the simple present and then corrects herself. We usually use the simple present when talking about habits and facts, as I learned it, and the sentence in question seems to be the case.

However, there is a when-clause in it, and I often encounter the present progressive used with them. But to be honest, I don't understand at all why it is correct and when I should use it.

What is the difference between the simple and progressive forms in the sentence in question, and what could be the reason for choosing the latter?

Answer 1

Your question can be rephrased, "What nuance does we're talking about have that the speaker thought it a better choice than we talk about in the context of the following sentence, better to such a degree that she corrected herself mid-sentence:

When we talk about false friends, we talk about -- we're talking about words in both Spanish and English that look the same when you read them.

The simple present indicates customary behavior, what is usual. The continuous indicates behavior-as-it-occurs or action-in-progress.

So the corrected sentence could be understood as follows:

At those times when (or "whenever") we talk about "false friends"... we are referring to words that look the same but really have different meanings.

What is it that we are doing when we use the term "false friend"?

The simple present portrays the action conceptually in the abstract, as something that can and does happen from time to time. The continuous portrays the action in the particular, as something actually happening:

When we say that the camera "pans", we mean that it is rotating on an axis to keep a moving object in view, or to move across a vista.