Amharic to Catalan: redistribute the information inside the verb
The addressee changes in a different way
Amharic distinguishes a masculine singular you, አንተ, from a feminine singular you, አንቺ. Catalan informal tu does not reproduce that gender contrast. Instead, an important Catalan distinction separates informal address from forms such as formal vostè. A source-language choice that identifies the listener's gender therefore does not settle the target-language choice of social distance.
For an Amharic message to one customer, establish whether the Catalan reply should address that person familiarly or formally. Do this consistently across the entire reply, rather than changing only the first pronoun. Catalan verbal agreement accompanies the address pattern; a respectful opening followed by incompatible verb forms can undermine the intended relationship.
An object can move outside the written verb
Amharic can attach object pronouns to a verb. Catalan also uses short object forms, but their written position depends on the construction. The documented fer-ho means to do it: a hyphen connects the infinitive and its object form. With many finite verb forms, the corresponding clitic appears before the verb as a separate word.
Consequently, translating a compact Amharic verb can create more than one written Catalan unit. Count the participants, not the spaces. If a source verb identifies someone doing an action to another person, check that both the doer and the affected person remain identifiable after the target pronoun has moved.
Gender does not disappear just because tu is ungendered
Catalan nouns have masculine or feminine grammatical gender, and many adjectives and determiners agree with them. This is a separate issue from the masculine and feminine participant distinctions visible in Amharic conjugation. A translated object description may require agreement even when nobody's personal gender is relevant.
Suppose an Amharic note lists several qualities without repeating the item being described. When translating the list in isolation, include the item noun so that the Catalan forms have something definite to modify. Do not assume that identifying a female speaker determines the gender of every adjective in her message; an adjective describing a purchased object agrees with that object's noun.
Small combined forms still carry separate relationships
Catalan al combines a and el, while del combines de and el. These are useful examples when comparing an Amharic location or ownership phrase against the target. One written Catalan word may encode both a relationship and a definite article, rather than one of those meanings having been omitted.
The practical reading order for this pair is therefore different from a word-for-word inventory. First establish the listener's address pattern, then follow any object reference away from the verb, and finally read contractions as complete grammatical units. These steps help distinguish a legitimate redistribution of Amharic information from a genuine loss of who acted, who received the action, or which item was meant.
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