Bangla to Northern Kurdish: a demonstrative changes with its grammatical role
This does not have one fixed form in every clause
Thackston’s Kurmanji grammar identifies ev as a nominative demonstrative for this or these, without a masculine–feminine distinction in that use. Its oblique forms distinguish additional features. A Bangla source reference to this person must therefore be interpreted through its target grammatical role rather than assigned one fixed word everywhere.
The grammar contrasts ev mirov with ji vî mirovî, referring to this man and from this man. The source referent can remain identical while the target expression changes. A translation should preserve the person rather than preserve the same surface demonstrative across positions that require different target forms.
A source case relation needs a target phrase
The Bengali teaching grammar describes genitive forms preceding relational expressions, including accompaniment. Northern Kurdish also has constructions involving relational words and oblique forms, but the source ending is not a recipe for choosing a target case.
This matters when a Bangla account describes receiving something from a person, travelling with them and seeing them later. The same participant performs different grammatical roles across the clauses. Select each target construction from the actual source relationship instead of copying a single pronoun or noun form because the individual has not changed. Continuity of reference does not imply identical case marking.
An unspecified object still needs the appropriate form
Thackston contrasts mirov-ek in a man came construction with an oblique indefinite form when the man is seen. The existence of an indefinite meaning therefore does not remove the case decision. A Bangla sentence introducing an unidentified visitor and another saying that the writer saw a visitor can require different target noun shapes.
The source may or may not establish that both mentions identify the same person. That reference question must be resolved independently of the target’s indefinite formation. A grammatical object ending cannot compensate for treating a new visitor as one already introduced, or for treating a previously identified person as a different unspecified individual.
The source respectful listener remains the addressee
The Bengali grammar distinguishes ordinary tumi and respectful apni with corresponding verb forms. If a Bangla source addresses the person being discussed, the target must retain that conversational role rather than interpret the respectful form as an unrelated third person.
The target noun phrase’s gender, number and case requirements are separate from that role. Determine who speaks, who listens and what the relational expression means before selecting the Kurmanji form. These are Northern Kurdish constructions and should not be replaced by Central Kurdish forms on the assumption that a shared Kurdish label makes their pronoun and noun systems interchangeable. The source event remains the guide, while the chosen target variety supplies the grammatical pattern that expresses it.
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