Basque to Rundi: distinguishing a place from the relationship expressed around it
A Basque location ending applies to the entire phrase
Laka illustrates Basque spatial morphology with Bilboko kale batean, in one street in Bilbao. The final location ending appears on the last element of the expression, but it relates the whole street phrase to the event. For Rundi, recover that complete unit before choosing a location construction. Translating the street noun and the final numeral independently can leave the destination or setting unattached to the action.
The same account distinguishes location, movement toward a place and movement away through different spatial endings. Preserve the relationship as well as the place name. A Basque message about waiting in a street differs from one about moving into it or leaving it, even when every other noun is shared. The Rundi target may combine its verb and location expression differently; a single dictionary preposition is not a substitute for determining which spatial relation the source actually states.
Rundi location forms must be selected in their own construction
Zorc and Nibagwire’s comparative grammar describes several ways of expressing location, including prepositions and elements attached to verbs. Its Rundi example ku Muyira identifies a location with ku, while the grammar explicitly contrasts a different Kinyarwanda construction for the same name. This is a practical reason to keep the requested language distinct: a neighbouring language’s familiar-looking phrase is not automatically the Rundi expression needed for a Basque place reference.
The grammar also labels azooz’ aha as Rundi, meaning he will come to this place, and explains that a separate preposition is not used with the locative element in that construction. These examples do not make ku a universal equivalent of a Basque directional ending. A target location can be built differently according to the expression selected. Identify whether the Basque source names a place, points to this place, or refers to a location through another phrase, then evaluate the complete Rundi construction rather than inserting a preposition before every location word.
A form associated with location need not describe physical space
Misago, Tuyubahe and Nshimirimana’s corpus study reports that Rundi class17 ku expressions extend beyond actual places. The authors’ abstract identifies semantic functions including beneficiary, cause, manner, price and source among the patterns in their sample. Their finding cautions against assuming that every target ku expression must describe a physical surface or destination. The relationship to the action remains essential to interpretation.
For a Basque message that gives a reason, identifies a beneficiary or states a price, keep that non-spatial meaning distinct from the place where the event happens. If the proposed Rundi wording contains ku, its presence alone cannot establish which relationship has been preserved. Read the relevant phrase with the verb and the surrounding message. Conversely, a genuine Basque destination should not disappear merely because the target has another possible non-spatial use for similar material. This direction requires matching relationships at the level of the construction: location, direction, beneficiary and cause are separate facts even when a target form participates in more than one pattern.
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