Bhojpuri to Georgian: a changed case ending need not change the actor
The source case pattern is not a target template
Gopal Thakur Lohar’s grammar describes a consistent nominative–accusative pattern in its Bara-Parsa Bhojpuri data, rather than importing the ergative pattern familiar from some neighbouring languages. Its discussion identifies the actor of a transitive clause with the subject of an intransitive clause for that alignment. This regional source description matters when comparing Bhojpuri with Georgian.
Georgian organizes argument case through its verb system, including tense–aspect–mood series. A subject can appear in nominative, ergative, or dative case, depending on the construction. The name of the case is not a permanent label attached to one person. A person can remain responsible for an action even when the grammatical form referring to them changes.
For a Bhojpuri report about a colleague writing a letter, distinguish the colleague’s identity from the case form used in Georgian. Moving from a current activity to a report of an earlier event can require changes beyond the time expression. Do not treat a changed ending as proof that the colleague has become the recipient rather than the writer.
A verb can contain information about several participants
The Georgian grammatical overview describes verbs that agree with a subject and with direct or indirect objects. A verb can consequently change when a recipient changes, even if the actor remains the same. Looking only for agreement with the first person named in the source can miss what the target form is expressing.
The Bhojpuri field grammar also describes complex agreement involving participants and honorificity. That complexity does not establish a one-to-one match with Georgian agreement. Preserve the relationships conveyed in the source, then assess the target verb together with its actual participants rather than transferring a Bhojpuri ending’s function wholesale.
Imagine a message saying that one colleague will send a letter to the writer. In a revision, the same colleague will send it to a customer instead. The sender and item stay constant while the recipient changes. A different Georgian verb form may reflect that revision; it need not mean the translator invented another action or replaced the sender.
Name all necessary roles before shortening the message
Georgian dictionary entries can present verbs through a verbal noun, an abstract root, or a finite third-person form. The overview explains this variation because Georgian lacks an ordinary infinitive. A dictionary headword is therefore not always a neutral form ready to be inserted after a translated Bhojpuri subject.
For a letter exchange, identify who writes, who sends, and who receives. These roles can belong to different people. A source sentence that mentions a colleague and a customer without making their roles clear gives the target too little information to choose the intended construction. Repeat a name where it resolves a real ambiguity, rather than adding a person from guesswork.
When changing the report from what is happening now to what happened earlier, translate the full revised clause. Keep the sender, recipient, and letter connected across the update. Georgian can then express the event through its own case and agreement patterns without requiring the same participant to retain the same visible ending in every sentence.
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