Bodo to Kannada: distinguish a reflexive person from a respected addressee
Self-reference does not establish the form of address
In Narzary’s Bodo mirror examples, the person doing the looking is also the person seen. This supplies a concrete interpretation for transfer into Kannada: the expression concerns the actor themself, not a courtesy label for the listener. The Bodo alternatives in that discussion preserve this identity even though their forms differ.
The Kannada Language Chair’s lesson gives ತಾನು, tānu, for third-person reflexive reference, but also presents ತಾವು, tāvu, as a respectful second-person form. Consequently, choosing a Kannada expression merely because a dictionary labels it reflexive can change who is being addressed. A Bodo description of somebody acting on themself and a courteous question directed at somebody are different conversational situations.
Gender appears in some target choices, not every pronoun
Bodo personal pronouns do not distinguish male and female reference in Narzary’s account. The Kannada lesson separates first- and second-person personal forms from demonstrative forms used for third-person reference. Its remote singular examples include ಅವನು, avanu, for a male person and ಅವಳು, avaḷu, for a female person.
That difference matters when a Bodo passage introduces a person through a neutral pronoun. Selecting either Kannada singular supplies information not contained in that source form alone. An earlier kinship expression may establish it, but the translator should not infer it simply from the occupation associated with the referent. Conversely, a Bodo first-person statement does not require inventing a gender distinction in Kannada ನಾನು, nānu.
An honorific singular can look like a group
The same Kannada lesson lists ಅವರು, avaru, both for multiple persons and for respectful singular reference. Narzary likewise distinguishes Bodo ordinary and honorific pronoun forms. The useful transfer is therefore not a mechanical singular-to-singular replacement: respect and the actual number of participants need separate interpretation.
For a Bodo account of one respected visitor, an honorific Kannada form must not turn the visitor into several people in the surrounding explanation. For several visitors, the same visible Kannada form does not prove that the Bodo source singled out one dignitary. Track the source antecedent across the passage before resolving a later reference to that person or group.
A general question about identity need not announce gender
The Kannada teaching page identifies ಯಾರು, yāru, as the generally used question word for who, alongside gender-specific alternatives with more restricted conversational effects. A Bodo identity question should not acquire a marked gender-specific formulation merely because the eventual answer names a man or woman.
This becomes especially useful in a dialogue where the source first asks who arrived and only then identifies the visitor. Preserve that order of information. The translator already knows the answer from the next line, but the questioner need not know it. A neutral identity question, a respectful address, and a reflexive statement each organize reference differently; their Kannada pronoun choices should follow those distinct Bodo meanings.
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