Bodo to Spanish: respectful you takes third-person grammar without becoming he or she
Usted still addresses the listener
Basumatary distinguishes ordinary and honorific Bodo second-person forms. Spanish can preserve formal address through usted, but the RAE explains that this pronoun refers to the listener while taking third-person grammatical agreement. A Bodo respectful you should therefore not be translated as a statement about an absent third person.
The distinction is between reference and grammatical form. A Spanish verb agreeing with usted can address the same single person as the Bodo source even though its morphology resembles third-person reference. Identify who hears the message before choosing the target pronoun and its agreement; do not let the target verb ending silently change the audience.
A plural address needs an actual group
The RAE identifies ustedes as the plural of usted and describes regional differences in its social use. In the Americas it addresses groups in both formal and informal settings. A Bodo plural honorific reference therefore supplies information about number, but the target’s regional address pattern also matters.
A respectful source message to one guest should not become a Spanish group instruction merely because the translator associates politeness with plural forms. Conversely, a source announcement to several guests should retain the group even if the target uses ustedes without a strongly formal implication. Preserve the real count separately from the social interpretation.
Your relative and another person’s relative need separate anchors
The Bodo study illustrates kinship reference through forms such as ada and bida, identifying my elder brother and his or her elder brother. A Spanish translation must retain that owner relationship before assigning a target possessive. The RAE also notes that usted takes the possessive su or suyo, not a vosotros possessive.
This creates a practical ambiguity to resolve in a Bodo message that politely addresses one person while discussing somebody else’s brother. The listener and the family anchor may be different people. Do not let the use of formal address make every following possessive refer to the listener. Retain enough explicit identification to preserve the source relationship.
Accompaniment can include several listeners without asserting possession
The RAE illustrates con ustedes as a prepositional use of the plural pronoun. Basumatary’s Bodo description likewise distinguishes sociative accompaniment from genitive ownership. A source statement about travelling with people should therefore retain accompaniment rather than turn the people into owners of a neighbouring object.
In a Bodo travel request, the speaker may address a group, accompany one relative and carry another person’s belongings. Spanish must preserve those three relations independently. Correct usted or ustedes agreement is only part of the task: the target also needs the right family anchor and the right relation introduced by a preposition. The translated message should address the same audience while describing the same companions and possessions.
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