Bosnian to Cantonese: completed events and a self-reference with two readings
Bosnian aspect does not map to one Cantonese particle
Alexander distinguishes Bosnian activity from a bounded occurrence through pairs such as piti and popiti. Cantonese also marks event viewpoint, but the Chinese University of Hong Kong examples distinguish several target readings. 咗 presents a perfective event, 過 marks experience, and 緊 can present an action underway. A Bosnian past-tense message should not receive the same Cantonese particle merely because the event precedes the time of writing.
The university’s experiential example asks whether the listener has ever eaten a particular dish. That differs from reporting that the listener finished a meal on one occasion. Likewise, its construction-site example presents a building still being constructed at a past reference time. For a Bosnian report, preserve whether the source concerns experience, progress or a bounded occurrence before choosing the target marker.
Self-reference can become less explicit than the source
The Bosnian textbook’s third-person svoj identifies the subject’s own possession, contrasting it with another person’s possession. Cantonese 自己 offers self-reference, but the university’s examples show that its interpretation can reach more than one participant. A target sentence containing 自己 is therefore not automatically as unambiguous as the particular Bosnian source.
The Cantonese grammar gives a grandmother’s report about Ming not knowing how to take care of 自己, with possible reference to Ming or the grandmother. In a Bosnian caregiving message, those readings are materially different. Preserve the source person through the clause or an explicit name if the target reflexive would leave the recipient unsure. Selecting a reflexive word is only part of retaining the intended owner or beneficiary.
A location and a direction answer different questions
The university’s location chapter contrasts a car being outside with a person walking toward the subway. A Bosnian instruction can similarly locate an object or direct someone toward a destination, but the Cantonese constructions serve those functions separately. Do not let a translated station name hide a change from where somebody is to where somebody is going.
The chapter also illustrates a route from one Hong Kong location to another. When a Bosnian message specifies a starting point and endpoint, both need to remain in their correct roles. The target’s coverbs, movement expression and place phrases work together; comparing only two correct-looking location names does not establish that the route has been preserved.
Meeting a traveller is more than being at the station
Alexander’s čekati and dočekati contrast distinguishes waiting from receiving an expected person on arrival. This adds a useful source distinction to Cantonese travel messages: somebody’s presence at the station does not itself communicate that they will meet the visitor. Retain the reception event when the Bosnian wording includes it.
The target can need several decisions simultaneously: whether the meeting has occurred, whose companion or relative is involved, and which direction the visitor should take. Cantonese aspect, reference and location patterns contribute different information to those decisions. A fluent-sounding sequence that marks completion correctly can still be wrong if 自己 refers to the wrong person or the route reverses the source’s starting point and destination.
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