Bulgarian to Samoan: the group behind we must be identified
Two people and a larger group use different forms
Bulgarian plural pronouns do not distinguish exactly two participants from a larger group. The Peace Corps Samoan manual separates singular, dual and plural pronouns. A Bulgarian invitation to two people therefore needs a target number decision that its source вие does not explicitly provide. A courteous Bulgarian Вие can also mean just one addressee, so grammatical plural cannot serve as a headcount.
The Samoan manual gives ‘oulua for two addressees and ‘outou for plural addressees beyond the pair. Before translating a Bulgarian booking message, determine whether it concerns one customer, a couple or a larger party. A target that sounds hospitable can still address the wrong group if that distinction is guessed rather than established.
The reader may be included in we or excluded from it
Samoan also distinguishes inclusive and exclusive first-person groups. The manual contrasts tātou with mātou in larger-group reference. Bulgarian ние may leave the difference to the situation. A Bulgarian host saying we will prepare something might refer only to the host’s household or to a shared activity involving the guest.
This changes responsibility in the target exchange. An inclusive Samoan form can invite or expect participation by the listener; an exclusive form reports on another group’s action. Selecting a target pronoun solely because it corresponds broadly to we risks changing the offer. Determine the participants before considering which Samoan tense or action expression completes the sentence.
Formal spelling is not a transcript of every casual pronunciation
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples guidelines distinguish T-style and K-style registers, illustrating tama and its K-style pronunciation kama. The guidance recommends the formal written register outside certain casual contexts. A Bulgarian translation intended as an ordinary written message should therefore not replace target letters simply to imitate a colloquial pronunciation heard elsewhere.
This is a different issue from Bulgarian formal versus familiar second-person address. The Samoan register distinction is not a direct switch controlled by whether the Bulgarian source says ти or Вие. Identify the intended written setting and maintain suitable orthography while separately preserving the source relationship between the participants.
The glottal stop is part of the target form
The same official guidance describes the inverted comma as representing the Samoan glottal stop. It is not merely punctuation that can be removed to make a translation look cleaner. Bulgarian writing does not provide a matching sign for every target sound, so target forms need to be assessed according to Samoan spelling.
These decisions should remain separate in a Bulgarian group message. The actual number of people determines dual or plural reference; inclusion determines whether the listener belongs to the speaker’s group; the writing context guides register; and Samoan orthography preserves its own sound distinctions. A correct dictionary verb cannot compensate for an invitation that changes the group or for a target form whose consonant has been stripped away as decoration.
Language references