Catalan to Kannada: identifying, needing and locating are different constructions
A Kannada identification may have no separate word for és
Catalan has finite forms such as soc, ets and és in the paradigm of ser. Kannada can express a simple identification without a separate linking verb. The JNU lesson gives ಅದು ಮನೆ, adu mane, for identifying something as a house. A Catalan reader should not conclude that the translation is unfinished merely because there is no visible counterpart for és. The Kannada noun phrases can constitute a complete sentence.
The same lesson illustrates a question with ಇದು ಪುಸ್ತಕವೇ?, idu pustakavē?, asking whether this is a book. Its question marking belongs to the Kannada construction. A Catalan question and the Kannada result need not have an equal number of written words, nor must a word corresponding to the source copula appear before the noun. The comparison to make is whether the target identifies or questions the same thing.
The person needing something can take a different grammatical role
Zydenbos explains a frequent Kannada construction with bēku, in which the desired or required thing is the grammatical subject and the person wanting it is in the dative. His example nanage ā pustaka bēku expresses wanting or needing that book. When translating Catalan, a first-person form such as vull must therefore not be matched by insisting that the Kannada first-person expression occupy exactly the same grammatical position. The participant can remain the same while the structure changes.
The manual also explains that bēku can cover both a wish and a requirement. This matters if the Catalan original distinguishes an optional preference from a necessity. A target expression built around bēku does not by itself reproduce every possible difference between those situations. Preserve any source explanation of why the item is needed, especially where it distinguishes a casual request from something essential. The issue is the strength of the request, not simply the presence of a word glossed “need.”
A destination and a location are not the same noun form
Catalan can distinguish direction from location through the verb and the surrounding phrase. Its article lesson includes movement to a market and residence in a street. Kannada case marking can express corresponding relationships on the noun itself: the JNU case table separates dative from locative, and illustrates different forms built on ಮರ, mara. The resulting ending is grammatical information, rather than a new place or a different object.
This gives a practical way to read a Kannada result from a Catalan travel message. Determine whether the Catalan participant is already at the place, heading towards it or leaving it. Do not choose the target form solely because its initial letters resemble the dictionary headword. Case markers and any intervening stem material belong with the noun; removing them to make the spelling look simpler can remove the relationship being expressed.
The person asked and the people described remain distinct
JNU’s pronoun lesson distinguishes ಅವರು, avaru, for respected singular persons or several people, and ಅವು, avu, for things. Catalan plural agreement alone therefore cannot settle every Kannada pronoun choice. In a Catalan text mentioning both people and objects, identify each referent before interpreting the target plural-looking forms. A respectful reference to one person must not accidentally become a statement about several objects.
Language references