Catalan to Kinyarwanda: a sibling term depends on whose relationship it describes
Brother or sister may leave a target distinction unresolved
Catalan germà and germana identify a male or female sibling without requiring a statement about which sibling is older. Expressions such as germà petit can add that information. For Kinyarwanda, the relationship can require a different set of distinctions: the sibling’s sex relative to the person whose family is being described, and, for certain terms, relative age.
Zorc and Nibagwire distinguish murúmuna for a younger sibling of the same sex from mukúru for an older sibling of the same sex. Their grammar separately identifies musáaza as a brother in relation to a sister, and mushíki as a sister in relation to a brother. These distinctions prevent a single dictionary substitute from covering every Catalan mention of brother or sister.
Suppose two Catalan speakers each mention an older brother. If one is a man and the other a woman, the relationship is not categorized identically in the described Kinyarwanda system. The brother’s age and sex may be the same in both situations; the person to whom he is related has changed.
Follow the family anchor when reporting another person’s words
A Catalan narrator can describe a woman and then mention her brother. The relationship belongs to that woman, even if the narrator is a man. Choosing the Kinyarwanda term from the narrator’s own sex would therefore apply the wrong family perspective. Establish whose brother is meant before evaluating the target word.
This becomes especially important when a message changes between quotation and narration. Inside a quotation, my refers to the quoted speaker. Outside it, her may refer back to the same woman. The change in grammatical person does not necessarily change the family relationship. A translation should not assign a different kind of sibling simply because the narrator resumes speaking.
In a family introduction, trace each possessive to its person. A visitor’s brother, the host’s brother, and the writer’s brother can all occur in one exchange. Their relationship terms need not be identical, and proximity to a particular name is not enough to determine the correct anchor.
Do not invent an age difference or widen the relationship
The Peace Corps vocabulary distinguishes older and younger sibling terms but abbreviates some other entries as brother and sister. The comparative grammar supplies the relational qualifications missing from those short glosses. A convenient English label in a vocabulary list should not override the fuller description.
If the Catalan source does not establish relative age where a same-sex sibling term requires it, do not guess from names, occupations, or which person is mentioned first. An older-looking photograph or a senior job title is not linguistic evidence of birth order. A more explicit description may be needed when that information cannot be recovered.
Also distinguish a factual family relationship from an extended use of germà for a community member or religious brother, which the Catalan dictionary records. Translating that usage as a biological sibling would invent family history. For this pair, identifying the family anchor and the sense of the Catalan word is the necessary work before selecting the target kinship term.
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