Catalan to Sesotho sa Leboa: references survive changes in articles and agreement
An absent article does not make the target reference indefinite
Catalan distinguishes definite el or la from indefinite expressions and can replace a definite object with a corresponding short pronoun. Sesotho sa Leboa, also called Northern Sotho, has no article system of that kind. Mojapelo’s original study of definiteness shows that context, earlier reference, demonstratives and other modifiers contribute to identifying a referent. A Catalan definite article therefore need not become a separate target word in order for the same particular object to remain identifiable.
For a Catalan message about an item already introduced, preserve its connection with the preceding discussion. Do not assume that a bare target noun means a new or unspecified item solely because no word looks like el. Conversely, inserting a demonstrative everywhere the Catalan has an article could introduce a pointing or contrastive meaning that the original did not contain. The distinction to preserve is the intended reference, not an equal count of determiners.
Catalan gender and target noun class organize agreement differently
CPNL groups Catalan definite-object pronouns into el, la, els and les according to gender and number. The Northern Sotho annotation project instead identifies class-sensitive subject, object and possessive concords. These do not amount to a translation table with masculine Catalan forms in one column and feminine forms in another. Determine the target noun and its agreement pattern rather than allowing the source article to choose the target concord.
The project illustrates possessive concord with bana ba gagwe and diaparo tša bana, and separately records object and subject concords. Their small connecting forms belong to the relevant constructions. A Catalan reader should not treat an unfamiliar short concord as an independently translated noun. The grammatical relationships may extend across several written units even when the Catalan source packages its reference differently.
Spaces are not reliable boundaries for a complete verb
The same annotation guide treats ke a mo rata as four written units that together constitute a linguistic verb. This is a useful counterpoint to Catalan short-pronoun spelling: Catalan can attach forms to an imperative, while Northern Sotho can write elements of a verbal expression separately. An increased number of spaces in the translation does not establish that the message contains additional actions. Read the predicate as a construction before comparing word counts.
A greeting can ask about well-being without asking for a location
Unisa’s greeting lesson gives Le kae? with the social function of asking how someone is, while explaining its literal locational wording. A Catalan greeting should be translated according to that function rather than turned into a request for directions. The lesson similarly explains Re gona as a conventional well-being reply, despite its literal wording about being here. These expressions illustrate why a greeting exchange is more than a list of dictionary equivalents.
Unisa also distinguishes Sepela gabotse, addressed to the person going, from Šala gabotse, addressed to the person staying. Catalan adéu does not itself specify that distinction. Before using the target farewell, establish who is departing and who remains. This difference is directly useful at the end of a Catalan conversation: the same source farewell can need a different Sesotho sa Leboa expression depending on the participants’ movements.
Language references