Finnish to Inuinnaqtun: follow the same person without requiring a separate he or she word
A third-person reference need not have a dedicated he or she word
A Finnish account can introduce a person by name and continue with hän. An Inuinnaqtun translation need not reproduce that reference through a separate word matching English he or she. The useful check is whether the reader follows the same participant, not whether the source and target contain the same number of visible pronouns.
A Taste of Finnish illustrates hän with third-person singular verb forms and names particular people in corresponding examples. The pronoun itself does not distinguish he from she. A later sentence may therefore need the earlier named participant to resolve its reference. The English gloss attached to a learning example should not create gender information absent from the Finnish expression.
Compton’s research presents Inuinnaqtun personal pronouns for first and second persons and explains the use of demonstratives for third-person referents in Inuktut. It also discusses omitted ergative and absolutive pronouns whose participant features are represented on the verb. This is not evidence that every demonstrative means the same thing or that every reference can be freely omitted.
Keep the named maker distinct from the person checking the work
Imagine a Finnish theatre note introducing the person who painted a scenery panel and another person who checked it. A following hän must be interpreted from the actual sentence and context. Do not automatically attach every subsequent action to the painter, or change the reference merely because the checker’s name occurs closer to the pronoun.
If the source remains ambiguous, clarify who made the requested revision. A plausible Inuinnaqtun sentence can still attribute the work to the wrong person. Adding a name already established in the Finnish account may make the translated note clearer, but inventing a new worker or assuming an unmentioned relationship would change the facts.
When the target refers to someone through a demonstrative construction, review its full contextual meaning. Compton explicitly notes dialect variation in demonstrative inventories and presents an extensive table from Sallirmiutun separately. That table should not be copied indiscriminately into an Inuinnaqtun translation. Shared discussion under Inuktut does not make every illustrated form interchangeable.
Read a short update with the original account nearby
A theatre team may forward only the revision sentence, leaving out the earlier introduction. Check whether the shortened message still identifies the intended person. If the Finnish source supplies a name, keeping it with the translated action can be more reliable than asking a detached pronoun to preserve context that recipients never received.
Also distinguish a report about the worker from a direct message to that worker. Saying that someone will change a panel is different from asking the recipient to change it. A shift from third-person reference to second-person address should reflect the source’s purpose, rather than being introduced because the translated note is sent directly to the person concerned.
Have an Inuinnaqtun-proficient reader check the complete participant chain and the actual target forms. Retain the reviewed note with its named roles and actions. This preserves who painted, checked or revised the panel without demanding an artificial one-word equivalent for every Finnish hän or borrowing an unchecked pronoun from another variety.
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