German to Slovenian: do not copy the German verb bracket
German second position concerns the finite verb
German main clauses normally place the finite verb in a second-position pattern, with other verbal material potentially appearing later. IDS contrasts this with subordinate clauses where a subordinator introduces a verb-final arrangement. Slovenian has another important placement system: Greenberg describes unstressed clitics as generally occupying an early position after the first stressed element or a conjunction. The resemblance of second-position descriptions does not mean the same elements occupy the same positions in both languages.
An original German sentence such as Heute habe ich ihn gesehen distributes its auxiliary, subject pronoun, object pronoun and participle across the clause. A Slovenian rendering needs its own arrangement of auxiliary and weak pronoun forms. Copying the German slots can scatter material that belongs in the Slovenian clitic sequence. The target should preserve who saw whom and when without treating German word order as an instruction for placing each short word.
A German subordinate clause does not prescribe a final Slovenian auxiliary
In a German clause introduced by weil or dass, the finite verb can appear at the end of the verbal bracket. This is a property of German clause structure, not part of the event’s meaning. Slovenian clitics are governed by their own clause-level placement. Translating a German explanation should not relocate the Slovenian auxiliary to the clause end merely to mirror the German finite verb.
For example, a German account can first state that somebody saw a visitor and then explain that they had met previously. The second clause’s different German verb position does not change the identity of the participants. Keep those references and the time relationship, but build each Slovenian clause according to its own structure. This is particularly useful when a long German introductory phrase makes the nearest visible word boundary a misleading guide to what counts as the first clause constituent.
A short Slovenian answer can use an auxiliary on its own
Greenberg also notes that Slovenian permits clitics at the beginning in appropriate contexts, including short replies whose main verb is recoverable from the preceding question. His examples use Sem as an affirmative answer to a question about sleeping well. Consequently, a sentence-initial auxiliary in a Slovenian answer is not automatically a broken second-position sentence. The dialogue supplies the omitted predicate.
German may answer a similar question with Ja or with a fuller verb phrase. A translation can therefore be shorter in Slovenian without losing the answer, provided the intended predicate remains clear from the exchange. The reverse risk is treating every isolated auxiliary as an ordinary assertion of identity or existence. In a transcript alternating a question and a response, identify whether the speaker is continuing the previous predicate or introducing a new one. German punctuation and explicit pronouns may make that connection visible differently; the Slovenian dialogue should preserve the conversational link rather than reproduce the number of written words.
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