Greek to Fijian: decide who belongs to we before selecting its pronoun
Greek first-person plural does not give a full participant list
The Centre for the Greek Language presents εμείς as the strong first-person plural pronoun, alongside corresponding weak forms. Its basic singular–plural paradigm identifies the speaker as part of the group, but does not supply separate first-person entries for a group including the listener and one excluding the listener. A Fijian translation may need to make that distinction explicit.
Consider a Greek arrangement involving the speaker and a colleague. If the message tells a host that their visitors will arrive together, the host is outside that travelling group. If the message invites the colleague to travel together, the listener belongs to it. The same source first-person plural category can occur in both exchanges; the intended participant set differs.
The Greek reference also distinguishes strong and weak pronoun uses. An overt, emphasized εμείς can contrast one group with another, rather than merely repeat information already carried by the predicate. Preserve that contrast when identifying the Fijian group: first determine whose group is meant, then decide how the target refers to its members.
Fijian pronouns can specify both inclusion and number
Coppe van Urk’s primary study presents Fijian independent pronouns in a table distinguishing singular, dual, paucal and plural. It also separates inclusive from exclusive first-person forms. Its dual entries include keirau for the exclusive group and keidaru for the inclusive group. Both concern two participants, but differ in whether the addressee belongs to that pair.
For Greek-to-Fijian translation, counting two people therefore does not finish the choice. A two-person visiting party addressing its host and two people making a plan with each other require different inclusion readings. Substituting one dual pronoun for the other can wrongly invite the recipient into the activity or exclude the person actually being addressed.
Van Urk contrasts the detailed pronoun system with common nouns whose form does not independently distinguish all those numbers. A target noun that looks unchanged is therefore not proof that the surrounding pronoun should remain unchanged. The group reference must be interpreted through the complete phrase rather than through a visible plural ending copied from Greek.
A few is not an exact count of three
Joseph Hong’s primary discussion of Fijian translation explains that forms traditionally called trial can refer to three or a few, with no fixed boundary separating every use from the wider plural. His examples caution against turning that label into an exact numerical claim. A Greek message referring to a small group need not suddenly specify exactly three people in the target.
Hong also documents respectful uses of number forms when addressing or referring to individuals. These are socially conditioned uses, not permission to disregard an explicit head count. If a Greek message addresses one person politely, establish whether the Fijian form expresses respectful reference before concluding that the recipient has become a group.
Together, these distinctions make three decisions relevant to this direction: the people involved, whether the addressee is included and whether a form carries a respectful use. The Greek text may settle some of them through names or circumstances rather than through the pronoun itself. Preserve that evidence instead of filling the gaps with an unsupported exact count or an assumed invitation.
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