Lower Sorbian to Arabic: keeping a pair distinct also means choosing its case
Two is already grammatical information in the source
The DOBES Lower Sorbian project describes an actively used dual category. A source ending can therefore refer specifically to a pair even when no separate word meaning two appears beside the noun. A translation that replaces every nonsingular reference with a general plural can lose information already present in the source.
Madinah Arabic’s standard-language lesson likewise distinguishes singular, dual and plural nouns. The broad match is useful: a pair need not be expanded into a vague group. But the two languages’ endings are not interchangeable, and recognizing a dual does not finish the target noun phrase.
For an original Lower Sorbian description of two buildings, retain exactly that pair when constructing Arabic. If a later reference concerns their entrances, decide whether the pair belongs to the buildings, the entrances or both. One dual expression cannot be used as a blanket instruction to make every nearby noun refer to two things.
A genitive dual still refers to two
Igartua’s study contrasts Lower Sorbian grod-owu, genitive dual of castles, with grod-ow, genitive plural. The difference is especially useful in a description involving a relationship to two castles. A genitive ending is not an alternative to number information: the noun can express both its relationship and the pair.
The Arabic lesson illustrates nominative طَالِبَانِ and explains the corresponding accusative–genitive dual ending ـَيْنِ. A case change in an Arabic dual does not mean the pair has become plural. Conversely, preserving a recognizable dual ending does not show that the noun has the right case for its target construction.
An original Lower Sorbian report about the condition of two buildings therefore needs two independent facts preserved: exactly two buildings are involved, and the report concerns something related to those buildings. The Arabic target must construct that relationship through its own syntax, rather than copy the source genitive ending as if it selected one universal target suffix.
Count the related nouns independently
The Arabic teaching examples distinguish two daughters with one teacher from two daughters with two teachers. The girls’ count remains unchanged while the teacher expression changes. This is a concrete check for a Lower Sorbian source in which a dual subject appears with another participant phrase.
For an original arrangement involving two visitors and a guide, do not infer two guides merely because the source visitors are dual. If the source instead assigns each visitor a separate guide, that is additional information that needs its own expression. Agreement and nearby pair reference cannot establish that allocation on their own.
This guide concerns the standard Arabic case pattern taught in the cited lesson; it does not claim identical realization across spoken Arabic varieties. The source comparison is likewise specifically Lower Sorbian, whose genitive-dual distinction should not be replaced with an Upper Sorbian paradigm. Preserve the number of each participant set and its role separately. That retains the value of the source dual while allowing Arabic to select the case form required by the complete target phrase.
Language references