Persian to Māori: mā may leave the listener’s place in we unstated
Recover whether the Persian speaker really means a group
The Texas Persian pronoun lesson gives mā as we, but also notes a use in place of I to express humility in particular social settings. A Māori translation must first establish whether an actual group is intended. Selecting a plural target pronoun for a modest first-person singular reference would introduce companions who were never part of the statement.
This matters in a reply about who will undertake a task. One person speaking modestly and a team announcing its plan make different commitments. The Persian pronoun’s surface form alone cannot settle the difference; the message’s established speaker and the people associated with the task are essential to interpreting its reference.
For a real group, Māori distinguishes two from three or more
Kupu’s Māori pronoun account distinguishes dual and plural forms. Māua refers to the speaker plus one other person while excluding the listener; mātou refers to an excluding group of three or more. Thus a Persian mā referring to a pair does not automatically map to the same form as mā referring to a larger team.
For an account of a completed meeting, the people who attended determine the target pronoun. A pair reporting its meeting to an absent colleague needs different reference from a larger delegation. The Persian source can use mā for either size, while the Māori choice makes a distinction that the source pronoun leaves unstated.
The target’s dual distinction also should not be confused with there being two objects involved in the task. Two people carrying one document remain two people; a larger team handling two documents remains a larger team. The pronoun counts participants, rather than paperwork or other items mentioned nearby.
The listener’s inclusion is another independent question
Kupu contrasts inclusive tāua with exclusive māua for two people, and inclusive tātou with exclusive mātou for three or more. The inclusive forms count the listener as part of we. Persian mā does not itself make that same overt division, so a translator must recover the listener’s membership from the actual exchange.
This is consequential in an invitation. A speaker describing a plan involving the listener is doing something different from reporting what the speaker and an absent colleague will do. Choosing an exclusive Māori form for the invitation could remove the recipient from the plan; choosing an inclusive form for the report could add a commitment the recipient never made.
For this pair, resolve three questions in sequence: whether mā genuinely refers to multiple people, whether that group contains two or more than two, and whether the listener belongs to it. Māori can then express the intended participants precisely without turning Persian humility into a fictional team or turning a team report into an invitation.
Language references