inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Deut 1:19)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 1:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 1:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “And then, we did according to what the Lord our God had said to us. We started the journey from Horeb, and went through the wilderness which was big and very fierce like you (plur.) have seen.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then as the LORD God commanded us, we came out from Horeb and went toward the mountainous country of the Amorites by way of the dreadful wilderness which you did not like to see with [your] eyes. And so we arrived [at] Kedesh-Barnea.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Then according-to the command of the LORD our (incl.) God, we (incl.) left-from from the Mountain of Sinai, and journeyed through the wide and scary desolate-place that you (plur.) your (plur.) selves have-seen, and we (incl.) went to the hills of the Amornon. When we (incl.) arrived in Kadesh Barnea,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Then, just like Yahweh our God commanded us, we left Sinai Mountain and went through that huge desert that was very dangerous/difficult to travel through, on the road to the hilly area where the Amor people-group live. We arrived at Kadesh-Barnea.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )