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 Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the exclusive pronoun (excluding the king).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 41:11:
- Kankanaey: “There-was one night that we (excl.) two dreamed and we (excl.) knew that there-was-(something) that what we (excl.) dreamed meant to say.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Newari: “At that time in the same night both of us had dreams which had different interpretations.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “Do you (sing.) (know) that one night back-then, we (excl.) too dreamed, and the meaning of our (excl.) dreams were different.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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