PROBLEMS IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT FORM BETWEEN ORDINARY AND REFLEXIVE POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN BULGARIAN TRANSLATIONS OF EU INSTITUTIONS TEXTS

Abstract

The paper presents problematic cases in applying the rule on the use of the 3rd person reflexive possessive pronoun vs the ordinary possessive pronoun in the texts of the EU institutions translated into Bulgarian. In continuation of other studies where examples with more complex syntax are explored (Dimov 1971, Nitsolova 2008, Aleksandrova 2024), it provides an extensive collection of instances where deviations from the rule may not be considered erroneous. The corpus of examples attests for hesitations in presence of passive voice or verbal nouns and confirms that errors are more likely to occur when the pronoun is more distant from the antecedent. Particular attention is dedicated to verbal nouns for which both active and passive interpretation are possible. As a way to avoid misinterpretation, the paper advocates that in such cases the use of the reflexive or ordinary possessive pronoun should be determined by the semantic role of the subject in the additional predication. Finally, practical rules are proposed to guide translators in their choice when facing such problematic cases.