Linguistic Gap Analysis

Some Romans concepts have no single settled Dogri word at all, and require compound phrases; a separate category of terms has an available word, but it is shared closely with Hindi and Punjabi and must be deliberately localized so this curriculum does not read as borrowed material.

Terms requiring compound phrases

• Justification (धर्मी ठहराए जाना — “to be declared righteous”): no single Dogri word captures the forensic, legal-declaration sense; the compound must never be abbreviated to a word meaning only forgiveness, which loses the “declared,” not “made,” distinction.
• Imputed righteousness (गिनी गेई धरमीपन — “credited righteousness”): distinguishes righteousness credited to a believer from righteousness earned (कमाई गेई धरमीपन, explicitly rejected). This distinction has no everyday Dogri equivalent and must be taught, not assumed.
• Adoption (गोद लैने आह् पुत्तर बनाना): a descriptive compound stressing full son-status, since formal legal adoption sits uneasily against Dogra Rajput culture’s lineage-based honor and legitimate-birthright expectations.

Terms requiring deliberate Dogri-specific localization (not a Hindi borrowing)

• Gospel (खरी खबर rather than सुसमाचार): built on Dogri’s own everyday word for “true/genuine” rather than importing the Hindi Christian loanword directly.
• Grace (बिना कमाई दित्ती दया rather than a bare अनुग्रह-style Sanskrit loan): phrased as a plain Dogri description of unearned favor so it cannot be misheard as a boon granted through the local mannat vow economy.

Terms requiring transliteration rather than translation

• Messiah / Christ (मसीह): transliterated rather than translated, since no Dogri word carries the specific Jewish messianic-fulfillment sense without importing unrelated connotations.
• Abba (अब्बा): the Aramaic term of intimacy in Romans 8:15 is kept as a transliteration rather than translated to the formal पिता, so the informal filial intimacy Paul is pointing to is not lost.

Gap-filling strategy

Where no natural Dogri equivalent exists, this Language Package prefers a plain descriptive Dogri compound over either inventing an unfamiliar coinage or reaching for the nearest fluent-sounding Hindi Christian term — consistency with Dogri’s own idiom, and resistance to unmarked Hindi substitution, both outweigh borrowing convenience.