Translating Three Hebrew Constructions that Specify Yom 'Day'

A MTT team in Cameroon used a relative clause (‘The time that Jesus entered Capernaum’) to translate ‘When Jesus had entered Capernaum’. However, the team leader said the relative clause made the time too prominent, and suggested a shorter expression. Hebrew uses three different constructions to specify yôm ‘day’ or bǝyôm ‘on the day’: infinitives construct, relative clauses with ’ăšer, and relative clauses without a marker (‘asyndetic’). However, English versions often translate them all in the same way. Choice implies meaning, and Haiman’s Principle of Iconicity correctly predicts that more reduced forms (like infinitives construct) tend to be used when the referent is accessible from the context. When a relative clause with ’ăšer specifies yôm, in contrast, the time is either new to the context, or is focally prominent. Bǝyôm with an infinitive construct usually specifies a particular day. When it functions simply as a preposition, in contrast, it marks a significant discontinuity with the context. When an asyndetic relative clause specifies bǝyôm, the time is usually new to the context (like relative clauses with ’ăšer that specify yôm). When the time specified by an asyndetic relative clause is accessible, the discontinuity involving a change of topic is more significant than any link to the context. Target languages typically have several ways of translating temporal expressions in which one or other of the above three constructions specifies yôm or bǝyôm. Translators need to ensure that the expression they choose conveys a similar degree of prominence or discontinuity to that of each Hebrew one.