Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph>]

Dave Washburn wrote:

> This is a very good analogy.  Another that comes to my mind is the
> idea that discourse attempts to build a skyscraper from the top
> down, instead of laying the foundation first so there's something to
> build on.

Dave,

I think you have unwittingly hit upon the reason why these type discussions 
keep
extending on with no end in sight.  I personally do not approach BH in order 
to "build
a skyscraper."

As a trained engineer who job at times past has been to analyze existing 
systems and
figure out "how they tick," I realize that the job of that type analysis is 
completely
different from the job of design or construction.  All the ones that I know 
who do the
analysis job look first at the largest unit, break it down into major 
components, and
then continue analyzing and *breaking* down until the various processes are
understood.  I simply am never planning on generating new biblical hebrew!

Please realize that this is not the approach that I use with Ibanag, the 
language
*into which* I am translating.  There I very much have to start from bottom 
up,
finding the correct words, the correct clause level forms, and the correct 
discourse
features to result in the closest reconstruction that I can manage to the 
original
text that I analyzed.

HTH,

Paul

--
Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
Ibanag Translation Project
Cabagan, Philippines

zellmer AT faith.edu.ph