Self-taught Greek - uphill battle?
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Mathetes
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Self-taught Greek - uphill battle?
Hopefully we have a member or two here who know Greek. I've been endeavoring to learn it myself for a while now. However, in learning it on my own without a school or course, there are numerous difficulties, not the least of which is the ability to consult with someone who knows what they're doing. Obviously, this isn't the best way to go about it, but is it at least feasible? This is the book I'm working with and it's very basic - almost "kiddie" - for starters. Although about halfway through, it shifts gears and dives the learner into memorizing declensions and cases and prepositions, etc. Also, it poses me with the problem of where to go next after I finish that book. Any thoughts would be appreciated![/url][/i]
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Jac3510
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Hey again, Math 
I'm taking Greek now, and while it is actually a class setting, the system we're on is basically self-taught. The classes simply go over what we've studied at home, so I'm not in too different a position than you are. I've not read the book you have, but the one I'm using (and HIGHLY recommend) is William Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek.
Tell me a little about the book's methodology, if you will. There are several ways to learn Greek. Some books are inductive, others deductive, and others a combination of both. Some require you to learn paradigm after paradigm, while others (like the one I'm using) require you to learn a few basic rules and charts and how to apply them.
How far are you in your studies?
I'm taking Greek now, and while it is actually a class setting, the system we're on is basically self-taught. The classes simply go over what we've studied at home, so I'm not in too different a position than you are. I've not read the book you have, but the one I'm using (and HIGHLY recommend) is William Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek.
Tell me a little about the book's methodology, if you will. There are several ways to learn Greek. Some books are inductive, others deductive, and others a combination of both. Some require you to learn paradigm after paradigm, while others (like the one I'm using) require you to learn a few basic rules and charts and how to apply them.
How far are you in your studies?
And that, brothers and sisters, is the kind of foolishness you get people who insist on denying biblical theism. A good illustration of any as the length people will go to avoid acknowledging basic truths.Proinsias wrote:I don't think you are hearing me. Preference for ice cream is a moral issue
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Mathetes
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Hi Jac,
Like I mentioned, the book starts off very simple. It introduces the alphabet and very basic vocabulary. You learn simple words like used in the Bible, like οικος and σκορπιος, etc. It gradually introduces words that English speaking Christians would recognize, like φιλος and αδελφος, ιρρος and ροταμος, as well as compound words, and dipthongs. So far, so good. They even use pictures to illustrate the word, which adds to the "kiddie/preschool" element I mentioned. If I weren't at the kiddie/preschool level in Greek, I'd be indignant
Anyways, about halfway through, it shifts gears and dumps grammatical concepts in your lap without letting you 'digest' them, so to speak. I can slog through it, but it's difficult without doing a lot of memorization. So far, I've been working on memorizing the Nominative, Genitive, Dative, and Accusative endings for all three declensions. I know the verb endings pretty good. The prepositions I've managed to memorize are ok, but I should brush up on them. No tenses or anything yet. Right now it's going through the forms of the verb "to be".
I was thinking about Mounce's books, but when I decided to get into this, the workbook wasn't available. This one is a workbook and a lessonbook combined in one, so I figured that was kind of handy. I ordered a few more books from Amazon, but it was just a lexicon and a learner book
Also: are you learning Hebrew as well? I was wondering if adding that would make it too much of a dogpile.
Like I mentioned, the book starts off very simple. It introduces the alphabet and very basic vocabulary. You learn simple words like used in the Bible, like οικος and σκορπιος, etc. It gradually introduces words that English speaking Christians would recognize, like φιλος and αδελφος, ιρρος and ροταμος, as well as compound words, and dipthongs. So far, so good. They even use pictures to illustrate the word, which adds to the "kiddie/preschool" element I mentioned. If I weren't at the kiddie/preschool level in Greek, I'd be indignant
Anyways, about halfway through, it shifts gears and dumps grammatical concepts in your lap without letting you 'digest' them, so to speak. I can slog through it, but it's difficult without doing a lot of memorization. So far, I've been working on memorizing the Nominative, Genitive, Dative, and Accusative endings for all three declensions. I know the verb endings pretty good. The prepositions I've managed to memorize are ok, but I should brush up on them. No tenses or anything yet. Right now it's going through the forms of the verb "to be".
I was thinking about Mounce's books, but when I decided to get into this, the workbook wasn't available. This one is a workbook and a lessonbook combined in one, so I figured that was kind of handy. I ordered a few more books from Amazon, but it was just a lexicon and a learner book
Also: are you learning Hebrew as well? I was wondering if adding that would make it too much of a dogpile.
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Jac3510
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Heya Math,
Sounds like a pretty good approach . . . looks like the same, basically, used by Mounce. The Master Case Ending Chart is great . . . learn that and a couple of other patterns and you have the noun system down pat. While you are at it, make sure you learn the paradigm for the article flawlessly. Sometimes, you may forget the gender of a word, but if the article is there, you know for sure. Also, it makes finding the case of the word that much easier.
Other than that, just keep plugging at it. So far as your vocab goes, you only need to learn a little over 300 words to get about 80% of the entire NT word usage under your belt. Then, you can get a Reader's Greek New Testament. They include a lexical entry for every word occurring less than 50 times, so you ought to be able to read from that point on.
Seriously, just master the noun system (including the article, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions), and then move on to the verbal system. I think you'll be OK. You may want to check out Mounce's site . . . he's got some neat stuff.
http://www.teknia.com
And I wouldn't worry about Hebrew right now!
God bless
Sounds like a pretty good approach . . . looks like the same, basically, used by Mounce. The Master Case Ending Chart is great . . . learn that and a couple of other patterns and you have the noun system down pat. While you are at it, make sure you learn the paradigm for the article flawlessly. Sometimes, you may forget the gender of a word, but if the article is there, you know for sure. Also, it makes finding the case of the word that much easier.
Other than that, just keep plugging at it. So far as your vocab goes, you only need to learn a little over 300 words to get about 80% of the entire NT word usage under your belt. Then, you can get a Reader's Greek New Testament. They include a lexical entry for every word occurring less than 50 times, so you ought to be able to read from that point on.
Seriously, just master the noun system (including the article, pronouns, adjectives, and prepositions), and then move on to the verbal system. I think you'll be OK. You may want to check out Mounce's site . . . he's got some neat stuff.
http://www.teknia.com
And I wouldn't worry about Hebrew right now!
God bless
And that, brothers and sisters, is the kind of foolishness you get people who insist on denying biblical theism. A good illustration of any as the length people will go to avoid acknowledging basic truths.Proinsias wrote:I don't think you are hearing me. Preference for ice cream is a moral issue