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About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: August 11th, 2017, 1:49 pm
by Rreffner
71 years old and I have decided to undertake a Biblical Greek language study. I would like to be able to read the New Testament in the original language. I have never taken a language other than my native language. I am taking the course at the Tallahassee Christian College and Training Center for personal growth (audit).

The course begins in 4-weeks. I am trying to learn the Greek alphabet before class begins. Wish me luck.

Rich

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: August 11th, 2017, 3:07 pm
by Jonathan Robie
Congratulations and good luck! Do you know what textbook they use?

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: August 12th, 2017, 7:46 pm
by Shirley Rollinson
Rreffner wrote: August 11th, 2017, 1:49 pm 71 years old and I have decided to undertake a Biblical Greek language study. I would like to be able to read the New Testament in the original language. I have never taken a language other than my native language. I am taking the course at the Tallahassee Christian College and Training Center for personal growth (audit).

The course begins in 4-weeks. I am trying to learn the Greek alphabet before class begins. Wish me luck.

Rich
Welcome to B-Greek - If you'd like to get a start on the alphabet, you're welcome to use the Online Textbook, which starts at http://www.drshirley.org/greek/textbook02/contents.html
There are also several good videos on You-Tube, though they usually don't tie the letters in with actual words, or give much about the history of the alphabet, which is fascinating.
Enjoy - Greek is a great language
Shirley Rollinson

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: August 15th, 2017, 11:44 pm
by Jason Hare
Rreffner wrote: August 11th, 2017, 1:49 pm 71 years old and I have decided to undertake a Biblical Greek language study. I would like to be able to read the New Testament in the original language. I have never taken a language other than my native language. I am taking the course at the Tallahassee Christian College and Training Center for personal growth (audit).

The course begins in 4-weeks. I am trying to learn the Greek alphabet before class begins. Wish me luck.

Rich
Wow, Rich! Good on ya! :)

You have all of our warm wishes for your success, I'm sure. Of course, feel free to ask for help and clarification at any step along the way.

How's it going so far with the alphabet learning?

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: August 29th, 2017, 7:55 pm
by Rreffner
To date, I have memorized the alphabet and am in the process of learning lower case letters. Class starts in two days. We will be using Essentials of New Testament Greek by Ray Summers ISBN 978-08054410013 ISBN 0805410015 AND a Greek New Testament (United Bible Societies).

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: September 2nd, 2017, 7:08 pm
by Barry Hofstetter
Some time ago (back in the mid-1980's, actually) I was listening to Christian radio in Minneapolis and heard the pastor bragging about a parishioner, who, at 95, decided to take Moody Bible school's correspondence course in Greek. She completed beginning and intermediate in 2 years, and then signed up for Hebrew. That means you are starting out quite young by comparison... :lol: It also proves it's never too late, as long as the Lord gives breath and capacity.

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: October 18th, 2017, 5:57 pm
by Jeffrey Dangel
Hi Rich. Best wishes on your Greek learning expedition. When learning the alphabet, I've found it helpful to learn the lower case letters first. Write them down on paper several times a day and say them out loud, to involve different parts of the brain in your memorization. Take special note of the letters you have a hard time remembering and go over those more often than the ones you don't have trouble with. There is so much information and terminology in Koine Greek that you won't realistically be able to review everything all the time. So, focus on the things that you have a hard time picking up on. Once you've learned the 24 lower case letters then move to upper case letters. The ratio of lower case letters to upper case letters in the actual Greek text is considerably more. Basically, the only times a capital letter is used in NT Greek is on Proper nouns (Barnabas, Judea, etc.), at the beginning of a quotation (like a NT writer quoting an OT Scripture) and at the beginning of a paragraph. Since lower case letters are used more often, it's probably more essential to learn the more often used letters in the lower case first. Then, once you've learned both upper and lower cases, try writing out some basic Greek words. It's important to get used to seeing and understanding how the letter formations work together. Enjoy.

Jeff Dangel

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: October 26th, 2017, 4:39 pm
by Barry Hofstetter
Jeffrey Dangel wrote: October 18th, 2017, 5:57 pm Once you've learned the 24 lower case letters then move to upper case letters. The ratio of lower case letters to upper case letters in the actual Greek text is considerably more. Basically, the only times a capital letter is used in NT Greek is on Proper nouns (Barnabas, Judea, etc.), at the beginning of a quotation (like a NT writer quoting an OT Scripture) and at the beginning of a paragraph. Since lower case letters are used more often, it's probably more essential to learn the more often used letters in the lower case first. Then, once you've learned both upper and lower cases, try writing out some basic Greek words. It's important to get used to seeing and understanding how the letter formations work together. Enjoy.

Jeff Dangel
I had been taking Greek for 2 years, maybe longer, before I saw my first capital Ξ actually in a text. :lol:

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: October 26th, 2017, 6:10 pm
by Shirley Rollinson
Barry Hofstetter wrote: October 26th, 2017, 4:39 pm
Jeffrey Dangel wrote: October 18th, 2017, 5:57 pm Once you've learned the 24 lower case letters then move to upper case letters. The ratio of lower case letters to upper case letters in the actual Greek text is considerably more. Basically, the only times a capital letter is used in NT Greek is on Proper nouns (Barnabas, Judea, etc.), at the beginning of a quotation (like a NT writer quoting an OT Scripture) and at the beginning of a paragraph. Since lower case letters are used more often, it's probably more essential to learn the more often used letters in the lower case first. Then, once you've learned both upper and lower cases, try writing out some basic Greek words. It's important to get used to seeing and understanding how the letter formations work together. Enjoy.

Jeff Dangel
I had been taking Greek for 2 years, maybe longer, before I saw my first capital Ξ actually in a text. :lol:
But if you want to catch a Taxi in Athens you see them all over the place :-)

Re: About to begin the first half of first year Greek.

Posted: October 26th, 2017, 7:02 pm
by Jason Hare
Shirley Rollinson wrote: October 26th, 2017, 6:10 pm
Barry Hofstetter wrote: October 26th, 2017, 4:39 pm I had been taking Greek for 2 years, maybe longer, before I saw my first capital Ξ actually in a text. :lol:
But if you want to catch a Taxi in Athens you see them all over the place :-)
Or, if you study with the Ἀθήναζε program, in which the slave of Δικαιόπολις is called Ξανθίας from the second lesson in the book. :)