ENESTERNISMENOI (Was: De-Inflection Software?)

Steven Lo Vullo slovullo at mac.com
Sun Sep 22 01:07:36 EDT 2002


On Saturday, September 21, 2002, at 07:23 PM, Peter Kirby wrote:

>> One final comment which may sound sarcastic but really is deadly 
>> serious:
>> that's a neat citation from Smyth. I really think such a project is
>> eminently do-able, BUT I think that in order to create it you would 
>> haveto
>> learn thoroughly what all the interacting factors in the morphology 
>> of all
>> inflected forms actually are and HOW they interact (e.g. for verbs, 
>> how
>> consonantal stems alter before different consonantal endings such as 
>> GRAF
>> in GEGRAMMAI, GEGRAYAI and GEGRAPTAI as well as the infinitive 
>> GEGRAFQAI;
>> how augment replaces reduplication in certain double-consoant verbs 
>> like
>> ENESTERNISMENOI, etc., etc.). And ... once you have mastered all these
>> interacting factors that enter into the multiplicitous inflectional 
>> system
>> of Greek--especially the verb--you'll have a splendid program--but YOU
>> WON'T NEED IT ANY MORE, because you'll be able instantly to guess
>> intelligently at the lemma and recognize precisely what form you have
>> before you without using the newly-formed program at all. Or to say 
>> thatin
>> different words: you would have to learn all that you really need to 
>> know
>> about the interaction of elements in Greek inflection in order to 
>> create
>> the program, and then you wouldn't need the program.
>
> 1.  This is no more true than the idea that a man who builds a 
> keyboard can
> then type at 100 words a minute.  Sure, you have to know where all the 
> keys
> go to build a keyboard, but you don't get the practice in typing 
> naturally,
> just as a person who compiles and codifies grammatical information 
> does not
> develop the skill of natural recall.

What is this, false analogy day? This is the second one I have read 
today. Of course the builder of a keyboard will not necessarily have 
the PHYSICAL ability to type QUICKLY. But he will certainly be familiar 
with the alphabet, numerals, punctuation, and symbols of the language 
for which the keyboard is built, as well as their proper arrangement. 
The question of knowledge has nothing to do with that of speed. I can 
assure you that I know my ABCs, but I still type with my two index 
fingers at an embarrassingly slow rate. As for natural recall, if one 
studies first year Greek diligently, then faithfully spends time 
reading and studying the language continually, that person will recall 
enough to be able to look at most forms and make an intelligent 
decision about the morphology. There is often more than one clue, 
whether in the word itself or in its relationship to other words in the 
context in which it is found, to tip off the reader as to the form. 
This type of discernment is a fundamental ability that--pardon my lack 
of "sensitivity"--separates those who know the language from those who 
do not.

> 2.  There may be more than one person involved in making the program,
> including a programmer and a Greek expert.  The Greek expert won't 
> need the
> program very much, but the programmer might.

I can confidently say that there are few people who love Bible software 
more than I. But I am so glad I learned Greek BEFORE having recourse to 
the "Instant Details" box in my Accordance software program. All I have 
to do is move the cursor over the desired word and, voila, there is the 
form, its lemma, parsing, and gloss. As useful as this is at times, it 
could easily be used to mask an ignorance of the language, and give 
people the false security that they understand what they really don't. 
One of the things I found particularly disturbing in Richard's comments 
was the idea of working "smart" rather than "hard," and his appeal to 
the private sector and its focus on "results," presumably quick 
results. I hope there are not many people out there who really think 
that one can gain a good knowledge of the language without a LOT of 
VERY hard work. These people will ultimately mark themselves as those 
who are neither smart nor diligent.
============

Steven R. Lo Vullo
Madison, WI




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