[B-Greek] Caragounis' book

Dr. Don Wilkins drdwilkins at sbcglobal.net
Sat Nov 27 15:49:03 EST 2004


On Saturday, November 27, 2004, at 05:31 AM, Barry Hofstetter wrote:

> ...
> When I was an undergraduate, way back in the 20th century, we would 
> occasionally get a native Hellene in our Greek classes, particularly if 
> it were something relatively easy, like Xenophon or the NT.  These 
> folks were looking for easy elective credits (not where most American 
> students would find them!).  It quickly became clear that they were no 
> more or less proficient than any American student, and that in fact 
> their knowledge of modern Greek was occasionally a hindrance rather 
> than a help, particularly when it came to vocabulary items similar in 
> form to modern Greek, but with quite different semantic range.  For a 
> Hellene to learn ancient Greek is like a native speaker of English 
> learning to read Beowulf...  I agree with your comments on the 
> relationship between Koine and Attic.  The differences would be roughly 
> equivalent to the differences between current and Elizabethan English.  
> When we read documents from that period, we recognize it as English, 
> but really strange at times...
>
> N.E. Barry Hofstetter
> B.A., Ancient Studies, Univ. of Maryland, 1981
> M.A. Classics, Ohio State Univ. 1986
> M.Div., Pastoral Emphasis, Westminster Theo. Sem., 1989
> Th.M., NT Studies, WTS, 1991
> Ph.D. F.E.
>
I had a similar experience in which one of my classmates was a native 
Greek, and the teacher (Peter Colaclides) was known for his familiarity 
with all stages of the language. He and this student would sometimes 
carry on brief conversations in modern Greek, so I couldn't really tell 
whether modern Greek was more of a help than a hindrance. Also, at times 
it seemed that the professor was spending much more time than necessary 
over a construction, but that may just be due to the fact that he 
savored the language.
As a teacher (this is a favorite story), I once had a student from 
Greece who had come to the states to learn classical Greek because 
(according to him) it wasn't being taught at university in Greece 
anymore. I frequently asked him for comparisons between Attic and 
modern, but I don't remember his answers as being enlightening; then 
again, he was not a particularly good student.

Don Wilkins




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