[B-Greek] How NOT to learn Biblical Greek
Carl W.Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sat Jul 14 08:10:28 EDT 2007
I'm told -- and upon checking it out, have found to be true -- that
the TinyURL I gave below doesn't work. Try this instead: http://
tinyurl.com/2yrxq2
On Jul 14, 2007, at 6:55 AM, Carl W. Conrad wrote:
> From his early days as a reporter of parliamentary debates, Charles
> Dickens was an indefatigable satirist of the way British government
> functions. The "Circumlocution Office" is the primary instrument of
> Britain's parliamentary government in Dickens' late novel, "Little
> Dorrit." The fundamental concern at which the Circumlocution Office
> labors diligently day and night is "how not to do it."
>
> The blog to which I call attention this morning bears the title I
> have cited in m my subject-header above. It is yesterday's offering
> in "Withering Fig," maintained by Stephen Hebert:
>
> http://www.witheringfig.com/2007/07/13/how-not-to-learn-biblical-
> greek/
> OR: http://tinyurl.com/2yrxq
>
> I must say that the advice offered therein is not at all at odds with
> what I've urged repeatedly in this forum myself, but I cite the key
> headers and applaud in parentheses:
>
> "(1) “Reading” Through Perseus: By far, the most egregious error that
> students make is the extensive use of sites like Perseus, or software
> like Logos or Accordance."
> (That is to say, make an interlinear your primary resource -- and an
> online interlinear is quicker and dirtier)
>
> "(2) Study for the Exam"
> (That is to say, memorize all the endings and rules so that you can
> reproduce them on demand; I've seen all too many students who could
> parrot the endings and rules of grammar and still couldn't make sense
> out of a paragraph or two of Greek text.)
>
> "(3) Skip to Koine"
> (That is to say, read the Greek NT first and only, and by no means
> make forays beyond the LXX.)
>
> And finally: "No matter what you do, practice is essential. I
> strongly suggest using flash cards and daily schedules. Treat it like
> exercise. Heck, get religious and fanatical about it. Do it with
> friends if that motivates you. Just find some way that keeps you
> doing it day in and day out."
> (Amen, Amen!)
>
> Carl W. Conrad
> Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
> 1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
> cwconrad2 at mac.com
> WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
>
>
> ---
> B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek
> B-Greek mailing list
> B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list