[B-Greek] learning greek KATA english
Elizabeth Kline
kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon Jun 11 14:46:04 EDT 2007
Funk BIGHG
Lesson 5: The Article
#120 For the most part, the article functions in Greek as it does in
English. A number of the idiomatic uses of the article in Greek can
be learned by observation, and will occasion no difficulty.
****
The way I read this statement it seems very misleading.
First, there are numerous and highly significant functional
differences between the English and Greek article. Second, where the
Greek article performs a function not characteristic of the English
article calling that idiomatic seems to imply that English is some
sort of standard by which Greek should be judged. Funk devotes far
too many paragraphs and even pages to discussion of the English
language.
Learning greek according to english isn't learning greek.
The falls into the same category with translation exercises which are
so endlessly popular. Every time someone in a bible student or pastor
offers a "new rendering" in English of some Greek or Hebrew text I
wonder what it is they are trying to accomplish. Translation is a
process of coercing the target language into a form that will do
justice to the source text. It is all about the lexical resources and
syntax of the target language. Also, there are a host of translation
professionals out there doing reasonably good work. It takes a decade
or more (after College) of continuous professional training to become
a "certified" translation consultant. Learning to read Greek is a
completely different goal with a completely different set of
objectives than being a translation consultant.
Elizabeth Kline
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