[B-Greek] relative value of re-reading the Greek NT versusfollowing the advice of Conrad and Buth
Kevin Riley
klriley at alphalink.com.au
Sun Feb 24 19:08:37 EST 2008
This sounds remarkably like the effort required to master the literature in
any academic discipline in English - or whatever one's native language is.
Just when you believe you have mastered it, you pick up a book - or even a
brief article - written by someone who takes a different theoretical
approach and so uses words differently, and you are back to checking on the
meaning of words again because the context has changed. To use works from
another discipline makes the effort needed even more obvious. I mention
this only to make the point that the hard work is not a function inherent
only in learning a dead language, but in learning any language well - even
the language we all think we understand because we have spoken it all our
lives.
Kevin Riley
-------Original Message-------
From: Carl Conrad
Date: 24/02/2008 11:37:40 PM
I won't try to respond to Mark Lightman's message in toto, but I might
Offer a comment or two on the fundamental question:
(1) I don't really believe that it takes an earthquake or a mutation
To give one a real mastery of Greek; what it takes is more intense and
Sustained effort on the part of one endeavoring to achieve it. But
Even that effort must be methodical rather than haphazard. I've
Described my own process of slogging through Homer hour after hour,
Night after night, and the exhilaration upon coming, eventually, to
Reading line after line of text -- not so much effortlessly, as
Confidently and with understanding. I think that one must do this
Slogging with each new author one tackles, to some extent --
Particularly an author with a distinctive style and a distinctive
Lexical range. And, as I've said recently with regard to use of the
Lexicon while reading, one needs to take pains with lexicon entries
And not just scan them quickly for the gloss that will permit one to
Go on with the passage currently being read: one needs to take pains
With the recurrent words that have significant nuances in different
Contexts. As for the reading itself, I remain convinced that the more
One keeps reading Greek that is unfamiliar or less familiar, the
Better equipped one will be to come back and read the GNT again.
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