[B-Greek] Further Study

Paul E. Baronowsky paulb2 at insightbb.com
Tue Apr 7 17:51:15 EDT 2009


Mike Noel wrote:

> Couldn't we do the same thing for Koine?  Would it be possible?  Could
> we have a Koine-only email list that didn't deal with such academic
> topics as b-greek deals with but was basically a "social" list where
> Koine speakers (ok, writers/readers) could converse and develop their
> language skills?

A possibly suitable site for this purpose exists at
greekstudy at nxport.com

The GreekStudy web page at
www.quasillum.com/study/greekstudy.php
says this:

"GreekStudy is an open mailing list dedicated to the study of ancient 
Greek, including the Homeric, Classical (Attic & Ionic), and Biblical 
(Koine) dialects.

The GreekStudy list is shared by multiple study groups.  There are 
typically several levels of beginner groups as well as advanced groups 
translating passages from, say, Xenophon or Plato.

	< cut >

Most questions are answered by the other list members, not necessarily 
those in your study group.  This mix of experience levels, where people 
switch between the roles of student and instructor, makes the list a 
particularly effective learning environment and contributes to a sense 
of community."

	< end of quotation >

I see no reason why a group devoted to (written) conversation in Koine 
Greek could not be started on that email list.

In addition, a Spanish learners group, to which I belonged on a 
different email list, set up regular weekly Skype sessions, which 
included two experienced Spanish speakers, for participants who wished 
to practice oral communication in Spanish. I did not take part in the 
Skype sessions, so I do not know how well they worked.

I don't know whether something like this is what you had in mind; but, 
if it is, the necessary resource is already in place. All that is needed 
is enough interested people to take part, so that each could learn from 
the others. I understand that this would not take the place of an 
"immersion course" experience. But, at least, it would involve 
communication of original thoughts in Greek, as Dr. Buth suggested, 
rather than deciphering already written text. And that, I believe, is a 
step in the right direction.

Best Wishes,
Paul Baronowsky
Evansville, IN (USA)



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