[B-Greek] Objections to Machen (was "In Defense of Machen, ... ")
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Feb 2 05:06:27 EST 2011
On Feb 1, 2011, at 9:47 PM, Robert Stump wrote:
> I feel I need to ask since I just made myself of copy of Machen. Is
> there some harm in the Englishized lessons of Machen if one is
> offsetting them with Koine readings? Specifically, is there some harm
> in using the lessons as a means of familiarize oneself with the
> grammar, or say verbal formation and vocabulary acquisition by means
> of the rote work of coping and doing simplified lessons, again, with
> the caveat of Koine readings in addition?
If I were you, I would steer clear of both the Greek-English and the
English-Greek translation exercises. Colwell & Tune was recommended
earlier, I think; that would offer you a very good sequence of longer
and connected readings in good, idiomatic Koine prose. Another good
opportunity nobody has yet mentioned is the ΣΧΟΛΗ website hosted
by our B-Greek Co-Chair Leon Sorenson at http://schole.ning.com/ --
officially titled Σχολὴ εἰς τὸ τὴν ἀρχαίαν Ἑλληνικὴν γράφειν,
ἀναγινώσκειν, λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν [SCOLH EIS TO THN ARCAIAN
hELLHNIKHN GRAFEIN, ANAGINWSKEIN, LEGEIN KAI AKOUEIN]
There are all sorts of helps and tools there for Koine Greek conversation
and exchange of notes (σχόλια SCOLIA), audio files, etc., and a good
company of friendly people exchanging talk and written messages and
songs in Koine Greek with each other. While the quality of the Greek
spoken and written there may deviate somewhat from that taught by
ancient schoolmasters, the site offers an opportunity to listen, read,
speak, write ancient Greek. I have even myself taken the opportunity
to exchange baseball chatter with Mark L. about the Cardinals and
Rockies. The point of this is: you want to be absorbing Greek not as
a dead language with enigmatic texts to be decoded but rather as what it
really was and is: an instrument of ordinary human communication.
Carl W. Conrad
> On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 9:33 PM, Barry H. <nebarry at verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <davidabooth at comcast.net>
>> To: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
>> Cc: "B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 8:44 AM
>> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Objections to Machen (was "In Defense of Machen, ...
>> ")
>>
>>
>>> The simplicity of Machen for the student is also found in David Alan
>>> Black's Learn to Read New Testament Greek. Yet, Black is for more
>>> linguistically informed. I can't understand why anyone would use Machen's
>>> grammar today given how many better choices are available. <<
>>
>> One could ask how linguistically informed a person has to be to learn a
>> language. People got along fine until a few decades ago without modern
>> linguistic theory. You learned your first language without the benefit if
>> linguistic training... :)
>>
>> However, I taught from Machen for 4 years +, and I wouldn't want to do it
>> again. McCartney had a chance to do a really good revision, but not too
>> much changed, methodologically. But who am I to talk, who uses Crosby &
>> Schaeffer with 8th graders? :)
>>
>> N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
>> The American Academy
>> http://theamericanacademy.net
>> The North American Reformed Seminary
>> http://www.tnars.net
>>
>> http://my.opera.com/barryhofstetter/blog
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