[B-Greek] Fw: write - was suggestions please
Shirley Rollinson
rollinsondr at yahoo.com
Tue May 31 21:11:54 EDT 2011
Dear Bob,
By now you have had many great suggestions from the B-Greek list,
but I'd like to add my 2-lepta also :
You say you're thinking of translating 1 John - Yes, it is one of the "standard" texts to start NT Greek study, but be prepared for relative pronouns, and a bunch of perfect tenses.
Revelation would be a simpler "read" - with a good story-line, though some vocabulary which you don't meet elsewhere in the NT.
As you descibe yourself as "budding", I think some of the texts which folk have suggested may be a bit daunting, and to my mind the purpose of learning NT Greek is to read the NT, so start with that first.
Then try the LXX (maybe next year), then (maybe some years in the future) Church Fathers, then Classics. Homer only if you are prepared to learn a bunch of new grammar.
The emphasis on WRITE - WRITE - WRITE which everyone has made is good, but I'd put it in the order of
1. READ ALOUD (listen to yourself, check the pronunciation and accent, but don't get paranoid about it - visit YouTube and you'll hear a wide variety of Greek and Latin - but they're all fairly well understandable). Read one verse or sentence at a time, don't worry if you don't understand it at first read.
2. Go back and WRITE down the words you don't recognize, look them up, parse them if you can, but don't yet try translating.
3. READ ALOUD AGAIN. See if you get the drift of the meaning.
4. Try to translate - for some words you may need a book such as Grosvernor and Zerwick "An Analysis of the Greek NY", coupled with Zerwick's "Biblical Greek"
If you get really stuck - check what the KJV does with that passage, and if that doesn't help, make a note and send a message to the B-Greek group :-)
5. READ ALOUD AGAIN.
6. Towards the end of a reading session, choose one sentence or verse which strikes you, and WRITE IT OUT BY HAND, SAYING IT ALOUD. The purpose is to open up as many "greek channels" in the brain as possible.
7. Keep your notes in a 3-ring binder, and keep on reading and writing and adding to it. I've been doing it for years, and I'm still doing it
8. DO IT EVERY DAY, or at least Mon-Fri.
The more you read, the easier it gets, and the more you enjoy it.
hope this helps
thank you
Shirley Rollinson
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--- On Thu, 5/26/11, b-greek-request at lists.ibiblio.org <b-greek-request at lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:
> 4. Suggestions Please! (Bob Nyberg)
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