Hello everyone,
I’m new here and excited to join the community! One challenge I keep encountering when reading the Greek New Testament is that I automatically start translating into English in my mind, instead of simply reading and understanding the Greek directly.
Has anyone else faced this problem? How did you train yourself to think in Greek rather than constantly falling back on English? Are there any tips, exercises, or habits that helped you make the shift?
Looking forward to your thoughts and to learning alongside you all!
Hello from California
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Re: Hello from California
Everybody faces this problem in a new language. It takes time, so be patient with yourself. Living Language approaches make this faster, people like Randall Buth and Christophe Ricco teach immersive Greek classes that teach people to think in the language much faster than with most conventional approaches.
I found it helpful to learn to ask and answer questions about a Greek sentence in Greek. For instance:
Text:
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος,
καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν,
καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
Q: Πότε ἦν ὁ λόγος;
A: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν.
Q: Πρὸς τίνα ἦν ὁ λόγος;
A: Πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
Q: ἦν ὁ λόγος ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἤδη;
A: Οὔ· ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
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- Location: New Mexico
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Re: Hello from California
Try reading it aloud in Greek several times, until you can read it fairly fluently (even it you don't understand it) Work out where the natural breaks seem to be. Then read it again (aloud) and pause after each phrase and translate that bit. Then read the whole text right through again, aloud in Greek, at what you consider to be normal speaking speed.pandrhola wrote: ↑September 10th, 2025, 12:12 am Hello everyone,
I’m new here and excited to join the community! One challenge I keep encountering when reading the Greek New Testament is that I automatically start translating into English in my mind, instead of simply reading and understanding the Greek directly.
Has anyone else faced this problem? How did you train yourself to think in Greek rather than constantly falling back on English? Are there any tips, exercises, or habits that helped you make the shift?
Looking forward to your thoughts and to learning alongside you all!
Welcome to B-Greek,
Shirley Rollinson