New to Classics

[xon]

Hello,

You may call me Xon (pronounced Chon for those learning Greek, and Zon for those learning Latin).
I have downloaded a Latin book and a Greek book just to see what the languages are like, and have liked them. However, which is more fruitful to learn, Greek or Latin? Obviously, neither of these languages are spoken any longer. BUT, words from both of them have entered their degenerative forms (Spanish, Modern Greek, respectively). Perhaps a better question to ask, which is easiest (I can get past the alphabet hurdle)?

Would a knowledge of Spanish yield any advantages while learning Latin?

I want to be able to read about the battles and encounters of the Greeks and Romans with the various European tribal groups (Celts, Germans, etc.).

Xon

[chad]

hi xon, check out caesar's gallic war translated word-for-word in the "learn latin" section of textkit, it'll probably lead u 2 choose latin

[Amy]

Latin latin latin!
1) I wouldn't know very well (infinitesimally small greek level), but offhand Latin seems easier. Latin verbs have four principal parts while Greek ones have six, plus Latin only has a few macrons to remember while Greek has all sorts of breath marks and accents and circumflexes, which can determine the case of the noun so they're vital. Latin also has an ablative case which is used mainly for adverbial phrases (she did it [with speed] [at six o' clock] [in Italy] [with her father]) and it may seem harder to have five cases vs. four, but I think it's good to be able to have more distinctions.
2) Yes, Spanish helps a lot! I'm always seeing Spanish derivatives and any "fluency" I have when reading simple sentences I'm pretty sure comes from knowledge of Spanish.
3) Like Chad said, Latin seems like it fits your desires better

Good luck!

[solitario]

Hello xon, welcome aboard!
Spanish is probably the Romance language closest to Classical Latin that I've come across.
Good luck.

[chad]

this is just a side point: people often say that greek is harder because it has a whole set of accent rules... so does latin, it's just that they're hidden because you don't write them. in a way greek is easier: you read a text and you can see the accents, while with latin you have to work it out for yourself...

[mingshey]

Welcome, xon!
If you know Spanish Latin would be a little more familiar than Greek. But learning a totally new language is a refreshing experience. Usefulness or easy-ness is a second thing to consider. Try a little bit of both of the language and see what you prefer. Good luck!

[Episcopus]

I think that Italian is more similar to Latin. The pronunciation certainly, although like every language it has changed. The problem with learning Italian after Latin, and Spanish before Latin, is that there are many words so similar to eachother but with different meanings. i.e. "Salire" is "to jump" in latin whereas the same word in Italian means "to go up, to climb". And the word "scandere", latin "to go up, climb" in Italian "scendere" means "to descend".

The grammatical awareness helps me and the relative simplicity of the language, but with remembering words it's nearly as hard as latin (Italian doesn't have macrons) as with any other language with an alphabet.

[xon]

Thanks for the tips.

I have decided to (have already started to) learn Greek, after trying "a little of both". Chad is right, the accents in Greek are helpful if you actually want to pronounce a word, however its reading I mostly want to do. Many Latin works are translated, it seems, to English without problems. I have heard however, that the original Greek texts show more meaning, somehow, than any English translation could every do (ex. the bible).

[mingshey]

Congratulations for joining the Greek club!
Once started, you'd better make a quick survey over the grammar(especially the various inclinations of verbs) just to learn how to browse the dictionary. You can then work hard on it all over again, and again, to absorb it. Learning words and syntax one by one.

Good luck!

[benissimus]

Many Latin works are translated, it seems, to English without problems. I have heard however, that the original Greek texts show more meaning, somehow, than any English translation could every do (ex. the bible).

This is true of any language and certainly of Latin that a great deal of meaning is lost in translation. Not only are there things in Latin which are just not translatable, but the connotations of words and their inflections, the practically fluid order of words, their formations which inspire so many thoughts, aside from the bare meanings of the words, are completely lost when turned into English (especially with poetry).

Good luck with your Greek

[chad]

I have heard however, that the original Greek texts show more meaning, somehow, than any English translation could every do

hi xon, you're right, i'll give u a really clear example from my own main area of interest, aristotle and plato. after i finished philosophy at uni i began greek to read those guys in greek, and only then i discovered that the english translations just pass over the most difficult (and interesting) expressions.

e.g. aristotle explains the most 'primary' explanation of a thing as the 'what-it-was-to-be' of the thing, [size=150]τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι[/size], a phrase which makes sense after you've studied his other ideas on e.g. absolute and relative contraries. but if you just read english translations you won't know about this phrase at all... they give this whole phrase just as 'essence', based on the latin word, so "the primary explanation of a thing is its essence"... a completely different idea... aristotle's idea is definitely lost in translation...

[Episcopus]

What you said about Greek is true so much for Latin as well. You can not translate 'without problems' [i.e. deviations from the precise nature of the Latin thought]. There are so many ways in which one may express one single idea in Latin but with ever so subtle differences that one can not really render 'without problems' into English.