Hello from new Textkit member

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jimbogy
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:21 am

Hello from new Textkit member

Post by jimbogy »

Hi All,



Here is a little background regarding my Greek interests :

I continue in my own Greek odyssey - which is to learn ancient Greek well enough to read Homer's Odyssey in Greek with some level of appreciation. I started this project 5 years ago ( ! ) and have spent most of that time circling around the beginning. [ I suspect that sight-reading of Greek sentences - ability to read aloud and pronounce correctly, albeit without much comprehension - is a task learned in the first month or so in a Greek classroom. As a solo learner, however, this is quite an impediment … hard to begin to memorize and learn words, phrases, and sentences if you don't have a quick and correct voice-in-your-head as you see each Greek word. ]

Self-directed study of Greek is no mean feat, but as you might appreciate, the journey itself is the thing. Along the way so far, I have been inspired by such individuals as Bill Harris of Middlebury College ( see here: http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris ... cs.gr.html ), with whom I corresponded and who encouraged me early on. Later, I found Stan Lombardo (here reading from Iliad in Greek: http://www.wiredforbooks.org/iliad/ , here's an interview: http://jacketmagazine.com/21/leddy-lomb-iv.html ), who has translated and produced audio of the best available English translations of Homer's works (as it turns out, he's a New Orleans homeboy).

BTW, my formal language background consists of 2 years Latin and 3 years Spanish (high school) and 2 years [reading comprehension] German (college). Without some understanding of the dynamics of an inflective language, I would have no chance in this endeavor.



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I am continuing to study Homeric Greek using Schoder and Horrigan's text ( http://www.pullins.com/BookViews/BV9781585101757.pdf ) in conjunction with Geoffrey Steadman's Odyssey readers (6-8 & 9-12): http://geoffreysteadman.com .

Along with that, I am using Wheelock's Latin text ( http://www.wheelockslatin.com ) and Pharr's "purple Vergil" Aeneid (I - VI) reader ( http://www.bolchazy.com/Vergils-Aeneid- ... P3690.aspx ) to review a bit of Latin and to regain some sense of the patterns of inflective language. It's interesting that I've inadvertently chosen - with Aeneid I-VI - the epic Latin recapitulation of Homer's Odyssey ... also curious that the cover art on Wheelock's 7th edition is a Roman mosaic of Vergil, flanked by Muses, with a copy of Aeneid in his lap. )


So my odyssey continues ...


Biblical Greek instruction is a bit more easily available than Homeric Greek, so :


Dr. James Voelz is professor of Greek studies (click here: http://www.csl.edu/faculty/exegetical/voelz/ ) at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. In what is an early example of a MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses : http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/educa ... d=all&_r=1& ), he has placed on-line an entire introductory class in biblical Greek (a summer semester of his lectures as videos) on iTunes U - click here. In addition, he has an audio accompaniment - also on iTunes U, and also extensive and free - to his Fundamental Greek Grammar textbook, which I have. This combination of resources, I think, will work better to allow me to proceed at my own pace as I continue this project. I am using the recently published Nestle-Aland 28 Novum Testamentum Graece as my Greek NT reference text.


My latest decision - as I continue to circle around the beginning - is to use Frank Beetham's * Beginning Greek with Homer * to get started (finally). Reading Homer Oddysey Book V with some level of appreciation will be a great step forward.


Jim

Phil-
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2014 12:44 am
Location: USA

Re: Hello from new Textkit member

Post by Phil- »

Welcome, Jim. The original Odyssey took 10 years, so you've still got plenty of time :mrgreen:

I worked through Pharr's Homeric Greek a year ago when I was starting in Greek. And "worked" is the right word--while it was great grammar practice and I was getting a glimpse of the beauty of the text, it was very slow going. After that I decided to focus on prose and return to Homer later down the road. So I hope someday I will join you and the ranks of the Homerists.

It's good to know there's a MOOC out there for Biblical Greek.

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