greek core vocab

[Sofronios]

Ive just found this site..
http://dcc.dickinson.edu/greek-core-list

the reason is stated here
"The main point of core vocabulary lists such as these is to help prioritize the learning of vocabulary. Assuming the goal is to read extant Greek and Latin texts, one should learn these words first. The lists can be used to distinguish which words in a given text are very common, and which are not, and students can be held responsible for only the most common ones, and gradually build to a mastery of the whole core."

seems to me that we are expected to learn this list of vocabulary first..
will this be helpful? I never open a lexicon or dictionary whenever I read a newspaper of my native language.. and I wish someday I could do that when reading greek...
or is there exist another route of memorizing vocabulary?
thx you

[Laurentius Mons]

I think starting with the most common words in the language is certainly going to be helpful, but memorizing individual words without context usually isn't the best method.

Instead I'd recommend you get a textbook for beginners and study the vocabulary that is used in the readings. That way you will see the words in context and will remember them more easily. When you've worked through a beginner's book you might want to use a list of the most common words to review the basic vocab and to pick up what you might have missed.

Edit: We are able to read without a dictionary in our native language because we've acquired a massive amount of vocabulary knowledge through lots and lots of input (spoken as well as written) over the years. You can also learn Greek through large amounts of input - which in the case of an ancient language usuall means extensive reading.

[jeidsath]

You can memorize a grammar first. That will get you the core accidence, and a number of common words, since grammars tend to use the most common example of the type.