Or better yet, would you be willing to take on a learner?
I’m working with old textbooks and a few YT tutorials, but I really feel like what I’m doing is incredibly inefficient. And it gets rather frustrating, incredibly lonesome just chugging along with little to no apparent progress. I can look at the Greek alphabet and know what the letters are, but keeping up with most readers to track pronunciation (like following song lyrics in karaoke,) is too difficult. And that’s ignoring modern v erasmian v reconstructed Koine v reconstructed classical pronunciation arguments.
Essentially, I’m asking for a mentor/study buddy/friend of some sort.
Edit: also I have no money to buy books.
Edit 2: also this tablet doesn’t consistently display all Greek characters
well, by doing lots of hard work. there is no royal road to ag and latin. can’t speak for hebrew, but i’m guessing that acquiring proficiency there will not be a pleasant afternoon stroll, either.
you should pick one of these - maybe two, if you can handle it and have the time - but you seem to seem to be floundering a bit.
if you want to start with ag, i will study/buddy with you by email, but it will have to be attic, and i would prefer the mastronarde text (i can help you get a used copy in decent shape). if your main interest is koine, koine will be no problem after attic.
i’m not far from beginner status myself, but i can you help you along the path, as far as i can, and tell you when i can’t (and i won’t bullshit you). but no ag as living language stuff. we would be corresponding in english about ag.
whether we work together or not, please forget about things like karaoke videos and erasmian v. whatever pronunciation. they’re just pointless distractions for a beginner. hope this helpful and best of luck.
While I am fluent in Modern Hebrew, I wouldn’t describe myself as such in Biblical Hebrew or in either of the other two, but I can read all three to varying degrees, the highest being in Hebrew, while for Latin and Greek it depends on the text.
Anyway, I would be quite happy to help a learner of those languages!
Shoot me a private message if you’re interested.
I’d be okay with using the Mastronarde text, though again, I don’t currently have an income. If that’s okay, then wonderful! Part of why I want Attic first is so Koine will be more simple. Part of why is for history.
And yeah, pronunciation arguments have been one giant rabbit hole.
I don’t know if you’d call me ‘fluent’ (I wouldn’t), but using Bibleworks gives you enough tools so that within months you can read the text almost without needing help. My pastor always taught in Hebrew and Greek so I just remembered the sounds; bought BW in 2004 and it took me only a day to get familiar with the interface, with the printed look of the characters, and I was off and running.
The point is, it provides all you need to learn from a ‘teacher’, and in your case that seems especially apt, as you’re into Bible; it has Mounce and Wallace, bundled in. For Hebrew, I think you have to buy ‘modules’ to get those grammars. I bought all the modules, but I forget if maybe some are free.
It’s a full learning package of the language, replete with voicing and flashcards for both Heb/Greek. I’m not overly fond of the pronunciations, but they are standard (BW is sold in seminaries).
It costs $350 though. You can get a similar FREE version called theWord but it lacks the flashcards and voicing of the words you can get in BW. BW has facsimilies of the mss and CNTTS apparatus, so for me it’s indispensible.
For learning any language, use Bible and then look at the translations. That’s how our ancestors learned language, actually.
With BW you just hover your mouse to see it (theWord has a similar feature). Maybe Accordance does too, I’ve not looked at it lately.
seems that Latin is at your optional list, but I think, as I read somewhere in this forum, old and cheap Greek book assumes you know latin.
I myself a beginner of both languages, and attempt to learn hebrew as well.
if there is only one book you ever ponder to buy, why dont you try lingua latina by orberg?
while I started with biblical greek, then orberg method really consolidates what I’ve learnt in greek, for these two language is so similar. but hebrew I cant tell much yet, while I think it is more similar to my native language and as we know related to arabic, still latin and greek I think will open to that..
