Greetings all. My name is Dale. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that I stumbled across this group. The internet never ceases to amaze me. I found you all while trying to Google a question that has been gnawing at me for awhile. I have a couple of books on latin, greek and anglo saxon. I’ve only cursorily studied them- a bit here and there as time permitted. The Peter V. Jones Learn Latin and Learn Greek were great fun. Well, as it turns out time is permitting me to get a little more serious with my studies and I want to get disciplined and get my hands dirty. I have intro books I like in Greek and Latin. What I want to know is, what are people’s opinions on the order of classical language acquisition. Should I start with Greek or Latin? I know there may be no right answer to this. Perhaps I’m trying to have others help me make up my mind. Does anyone out there feel like one is easier or that one lends itself to being a better intro to the other eventually? Does this question even make sense? I’m a little overwhelmed with the options. I’d LOVE to read Homer, Caesar, the New Testament, Eurpides, Medieval Latin, so the choice of what I want to read isn’t really of help. I finished reading the book, “Who killed Homer” and am all eager to try to do my part to keep the classics alive.
So…any opinions out there?
What I want to know is, what are people’s opinions on the order of classical language acquisition. Should I start with Greek or Latin?
This is a frequent question. I stand by starting with the language that lets you read first the author(s) you most want to read. Historically people have had Latin first (in elementary school), but that time is well past, and most textbooks these days introduce Greek without constant reference to Latin.
Latin is easier so some recommend getting used to the grammatical waters there first. Since a number of people here (textkittens, I like to call us) skipped Latin entirely, and are successfully acquiring Greek, I’m not sure just jumping right in is really that dangerous.
I would recommend you to start with the language you are most interested in. Motivation will be the primary factor in studying by yourself. But considering you are clearly interested in both, that advice doesn’t get you anywhere.
Most (older) books generally assume an understanding of Latin before commencing Greek studies. This is not necessary, unless the book you use expects it. Have a look at your books.
There is no reason why you can’t do both at the same time, except for time. The last thing you want is to run out of time when you’re only half way through a book.
The only other consideration i would put forth is that much Roman literature refers to Greek literature because much of it is earlier in time. Eg. you might appreciate the Aeneid more after reading Homer. Or you might have a better understanding of Christian Latin texts after reading the NT in Greek. But these are really side issues.
All that aside, make sure you pick only one of your books and don’t float around between them. You will end up with all sorts of titbits of knowledge but won’t be able to comprehensively read anything.
Good luck!
EDIT: Will, are you saying Latin is easier to learn or to use? I would agree with only the former.
I personally learned Greek first (koine, not classical) because that’s what applied to my degree at the time, and Latin wasn’t offered. Since then I’ve studied Latin independently and will be taking classes starting in the fall. Latin is definitely easier to learn, particularly if your first language is one of the Romance languages, as there are a lot of similarities. Either way, they are both fun!
Hmmmm, so I’m reading around, and the consensus seems to be that Greek is harder. Like I said in my op, I read both the peter jones intro books, the greek and the latin one. Other than getting over the quick hurdle of the alphabet(love that word), the greek seemed a little easier to me. Why is the conventional wisdom the opposite? Is it just some of the more advanced attic stuff? I have to say at the moment I’m leaning towards Koine, since I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stick with it. If I had the luxury of starting with Epic Greek, I would, but if i had to walk away and only be able to read one dialect, I guess Koine would be it. Everytime they release a new dag hammadi type text i get excited. the new judas gnostic text looked cool. I’m not a church going christian, but find the study of it’s history fascinating. I’m sure latin will eventually come, and the sheer volume of its corpus(love that word) will occupy me the rest of my life, so I guess it’s best for me to start with the koine. If i win the lottery i’ll come back to homeric.
Thanks for all of your inputs. I can tell this is going to be a fun group to “hang out with”.
I’m starting today with Dobson’s book.
I think Latin is easier not only because of the alphabet but also the vocabulary–you can guess the meaning of lots of Latin words simply because they are the roots of so many English words (and of course French, Spanish, Italian, etc.).
koine is fun though, and will remain my first love.
who’s Dobson? Is it a textbook? (not familiar with that one)
oh, sorry. John H. Dobson, Learn New Testament Greek. 20 bucks and includes a CD. Not hugely heavy on grammar(i figure I can flesh that out a little later), but builds up slowly and is very “friendly” in the sense that you feel like you’re making progress right away. I need the little extra encouragement and handholding it offers because to be quite honest, I’m alittle intimidated.
don’t be. you’ll be fine. Like any language all it takes is time, patience, and practice. Greek is a beautiful language and NT greek is easier because it has a limited vocabulary, limited text, and limited styles.
