Greek- Lesson Three

There isn’t anything major worth commenting on in this lesson. I am starting to do practices involving the oral reading of words in Greek. I’m using Erasmus’s pronunciation, I think at this point it would be hard for me to try to switch to modern Greek, or one of the other styles. If you’re curious what sort of work I’m doing, here is the last question from my first progress test:

Which translation is correct?

γράφει τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὁ Μᾶρκος.
(a) Jesus is writing these words.
(b) He is writing the words of Jesus and of Mark.
(c) Mark is writing the words of Jesus.

You have no idea how much time it took simply to look up those words, copy/paste them into this post, and finally change the font and resize it. Sheesh. I’ll post the correct answer later if you want to know.

 

Greek- Lesson Two

I finished this lesson yesterday and other than some review material there was really only one major concept. The lesson looked at John 1:1-2 and introduced some basic translation. What was really interesting is the chiasmus structure used in this passage. I know that Hebrew makes use of it, and that it was popular in Latin as well. So I’ve been wondering where I can find more reading on chiasmus in Koine Greek; particularly in the NT, but also the LXX and apostolic fathers. I found one book that looks promising but I am wondering what books would you recommend that covers chiasmus in Greek?

 

Greek- Lesson One

I have finished the first lesson in Dobson’s Learn Greek New Testament. Basically it introduces the alphabet and some English terms that have Greek etymology, such as ‘theology.’ What really surprised me is that there is no name given for each letter of the Greek alphabet. If I hadn’t already learned it with Mounce I would wonder what to call each Greek letter. However the alphabet is listed in four columns with a very thorough and helpful pronunciation guide that is hard to explain. Finally, there is a suggested way of writing the Greek letters, and I noticed that a handful of them indicate to start a letter in a different location or direction than what I originally learned. I haven’t put the accompanying CD in the computer yet, so it may be that there is more alphabet information available on it. Other than this odd omission everything is smooth sailing so far.

 

Book- Essential English Grammar

After finishing Greek for the Rest of Us I went ahead and read through this neat little grammar book. I had looked for an English grammar that was good, and several websites mentioned it. Basically it is a $5 book that covers all of the basics of English grammar. It was very easy to follow, has concise exercises after each chapter, and wasn’t a chore to read through. I covered the whole book in four days and it was pleasant to use. I plan on referring to it as needed while working on my Greek. I’m not sure how much overlap there will be, but if nothing else there is a dictionary of grammar terminology if I need it. If you are in need of a cheap, useful English grammar then I recommend picking up a copy for yourself.