[B-Greek] Iterative, Customary, Gnomic, Conative, etc.
Curtis Hinson
curtis at curtishinson.com
Fri Mar 30 13:34:50 EST 2007
I didn't go to Hellas, although I did attempt to study in Thessaloniki
and couldn't go. I did have a romance in the Greek language some years
back. If you can't go to Hellas, find the Hellas in your town, if there
is one.
The effect it has for me is that it touches my being at a deeper level
than it ever did talking about the grammar in English and trying to read
it. It's different when you've lived life and experienced things in the
language. Because of that, it's not only a deeper connection, it's
easier to read, comprehend, and compose my thoughts in Greek. Although
I'm a bit rusty having no Greeks to talk to currently, I'm blessed to
have that background.
If my experience had been only with Orthodox Christian Greeks, that
could have colored my reading of the NT a bit differently than it was
written. Since, after all, the NT was written by Jews who used the
language in terms of their own world view. They were familiar with
Hellenistic ideas, and influenced by them, but not contained within them
by any stretch of the imagination. I spent alot of time with Jews
though, so that helps me think about texts, in addition to merely
reading Jewish history and thought.
Bless the Name
Curtis Hinson
P.S. I married a Lebanese, so I'm working on my Lebanese Arabic these
days. :-)
Jerry Reimer wrote the following on 3/29/2007 7:10 PM:
> Dear Sirs,
>
> Has anyone gone to Greece and studied Modern Greek for the purpose of improving his knowledge of Koine? By improvement I am talking about better understanding various items inside of the GK NT which appear to reflect change in the language occuring during the Koine period and that can now be seen clearly in Modern Greek. For example, as Zerwick has pointed out, eis was already pushing en out of the language during the Koine period and this can occasionally be seen in the NT. I am looking for other specific things like this (infinitives being replaced by ina and a subjunctive mood verb, etc.). Is there enough of this kind of thing to justify trying to learn Modern Greek or is sufficient to just identify these specific things (if possible) and let it go at that? I am trying to read Caragounis' book for this very reason. It is expensive to go to Greece and stay for six months or a year and study the language. However if it is worth it to do so then that is another matter. "Wort
> h it" would mean that the impact (on comprehension of NT GK) of doing this would be sufficent to justify the effort and the expense. No doubt it would be a help to do this but is the degree of help substantial? I am somewhat aware of the danger of anachronistically reading Modern Greek idiom back into the NT but if the total continuity of the language is a really significant factor in exegesis (as Caragounis contends) then Modern Greek should be a great help. Your comments please.
>
> Jerry Reimer
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: frjsilver at optonline.net [mailto:frjsilver at optonline.net]
> Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 4:37 PM
> To: Elizabeth Kline
> Cc: greek B-Greek
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Iterative, Customary, Gnomic, Conative, etc.
>
>
> Dear Friends --
>
> It's entirely possible to have a conversation in KOINH (say ki-NI) Greek, and even to order from the menu! It's important that we acknowledge the limited (2200 words?) in specifically NT vocabulary, and realize that no book contains every word of a language.
>
> Let's please also remember that the language of the NT is NOT DEAD. There's a whole nation, a church which still speaks and understands it, some people better than others -- just like English.
>
> Come down from the ivory towers! Get out among the people! Forget the books and grammars and warmed-over remains of language! Go to Hellas, live with the orthodox Christian Greeks for a while, learn the names of various dishes and their wonderful flavors, and learn to read the Gospel like an educated native.
>
> KALH SARAKOSTH!
>
> Peace and blessings to all.
>
> Father James Silver
>
> Monk James
> Orthodox Church in America
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Elizabeth Kline
> Date: Thursday, March 29, 2007 1:47 pm
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Iterative, Customary, Gnomic, Conative, etc.
> To: greek B-Greek
>
>
>> On Mar 29, 2007, at 10:12 AM,
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> **Second language acquistion theory would say that a
>>>
>> grammatical
>>
>>> medium is a
>>> medium that will guarantee problems with fluency.**
>>>
>> And people who learn, like parrots, to say a few things in a
>> second
>> language will never be able to do exegesis. The goal of learning
>>
>> biblical greek isn't to be able to order a meal in Koine since
>> you
>> will never find a waiter who will take an order in Koine.
>>
>> Elizabeth Kline
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
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>>
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