What is the best way to teach myself Greek?

Impressive Gold Dragon, Thank you!

 

Thank you, also icthus, very good resources.

 

I don't know if this is any good, but they claim to have 52,000 students.

http://www.kypros.org/LearnGreek/

Looks like mostly modern Greek with just one course of ancient Greek.

 

So then there's no course on Koine then from kypros,

 

I would suggest Baugh's "A New Testament Greek Primer" It is one of two elementary texts used at SBTS. It takes the form of a workbook/text book. Chapters are typically 5 - 10 pages with enough exercises at the end of every chapter to keep you busy for an hour or two. Answers are in the back.

It is a good book in my mind because it teaches you how things are, without getting into too much morphology (how things came to be what they are.) I think for elementary students it can often be overwhelming.

At the end of Baugh, you'll be able to do read 1st john for the most part. I think it gives you all the words that are used more than 50 times in the NT as vocab.

 

Morphology is NOT the study of “how things came to be what they are;” it is the study of the form and structure of things that are.

(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
</font>[/QUOTE]

 

Craig, he explained what he meant, if the word didn't specifically mean that; I think his post was clear. People do not type perfect reports when they are posting; so I don't think they need teachers to correct them, especially if it does not relate to the debate.

 

Phillip,

This thread is about learning Greek. The English word “morphology” comes (through the German) from two Greek words meaning "the study of forms." Blatantly erroneous information about the Greek language and the study of it in a thread about learning the Greek language needs to be corrected. And this was not just a mistake that occurred through a typographical error; a word very important to the study of the Greek language was very incorrectly defined.

There is a vast difference between your background and mine, and perhaps that should be taken more carefully into consideration. I certainly take that into consideration when I respond to your posts.

May you and your family have a blessed Easter.

 

I was mistaken on the word morphology. Baugh does discuss the forms of Present Active Indicatives, etc. However, what I was trying to say is for the most part he says the PAI 1st person plural of Luw is luomen and then states that all PAI1P will have the form root + omen. He does not get into any more depth than that. And talking from my friends who had mounce's book, it seems as if he did. I could be wrong, as I never used Mounce, just going on what I've been told.

Nevertheless, I'd still recommen Baugh

 

As an aside, what is the word for how forms shift over time. For example, a word might exist now (or in the Koine time) as a different root than before, but it still holds the endings etc from the old root?

Thanks

 

I am not entirely certain what you asking here, but it sounds to me that you are thinking of irregular Greek verbs. These irregularities arise from two different causes:

1. Changes is the formation of the stem.

2. Two or more different roots and stems from originally entirely different verbs. These are also known a “defective” verbs. Example: ερχομαι = I come/go. Present indicative tense stem = ερκ-; ελευσομαι, future indicative tense stem = ελευ-; ηλθον, second aorist indicative tense stem = ελθ-. We find this type of irregular verb also in English. Example: I go (present tense), I went (past historic tense), to wend (the old form of the infinitive now used almost exclusively in poetry and high prose instead of “to go,” the modern form of the infinitive).

Irregular Greek verbs caused by two or more different roots and stems from originally entirely different verbs at different stages in the development of the language seem to come the closest to what you are describing, but I do not know of a term to specifically describe the process.