Release day: LGPSI 2.0, chs 1-10

Today I'm excited to let you know that I am releasing into the wild "LGPSI 2.0" chapters 1-10.

LGPSI Vol 1: μῦθος τῆς Ἀντιοχείᾱς

I know lots of people want there to be an LGPSI, really an Ørberg-type and Ørberg-level text for ancient Greek. And I have been trying to write one for a very long time. There is, of course, the wonderful ΛΟΓΟΣ book by ??, which I reviewed. I don't think it does that job, and I think there's still plenty of space for something like my project.

Let me talk a bit about my aims, goals, methodology, before I discuss exactly what I'm releasing today.

So, what is this LGPSI project anyway?

I originally began writing an LGPSI (lingua graeca per se illustrata) shaped and formed by the phenomenally well-written LLPSI by Hans Ørberg. Those early efforts were founded upon translation, which was fine, but as I have grown in ancient Greek proficiency, spent years teaching, and read in SLA theory, my own approaches have changed.

I am not even convinced that a direct method which is designed to showcase grammar step-by-step as Ørberg did, is the best way. And this latest version reflects that.

Nonetheless, my LGPSI is designed to be a kind of "extensive graded reader which introduces grammar slowly, and with attention to being comprehensible from the context and minimal helps". I don't think it's currently in the state that I could hand it to anyone and say, "here, this will teach you Greek", but nor I am convinced that you should try to learn ancient Greek just from a book.

Some design principles: Volume 1 will be 50 chapters, of roughly 1,000 words each. It's designed to be constrained both vocabulary and grammar. The vocabulary is shaped in reference to a frequency list that includes key Attic prose texts as well as Koine literature (primarily the New Testament). It's narratively-driven, which means if nothing else it will be a pleasant (I hope) 50k ancient Greek novella.

Because, unlike Ørberg, each chapter isn't attempting to introduce, then exemplify all the morphology of, step-by-step grammatical features, that means there are forms in early chapters which may seem odd there. On the other hand, because the text is designed to maximise comprehensibity, exposure, repetition, and so-on, large swathes of the early chapters are written to have as gentle a slope of increasing difficulty as I can manage.

The story itself is set, or at least begins, in 4th century Antioch. I've wanted to write in this setting for a number of reasons. It allows exploration of a late antique setting, as well as linguistic diversity. The text begins in what I would call a slightly high-register version of Koine, but as it goes on you'll encounter different features, and settings and speakers, who use more Koine, more Attic, and later more Ionic dialects of ancient Greek.

Today

First things first. The "base text" as I'm calling it, which is just the plain text that I've written, is available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. That means that you're pretty free to use it, so long as you don't (a) make a commercial version or try to profit, (b) that you attribute authorship, (c) that all derivative products carry the same license.

You can access and read LGPSI 2.0 directly from its public repository.

A formatted version of chapters 1-10, with some marginal notes, some minimal illustrations, and a glossary is available to purchase here for $5. It's not really a version with a lot of 'extra' content, at present. The marginalia and image-notes are just part of the work in progress. Rather, think of this as a way of supporting the ongoing development of this work. This version, including layout, design, marginal notes, is all rights reserved.

What if I don’t know any Greek?

Look, honestly I don't think you could pick this up with zero knowledge and learn Greek from it. It's not LLPSI. I do think you could easily use this alongside any existing course, and I also think you could teach with this (I am) provided you know what you're doing. As it develops, I do believe it will be able to be used either with a teacher, a class, or independently.

What if I don’t know the Greek alphabet?

This text isn't really accessible if you don't know the alphabet. There are a number of decent resources, especially videos, to learn the alphabet. I do have in mind to produce a module-zero that will teach you to read and sound out words. It's hard to learn pronunciation from a book.

What kind of Greek does LGPSI teach?

LGPSI at present teaches ‘Koine Greek with Attic sprinkles’. It does this for several reasons. Firstly, the vast bulk of ancient Greek literature is written in Koine. Students who study Koine are well situated to access this material. Secondly, for those whose interest is primarily biblical and related studies, Koine is the idiom of primary interest. Thirdly, a significant portion of Koine writers deliberately and conscientiously employ a high-register of Koine that contains Attic features, for which reason you will find plenty of Attic influence in this text. Fourthly, the historical setting of the main storyline is late antiquity. I believe that students whose main interest is “classical literature” and “classical Greek” will still be well served by this text.

As I said above, as you go on in the text you will (eventually) be exposed to more distinctive elements of Attic, Koine, and Ionic style, grammar, and vocabulary. Essentially I aim to bridge the gap between the silo'd approaches of Koine vs Attic, and equip students to move between dialects. This will become more evident in planned volumes 2 and 3.

Where are the margin notes and illustrations like LLPSI?

They are... in development. My main focus has remained working on the main text, because that's the critical thing. I am adding margin notes as I teach from the text, and discover what students need help with. Most illustrations will need to wait for a print edition and an illustrator.

What about LGPSI 1.0?

LGPSI 2.0 takes and cannibalises v1.0, but it's not the same. Some of the early chapters are similar, and characters are the same, but the story is moving in different directions and the sequencing and presentation of material are too. LGPSI 1.0 will remain available and static, if you were using and enjoying it.

I found a mistake

Please tell me about it: thepatrologist@gmail.com

I think you could improve X, Y, Z.

Please tell me about it: thepatrologist@gmail.com

Acknowledgements

A lot of people have helped me work on LGPSI over the years. I can't possibly thank them all, but I do want to highlight the contributions of a few. James Tauber has been a continual source of encouragement, and responsibly for all my (successful and aborted) forrays into digital humanities. Secondly, a big thanks to both Eric Sowell and Sarah McCuan, who apart from many other helps, have been driving forces in providing digital tools and data-analysis, as well as encouragement, to drive this forward and to make this possible. Thirdly, thanks to my Patreon supporters, you get little for what you put in, but I'm thankful for your support. Thirdly, a big thank you to my students, including those directly involved in my LGPSI classes. Road-testing this with students is invaluable feedback.

Roadmap

Look, you know and I know that I get excited, promise big, and under-deliver. So, I'm working on writing this as best as time allows, and volume one will be done when it's done, and I'd like that to be 2027.

I do have a volume 2 and 3 mentally sketched out as well, both 50k Greek novellas that take the stories of these characters, and the language, in new directions. So, please read, give me feedback, encouragement, etc., The more excited you are, the more excited I am to keep writing.