Greek
This past week I’ve been leading a small group (quite small!) through the 2nd century text, ‘The Acts of Paul and Thecla’. It’s a very interesting text which relates the story of how a young betrothed woman in Iconium meets Paul, becomes entranced by the teaching of Christ,
Greek
Here's the shortest case I can make. There are, depending on edition, 138,020 Greek words in the New Testament canon. Here are some comparable English works: 134,462 - The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien 134,710 - Schindler's List, Thomas Keneally 135,420
Greek
This week we’re going to talk about voice in Greek and ‘deponency’. In some ways this is the most radical element of the new understandings, for those training in a traditional scheme. And yet, on the other hand, it is one of the elements about which there is the
Pedagogy
Last week I got to some chatting about the difference composition exercises might make between classical Greek students and Koine/Seminary students' learning outcomes. Here I share some thoughts on composition exercises. If you look in most traditional textbooks for classical languages, exercises typically focus on translation. The bulk
Pedagogy
I don't really like to spend my time criticising pedagogical approaches, but last week a sponsored post by Dr. Kinneer appeared over at http://www.challies.com/sponsored/ancient-greek-for-the-digital-age Now, I am all for digital tools, and I think what Dr. Kinneer goes
Greek
I have taken courses in both disciplines, and taught students who have come out of both processes, and Classical students almost always have better Greek than NT students. There's a very simple set of reasons for this though, and it doesn't really have to do with
Greek
As I mentioned earlier, I spent the last week taking a small group through some selections of Josephus' Antiquities. In the course of doing so, it again struck me the great gap there is between training in Greek grammar and fundamentals, and reading actual texts. This was highlighted in
Pedagogy
Here are some ideas I was tossing around with some students last week. Let me list the exercises first. 1. Read a passage, 10 or so verses or more, at a measured pace. No analysis, just ask yourself, “what percentage of that did I understand?" 2. Read a passage
Language
One way to look at language as a phenomenon is to realise that it solves problems. That 'problem' is communication, and so language solves a set of problems that range from the most simplistic (I want you to give me a rock), to the incredibly complex (I want
Language
You know, at the end of last week I put up that youtube video with an invitation to come and learn some Latin with me through CKI. I knew before I posted it that there would be errors, because I know that anytime I speak in a non-native language
Greek
I mean, the answer is kind of simple. You edit and reprint them. If you’re the author. I’ve had occasion this week to consult what Mounce, that most widely used Greek textbook, says about aspect. Similarly, I also dipped into Duff. Now Duff is unfortunately a revision of
Language
Okay, Let’s look at Learning with Texts, and how to get set up and going with it. A lot of information in this post is totally derived from this post over at DIY Classics. I 100% tell you to go and read that post. My aim is to supplement