My post on Monday was part of a blog carnival about ancient languages. The full list of other participants is here!
There are so many interesting insights into what we can learn from ancient texts in their original languages. My personal favorite is this one, discussing sound patterns in the first few lines of The Odyssey. But there are many more great blog posts (especially if you love Greek like I do!)
Check them out and have a happy Friday!
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Wow, thank you: I’m glad that you enjoyed reading my post. I just discovered your blog today, and I’d love to see more posts from you about Greek and other ancient languages.
By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your background? Where does your interest in language come from?
Hi Brian,
I have BAs in Religious Studies and Russian Language & Literature, and I just got my MA in Applied Linguistics. I started taking Classical Greek back when I thought I wanted to be a religion scholar, before I had really embraced my true calling as a linguist 🙂 But I’m so glad I did. Everyone should learn some Greek! It makes you a better person, in my humble opinion.
What about you?
-Allison
I still think I am going to be a religion scholar. I started Greek to read the New Testament but quickly got roped into the ‘real’ Greek literature — Homer, Sophocles, etc. I am interested in sacred literature in general so tend to gravitate toward languages like Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit, etc.
I have always had a particular love for Eastern as well as antique forms of Christianity, so Coptic and Syriac have been on my wish list for a long time. And I need to get with Latin at some point! Sanskrit is a trip, and I’m crazy for Arabic.
How did you find the transition from koine to Attic Greek, JD?
Wow, an MA in linguistics! I find it so admirable that you’re going after such a complex field.
I myself am studying Greek and Latin to earn a BA in Classical Studies, and perhaps an additional minor in ancient languages. I’m really in this for the goal of reading the great works of literature in Latin and Greek, but I’ve found the entire process of seeing how languages work quite fascinating as well. I likely will move on to be a scholar of ancient literature.
I had never heard your aspiration to be a scholar, Brian, but I am not surprised. It’s good you are doing languages. It’s a no-brainer for classics, but I meet plenty of students who want to go into other humanities fields who have no languages down. When we start grad school we will be able to hit the ground running because of our training!
Well, it’s definitely what I would like to do, but it’s still a big commitment to move ahead into grad school. So that’s why I said it’s only “likely”–I’m still not sure if I’m really going to go for it yet. It’s a lot of effort, so we’ll see.
If I might offer some unsolicited advice…I would recommend taking at least a year off after you finish your BA to think about your next step, instead of going right into a graduate program. I worked for a few years before getting back into it, and it gave me the opportunity to really discover what it is I’m most passionate about, how I prefer to work, and what I can really dedicate myself to.
Having said that, I agree with JD that having more than one language already is a great place to start! And your languages are pretty good ones 🙂
Thanks for the shoutout! Would you like to host the next one?
It’s a fun idea, I’ll certainly give it some thought!