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TAC 2013 Team Sparta’s Greek Team Thread | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| embici Triglot Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4406 days ago 263 posts - 370 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Greek | Message 185 of 231 26 February 2013 at 8:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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As you probably know, the FSI site is down. In case anyone planned to use the FSI Greek Basic course but hasn't downloaded it yet I have uploaded Volume 1 here
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| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4154 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 186 of 231 07 March 2013 at 8:33am | IP Logged | ||
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May I say something about the FSI? It's great, but the language it's a bit outdated. So try to find a way to check which form isn't used anymore.
Edited by renaissancemedi on 07 March 2013 at 8:48am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4154 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 187 of 231 07 March 2013 at 8:57am | IP Logged | ||
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I thought I might give you a small challenge, if you don't mind of course!
Here is a poem (yes, don't be scared) by Seferis, who has a clear head and a clear pen, so he is great to read if you are learning greek. Λίγο ακόμα (Γιώργος Σεφέρης) Λίγο ακόμα θα ιδούμε τις αμυγδαλιές ν' ανθίζουν τα μάρμαρα να λάμπουν στον ήλιο τη θάλασσα να κυματίζει λίγο ακόμα, να σηκωθούμε λίγο ψηλότερα. Can you read it, and maybe translate? Note: he writes θα ιδούμε instead of θα δούμε. It's a valid form, and it sounds better in the flow of the language. It is an uplifting sort of text, saying that things will be all right again. Here is the poem as a song, by Theodorakis: Λίγο ακόμα ~ Μ. Φαραντούρη, Μ. Θεοδωράκης Edited by renaissancemedi on 07 March 2013 at 9:01am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Ogrim Heptaglot Senior Member France Joined 4435 days ago 991 posts - 1896 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, French, Romansh, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Catalan, Latin, Greek, Romanian | Message 188 of 231 08 March 2013 at 3:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi fellow Spartans. In another thread on parallel texts in Russian poetry I found a link to a 1962 version of Teach yourself modern Greek, and renaissancemedi encouraged me to share it with the other Greek learners on the forum, so I thought that the Sparta team thread must be the right place. According to renaissancemedi it is completely modern Greek, except for the accents, which apparently follow the old Greek model.
As I have written in my own log, I have been away for most of February with no internet access, which explains my lack of contributions here for quite some time. I've also concentrated a lot on Russian the last month, but now I really want to progress with Greek, as I will most likely return to Crete this summer. Oh, and thanks for the poem. I managed to figure out the meaning of a few words, but needed to turn to the dictionary to really understand it. I do not feel competent to give a translation though, I leave that to the more advanced team members. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gomorritis Tetraglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 4074 days ago 91 posts - 157 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English, Catalan, French Studies: Greek, German, Dutch | Message 189 of 231 09 March 2013 at 11:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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Γειά σας παιδιά! I'm new in this forum and I'm also currently learning Greek.
My method for learning Greek has been quite chaotic until now. It all started trying to order food in a taverna by only using Greek. During those holidays in Greece, the most complex sentence I could say in Greek was something like "ένα τζατζίκι και ένα χωριάτικη, παρακαλώ", which was quite enough because the waiter would bring me what I wanted, and he always understood me. It wasn't until the last day of my holidays that a waiter decided to correct my mistake and told me that I should have said "μία χωριάτικη" instead of "ένα χωριάτικη". Knowing that there was more than one gender really hurt my confidence as a Greek speaker. Furthermore, I would leave Greece next day, so I would't even have a chance to order a χωριάτικη with its correct article. I thought my chance to speak Greek was over, and I would probably never speak Greek unless I went back to Greece. But I was wrong. A few years later I moved to the Netherlands to study a MSc. I arrived there just before the start of the program, skipping the introduction weeks for international students that the university heavily encouraged all new students to attend. The day after my arrival I had an appointment to enrol in the program, together with a small group of students who had also decided to skip the introduction weeks (in which most students had already done their enrolment paperwork). This small group of students mostly consisted of a bunch of Greeks and one Spaniard, that is to say, myself. The first cultural connection I made with the Greeks was also what allowed me to meet them on my very first day in the Netherlands: we all shared the belief that attending some introduction weeks was a pretty stupid idea. After the enrolment, we went for a coffee together, which was my chance to mumble all the Greek words I knew. This way, I soon became the Spaniard that infiltrated the Greek community, and not so much later I also became the Spaniard that could speak in Greek (huge overstatement). The truth is that during a whole study year hanging out almost exclusively with Greeks, I learnt some Greek words and I was even able to make some sentences without much regard to the correct grammar, or just inventing my own Greek grammar. I learnt most of it at night, in bars, with alcohol enhancing my fluency as well as enhancing my ability to forget whatever I had learnt that night. But it wasn't my only learning method, as I also used to listen to "παιδικά τραδούδια" (children songs) as well as to sing them, or typing to some friends in Skype in Greeklish. From the beginning, my biggest concern was getting the pronunciation right. It's not so hard when you are Spanish, as we share the same vowel sounds in our languages. Greek has many more consonant sounds, but in my opinion they are quite easier to learn. Also we share a similar "melody" in our speech. My first important step in my learning was my 20 days vacations in Greece that summer. I even brought a book for learning Greek with me (Ελληνικά Τώρα 1+1), which I started reading in the airplane. The first five days I visited a friend in her small village in Northern Greece, where she gave me private lessons every morning through this book. During this 20 days, I had an small epiphany: Greek stopped sounding as Greek to me. But I didn't really take advantage of this breakthrough, as in the next year and a half (until today), due to the circumstances in my studies, I reduced a lot my contact with most Greeks I knew. And even worse, today I find myself living with my Greek girlfriend with whom I speak almost always in English. People ask me "you must be really learning a lot of Greek now, right?", but the fact is that I was actually learning much more Greek when I was just hanging out in bars with Greeks than now that I live with my Greek girlfriend. This absurd situation has to end now! No, I don't mean I'm going to break up with her, I mean I'm going to learn Greek. Actually I already started taking it seriously a week ago. That much for an introduction, now lets get to business… I discovered LWT (Learning With Texts) software a few days ago, and I have already a database of 2000 Greek words stored (either as known or learning). This software, in combination with Anki, is perfect for learning vocabulary. The problem is I don't really find many good texts to read, as I need something that is not so easy and not so hard either. Online newspapers in Greek are still too hard for me to read, so it's not really an option. The only nice resource of English-Greek parallel texts I have found is this: http://www.lonweb.org/daisy/ds- greek-lorna.htm I would recommend it to advanced beginners. There aren't many of them, so they won't last you long, and also the stories intend to be funny and are not. But it's ok, it's still better than nothing. Could anyone help me to find some texts with some similar difficulty? Not sure why, but it really bothers me to hear English in podcasts for learning Greek. That's why I don't like Greekpod, or Kypros. However, I highly recommend the HAU podcasts, which include a transcript of every lesson. They are quite funny, especially "Ο Ξενοφών", who is a real "μαλάκα" with his comments. I also have some disregard towards grammar, or better said, towards its study, I find it a bit boring. I have just been trying to figure the grammar out by myself, catching some rules here and there. I think I have been able to resolve most issues by myself, without looking at any grammar book (Ελληνικά Τώρα 1+1 is now covered in dust), but I have to admit that I have a big problem with verbs. I think I should really look at some good explanation about verbs to understand them for once and for all. I just got a copy of "Le grec sans peine" from Assimil which I hope will help me... Edited by Gomorritis on 09 March 2013 at 11:17pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gomorritis Tetraglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 4074 days ago 91 posts - 157 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English, Catalan, French Studies: Greek, German, Dutch | Message 190 of 231 09 March 2013 at 11:31pm | IP Logged | ||
Very nice song. That voice brings me childhood memories, as I my parents used to play "Canto General" very often, which was also sung by Farantouri. Thanks for sharing it! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| renaissancemedi Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Greece Joined 4154 days ago 941 posts - 1309 votes Speaks: Greek*, Ancient Greek*, EnglishC2 Studies: French, Russian, Turkish, Modern Hebrew | Message 191 of 231 10 March 2013 at 12:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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Good luck, and be sure you'll find the all help you need aroung here. Ask your girlfriend to speak only greek for an hour or so a day, and see if that helps!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ogrim Heptaglot Senior Member France Joined 4435 days ago 991 posts - 1896 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, French, Romansh, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Catalan, Latin, Greek, Romanian | Message 192 of 231 11 March 2013 at 10:25am | IP Logged | ||
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Hola Gomorritis, welcome to the forum. As you see we are a small group of Greek learners having joined in a TAC Team. Frankly speaking, the team as such has not been very active, for different personal reasons I think, but a few of the team members are regularly posting updates in their personal logs, e.g.embici and stelingo.
What you describe regarding your girlfriend is a very normal situation. After all, I assume you are with your girlfriend for the person she is, not because she speaks Greek. And if you started your relationship in English, it can be very difficult to change that and switch into using another language. My wife is Spanish, and when we got together I already spoke Spanish, so we have always communicated in that language. When we lived together in Norway for a short while, she was learning Norwegian and we tried to speak some Norwegian every day, but it just felt artificial and strange. As a total beginner in Greek myself, I cannot give you too many specific tips. As regards the Assimil course, it is not bad, but I find it boring, and it is not the best one as far as grammar explanations are concerned. Personally I use a German based course, Langenscheidt's Griechisch mit System, but you need a good base in German for that. There is also Colloquial, which usually is good on grammar, but I have not used Colloquial Greek myself so far. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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