Can I start with Greek?

[giftof6]

I've been homeschooling for 6 years but am just now trying to shift to a more classical approach. We have tried to work in Spanish in years past, but when push came to shove Spanish went out the window. I'd really like to make music and a foreign language a priority this year. I was thinking of starting with the Latin and adding Spainsh later OR possibly start them both this year (with the 10 and 12 yr old--younger ones Spanish only). But at this point, I'd actually rather do Greek! I have only a small amount of high school French under my belt and NO Spanish, Latin or Greek experience.

Would it hurt anything to start them all (K, 1, 5, 7) with Greek and go from there?

Thanks.
Jenny

[Jyniffrec]

Hi Jenny,

We are starting with both Greek (modern) and Latin. I don't think it matters all that much, although most people seem to choose to take up Latin over Greek.

[Ester Maria]

I've been homeschooling for 6 years but am just now trying to shift to a more classical approach. We have tried to work in Spanish in years past, but when push came to shove Spanish went out the window. I'd really like to make music and a foreign language a priority this year. I was thinking of starting with the Latin and adding Spainsh later OR possibly start them both this year (with the 10 and 12 yr old--younger ones Spanish only). But at this point, I'd actually rather do Greek! I have only a small amount of high school French under my belt and NO Spanish, Latin or Greek experience.

Would it hurt anything to start them all (K, 1, 5, 7) with Greek and go from there?
I have mixed feelings on this one, honestly.

Even though, theoretically, there is perfectly nothing wrong with starting with Greek (on the contrary, it might actually be preferred in some cases - especially in cases of modern Greek speakers whose linguistic and cultural background is obviously directly derived from it), or even with doing exclusively Greek and never adding in Latin later... I would still venture to say that there are at least a few good reasons why, if you plan on eventually learning both, it's a tradition to start with Latin, in Western and Mittel-Europe at least.

One, Latin is a lot closer to your linguistic (and probably also cultural) background and thus an easier language to break the ice with and start to study the classical antiquity with. This is especially important in case of children, because it makes it easier for them to connect to the language.
And two, possibly even more important, you have to keep in mind that the initial stage of learning a classical (or any) language is the stage of morphology - syntax comes later. And in this aspect, Latin and Greek are quite the opposites - syntactic simplicity of Greek is compensated with a lot greater morphological difficulty, and quite the opposite for Latin. Or, put more simply: Latin is a lot easier to learn in the first stage of learning, while Greek is considerably harder, and the opposite is true for the second stage, when you already begin to read texts. For this reason, in classical schools in Western/Mittel-Europe, usually 2-3 years are allowed before adding Greek, to master one morphology, and then master syntax as one works on the other morphology, equipped by the experience of mastering Latin morphology first.

Being that you have relatively young students, I think the notion of the relative morphological simplicity of Latin (feels weird writing it, but compared to Greek, it really IS simpler) might be a good argument to start them with Latin, especially if combined with another Romance language they obviously have some background in already and especially if you yourself will be learning with them. Greek is a tough cookie to start from a scratch with four students that differ so much in age, zero experience of your own in the language, and close to zero experience with language learning in general. I wouldn't like to dishearten you or discourage you - God forbid, it's a beautiful language that absolutely deserves your attention if you're educating in the (neo-)classical paradigm :) - but more likely than not, in such circumstances, you will waste a great amount of time on learning script and accents and very basics and might not get very far, while on the slightly "better known territory" of Latin/Spanish you might do some small, but concrete and digestible chunks in the same time span.

I'm all for early classics, but I also believe one's education should be built the way that it starts with the more familiar and then ventures into the more "exotic" (mind you, literacy in Greek was all but exotic amongst the educated only few generations ago, but... many things have changed from the masses-oriented educational shifts). I also believe one should STICK with what they have chosen, especially in the case of languages, which are such a kind of material that "builds up" and where you cannot accomplish much by constantly shifting what you study. Multiple languages are fine, but all need to be properly maintained - and quitting a language, then starting anew, never really learning grammar, messing up the levels, is pretty much a recipe for catastrophe and lack of any concrete results by graduation.

If I were you, I would stick with Spanish for all, add Latin for the older ones, and put Greek on a hold for a year or two and then add it, approximately in high school period for your older ones.

[Kel & the Kids]

I think it depends on your goals really. We started with Greek because I want my dc to be able to read the New Testament in the original language or at least have a leg up if they want to go to seminary. If not for that I would have gone with Latin and then Spanish.

[emubird]

I'd do what interests you the most. Even if Greek is harder, if you're more motivated, it may seem easier.

[profmom]

Would it hurt anything to start them all (K, 1, 5, 7) with Greek and go from there?

Thanks.
Jenny

In either case, I'd only start Latin or Greek with the 5th & 7th graders and wait until your K is in 2nd or 3rd grade to start the younger two together. (And I would only start in 2nd grade if your focus would be limited to the Greek alphabet and sounds for the whole year, preparing to start the study when they are in 3rd & 4th grades.) If you're still going to pursue Spanish, the younger ones could be learning Spanish words for every day items and some phrases.

(My own experience is that we started my oldest in Latin in 3rd grade and then added Greek in 5th, at the same time that I started my then 3rd grader in Greek. He, then, started an introduction to Latin in 4th grade with Prima Latina, and then LC1 in 5th. So, basically, by time each were in 5th grade, they were studying both languages -- Latin at separate levels and Greek together.

Now that they are going into 6th & 8th grades, we are trying to decide whether to continue with both or to replace one with Spanish, at the kids' request.)

Back to your question, though, my kids thought it was fun to work with Greek's different alphabet. Many of the benefits of Latin also exist for Greek.

Here's something I read today that might help you choose -- this is an excerpt from information written by Mr. Spotts of The Potter's School for his Latin and Greek classes. The paragraphs I have omitted deal with the texts and teaching methods he uses, but the entire article is found here (http://www.pottersschool.org/MrSpotts/Classical.Languages.Overview.htm).

In addition to chosing a classical language class based on methodology, an important factor to consider is the long-term goal of studying the language. Some students take classical languages simply as “grist for the mill” to give them exercise in careful thinking and logical operations. Some students have a long-standing interest in literature and the English language or other European languages. Some students have a particular interest in theological and biblical studies. Some students simply want to be well trained in a variety of languages. All four groups will act differently.

For the student who wishes to strengthen logical operations but does not have a preference about a future area of study, either language will be helpful. A student who needs to strengthen the ability to organize information given in a less apparently organized manner would probably benefit more from the Latin courses I teach, though he would probably naturally do better in the Greek courses. For a student who needs to strengthen the ability to take patterns of information and relate them in a broader context, the Greek courses would tend to accomplish this well, though the student would probably naturally do better in the Latin courses.

A student who has a long-standing interest in literature, English, and the general liberal arts will find Latin to be of relatively more use than Greek. English has a stronger influence from the Latin language, as do the Romance languages. The Romans were so fond of Greek culture that many cultural patterns we see in Western culture came from Greece through Rome.

A student who is intensely interested in biblical, theological, and the very early Christian period will find the Greek courses to be of superior value. Although we will be studying from a textbook which initially teaches the Attic dialect of Greek, students will find the New Testament and early patristic authors to be quite straightforward, as well as finding they have the grammatical tools to read the more difficult secular authors of the earlier Athenian period.

The student who wishes to know a variety of languages may wish to take both Greek and Latin. If this is the plan, I highly recommend starting early, with Junior High Latin 1 and 2, which are followed by High School Latin 2. Assuming the student completes High School Latin 2 in ninth grade, there are three years for Greek and whatever additional Latin courses are desired. Students who are not beginning both languages at the same time generally do not have confusion between the languages.



HTH!