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Reading Greek: Grammar and Exercises (Reading Greek) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joint Association Of Classical Teachers
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 53132
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 6.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0521698529
Dewey Decimal Number: 485
EAN: 9780521698528
ASIN: 0521698529
Publication Date: July 30, 2007
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Product Description
First published in 1978, Reading Greek has become a best-selling one-year introductory course in ancient Greek for students and adults. It combines the best of modern and traditional language-learning techniques and is used widely in schools, summer schools and universities across the world. It has also been translated into several foreign languages. This volume provides full grammatical support together with numerous exercises at different levels. For the second edition the presentations of grammar have been substantially revised to meet the needs of today's students and the volume has been completely redesigned, with the use of colour. Greek-English and English-Greek vocabularies are provided, as well as a substantial reference grammar and language surveys. The accompanying Text and Vocabulary volume contains a narrative adapted entirely from ancient authors in order to encourage students rapidly to develop their reading skills, simultaneously receiving a good introduction to Greek culture.
Book Description
Second edition of best-selling one-year introductory course in ancient Greek for students and adults. This volume provides full grammatical support and numerous exercises at different levels. The presentations of grammar have been substantially revised and the volume completely redesigned, with the use of colour.
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| Customer Reviews:
 2008 edition much improved, still not for newbies April 16, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This review is from the point of view of an adult self learner.
WHAT IT IS
This book is part of a three-book set, which includes:
1. Reading Greek: Text and Vocabulary
2. Reading Greek: Grammar and Exercises
3. An Independent Study Guide to Reading Greek
Think of the set as one book broken up into three parts, with the Greek practice text from every chapter in book #1, the grammar and exercises in every chapter in book #2, the answers to exercises in book #3. Nutty, but it works.
#1 Short passages of Greek text (with vocab lists at the end of each passage). Early passages are modern Dick-and-Jane "easy Greek" written especially to complement parallel sections of Grammar; later passages are simplified (and further on, not so simplified) passages from ancient texts.
#2 Grammar theory, forms, and exercises all keyed to parallel passages in the Text. So when you study middle voice verbs in Grammar, you read the accompanying passage in Text, and see how that form works in real Greek sentences.
#3 A. Translations of Text #1.
B. Answers to exercises in Grammar #2.
C. Hints and insights.
WHICH TO BUY?
This is an integrated set whose whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. You will want all three books. The TEXT complements the grammar, the GRAMMAR makes much much more sense when supported by the text readings. The answers to exercise in the STUDY GUIDE will show you stuff you missed learning--but you won't find that out unless you have book #3 to check your answers.
[There are other JACT RG books with short Greek passages from ancient texts. You don't need them now (or ever, IMHO Loebs are better).]
BAD STUFF
1. In my experience this is NOT a good set for absolute newbies. It was originally designed in the 1970s when students started Greek after a year of Latin, and thus already understood inflected grammars. If you don't understand inflected grammars already, you may get lost. I did. I tried (the old version) of RG as my first learn-Greek-on-your-own book about 18 months ago, and was immediately lost.
I'd suggest starting with Dobson's Learn New Testament Greek, them moving on to RG.
2. Vocabulary selection is excellent, Attic prose wise, but you're forced to make your own flip cards or memorization list. Because Greek diacriticals are a bitch, making your own computerized flip cards is a major pain. In the internet age, JACT really should have vocab flip cards at their web site.
3. Ancient Greek is still hard.
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GOOD STUFF
Since giving up on RG the first time I've been through Dobson's Learn NT Greek and memorized the forms in Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar. Now that I've come back to RG it makes much much more sense, and it seems to me the most excellent book.
1. Simple Readings Cement Forms.
After memorizing all the verb forms in Mounce, I found struggling with Greek text a frustration--passing each word through a memorized translation table. RG's solution is to teach your brain to bypass the form tables and recognize word endings-meanings directly. The reading for the Present Tense chapter is full of simple sentences like: "Dikaiopolis walks on the ship." "Then the captain walks on the ship." and "The sailors walk on the ship." - different word endings in each case. Over and over. Repetition, particularly repetition in the context of a memorable little story, cements recognition. (Of course you do still have to memorize the forms.)
This is a whole additional layer of learning that you simply will not get from table-Greek books like Mounce, or tables-and-rules books like Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek.
2. Sentence Structure.
It's not obvious till you've struggled a while, but ancient Greek has a layer of complexity on top of the alphabet and words. English brains extract word function--subject, verb, direct object--from word order; Greek brains extracted subject, verb, direct object from word endings; Greek sentences used word-order for other purposes. You've got to train you brain to process sentences a whole different way. Again, practice is the key. An RG has lots and lots and lots of text to help.
By the time I was through RG chapter 7, I could pick up Loeb's Xenophon's Anabasis and quickly recognize (via case endings) the structure of each sentence (though of course my vocab still wasn't up to an unassisted reading). This was very exciting.
Again, this is a whole additional layer of learning that you will not get from table-Greek books like Mounce, or tables-and-rules books like Mastronarde .
3. Learn By Reading; Lots Of Readings.
RG is not a tables-and-rules book with an expanded Examples section. It is an integrated system of teaching ancient Greek through a graded series of long and progressively complex reading passages. Again, a whole additional layer of learning that you will not get from Mounce or Mastronarde .
4. Attention To Detail
Someone spent a long time getting the big stuff and the little stuff right.
.
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COMPARING 2008 WITH EARLIER EDITIONS
1. The books are physically bigger, better laid out, with larger type and better fonts--much easier to read. A small thing that makes a big difference.
2. The Grammar has been entirely redone, and is much much better.
3. The Text readings are the same.
4. The vocabulary has been moved from Grammar to Text, which makes the readings much easier. (In the old version you were constantly flipping book to book.)
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COMPARED WITH ATHENAZE
Neither RG or Athenaze is perfect, but the both have lots of simple readings that I find most helpful. I've bought and used both, and would again.
1. Athenaze also has very good readings.
2. Athenaze is slower, with less complex early readings. Athenaze translations are also in a separate, 2d book.
3. Athenaze has NO ANSWERS TO EXERCISES. The current 2003 edition of the Athenaze main text has exercises, but the workbook with the exercise answers was created but apparently never released. For me this is the TIE BREAKER. RGs exercises are very hard, but very useful. If you ace the exercises, you understood the material. If you didn't you didn't.
 Look has been inproved but contents is the same December 10, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have not purchased this book, but after reviewing the table of contents and the other excerpts, the content appears to be the same as the 1st editions. I expect that errors in the 1st edition have been corrected and the look of the book has been improved. But I would not buy this if you are expecting a text radically different from the 1st ed. That being said, I have taught myself Ancient Greek using this text and the study guides. I like how JACT presents the material and would recommend it, regardless the edition.
Help! November 26, 2007
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
Will some public-spirited & knowledgeable person please review this new edition of RG? I have no idea whether I should buy this expensive new set (with the reader) or "An Idependent Study Guide to Reading Greek". What are the pros & cons? And is it really any better than the 1st edition of RG?? Thanks!
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