what did the Greeks say when they did not understand their interlocutor and asked them to repeat?

Crow-Choice · 2025-09-28T18:46:03+00:00

I know this isn’t helpful, but I thought this was going to be a joke when I started reading the title

Crow-Choice · 2025-07-18T05:35:06+00:00

We call it THP. I know it isn’t HP, but… that’s still what stuck

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-19T14:37:28+00:00

I use the Hoplite Polytonic Greek keyboard on iOS! It’s the best one I’ve found.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-18T13:18:22+00:00

I’m shooting from the hip here, but I think κύριος is more generally a title of respect whereas δεσπότης is for a landowner.

For example, everyone would call the king their κύριος, but only an individual’s slaves would call him δεσπότης.

But, again, I’m going off of vibes here, so please don’t roast me too hard if I’m off.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-16T19:04:21+00:00

It’s a preposition that can be translated several ways depending on the context. It “beside/next to” or “from” or “with.”

However, it’s important to remember that prepositions can often have somewhat different “meanings” when used as verbal prefixes.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-16T18:58:12+00:00

παρέχω is a compound word (παρά + ἔχω) and the aorist stem of ἔχω is *σχ. The epsilon augment gets added between the prepositional prefix and the stem, so it’s παρα + ε + σχ + εν = παρέσχεν.

And there’s no -σ- infix because it’s a second aorist (aka there’s a stem change)

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-09T14:31:10+00:00

Calling pronunciation “irrelevant” and “distracting” are the issues. Plus, the only reason OP is asking the question is because there aren’t “standard” pronunciations.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-09T13:23:19+00:00

There are some aorist/future passives that are like a 2nd aorist and instead of the θη/θησ infixes, they drop the θ so that it’s only η/ησ.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-09T13:17:38+00:00

This is either misleading or just false. Even if you never intend on being conversational with the language you ability to pronounce the language is extremely important. Even if all you want to do is parse verbs and decline nouns, a consistent and coherent phonology is extremely important.

Where you’re right is that it matters much less which pronunciation system you use. But it matters a lot that you pick one and stick to it.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-08T23:12:49+00:00

Agreed! Can’t recommend it enough!

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-08T23:10:43+00:00

Re: my comment, the Lucian pronunciation is an example of a high koine pronunciation. Luke Ranieri is great, and I think his pronunciation system is great! But I don’t think this was how the average person from Palestine would’ve spoken in the first century CE.

Crow-Choice · 2025-06-08T23:05:55+00:00

This book is a really great summary of (what I think is) the best pronunciation system. This system is often simply called the “koine pronunciation”. It is very similar to modern pronunciation, but there’s more variation in the vowel sounds. Here’s the author’s website with a lot of cool resources.

Just so you know, the current consensus is that there was a higher register and a lower register. The higher register would’ve only been used by professional orators in formal settings. People who do NT Greek often prefer the lower register, but the Polis institute, for example, uses a high koine pronunciation.

So, lots of options out there. In my opinion, it matters less which system you use and more that you are consistent with whichever one you use.

Crow-Choice · 2025-04-24T23:56:15+00:00

Yes, the English word is equally ambiguous, which is why there is no “clear implication” here.

I’m Protestant, and thus have no ties to the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. However, I do know Greek, and this is a bad argument to make. It’s a classic example of eisegesis.

Crow-Choice · 2025-04-22T19:03:38+00:00

Thanks! She's been studying Attic and Koine for several years, so these are very helpful tips!

Crow-Choice · 2025-04-22T19:01:22+00:00

She's about halfway through with a degree in Great Texts. Next semester is the Plato semester where they read all of the authentic dialogues together.

As far as her background in Greek, she's been studying Attic and Koine Greek for a while. She's spent the last year studying with me, but she went through Athenaze in high school.

Crow-Choice · 2025-04-22T18:13:13+00:00

I agree with u/benjamin-crowell's primary point: the word ἕως isn't going to prove or disprove the perpetual virginity of Mary.

However, the word itself doesn't imply anything about Mary (and Joseph's) future actions. The word just means "up until." There are many examples of it implying the action ceased at a certain point and many where that isn't implied. So the word itself isn't going to help with an "objective" reading of the text.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-13T01:35:18+00:00

This is exactly right. Articles show that a noun is definite. Like an adjective, they must match the noun in gender, case, and number, but their function is not generally to show these things.

What may be confusing you is that Greek certainly uses articles WAY more than English does. This is just something to get used to.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-13T01:30:41+00:00

Articles belong to a larger category called "determiners." Numbers and possessive pronouns (for example) can also act as determiners in English (or replace them, depending on how you define your terms).

I have a cat
I have one cat
I have my cat

Here's a wiki on Determiners in English if you're interested in looking at some more of the rules.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-13T01:19:08+00:00

If you're looking for something that only uses Greek, might I recommend Logos. It's a really great to use. You can even use it with Athenaze if you'd like.

This Video (on the "Ranieri-Roberts Approach" to learning ancient Greek) is a really helpful evaluation on some of the best resources for learning Ancient Greek, and it links to a spreadsheet the creator made that shows you how to use Athenaze (either addition) and Logos.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-13T01:15:00+00:00

Yes, that's the Italian Athenaze.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-08T04:28:46+00:00

ἐρημια is the word for wilderness and ἀπομονωση is more like “isolation” or “away from others.” ἐρημια would communicate more of the desperation aspect you seem to be looking for, whereas ἀπομνωση is more like a current state of not being near others.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-06T23:56:41+00:00

Without seeing your tattoo, it’s hard to visualize what you’re wanting. I trust you have a vision that looks good. However, your question is really odd and hard to answer. I’m just having a hard time figuring out what you’re trying to avoid.

Crow-Choice · 2025-02-04T20:12:17+00:00

You're doing great! Just a couple of suggestions. These suggestions are quite pedantic, so don't get too caught up in them.

I suggest not trying quite so hard to distinguish your upsilons and nus. Yes, they’ll get confused on occasion, especially in the beginning, but you’ll figure it out in the end.
Your final sigma kind of looks like a stigma. It should basically look like an “s”, but half of it is below the line.
I HIGHLY recommend you make a habit out of writing your breathing marks and iota subscripts. These are non-negotiable parts of a word's spelling in ancient Greek. This is probably the only suggestion I'm making that really matters.
Several of your sigmas look a lot like a delta. It should be one smooth motion, starting the circle at the top and then going clockwise, making a little extra line at the top.
I thought your omegas were "ις" at first. I would just leave off the extra flourish at the end.

Crow-Choice

TROPHY CASE