A stroll through modern Greek

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tastyonions
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Sat Feb 18, 2023 12:23 pm

Assimil Lesson 10 this morning. The speaking pace is definitely ramping up! New contractions and the first person plural were introduced, and some new vocabulary, including the first feminine noun (η αποβάθρα = wharf, quay, pier). Transcription is still going great. Also reviewed Lesson 3.

Time spent on Greek so far: 7 hours
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:40 pm

Actually η ημέρα (day) was in the very first lesson, so I was mistaken.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:05 pm

Lesson 12 today (δωδέκατο μάθημα) as well as reviewing Lesson 5. I didn't log anything yesterday but I spent about 45 minutes on Lessons 11 and 4. Going great so far! I'm getting more used to the prosody of the language and the slippery "liaisons" made between words, e.g. the way στην Πάτρα ("at Patras") is pronounced like /sti 'ba.tra/.

Just to liven up this log a bit, here's a pic of my notebook:

Image

Total time spent on Greek: about 9 hours.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby Arnaud » Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:27 am

garyb wrote:I attempted Assimil Greek a few years ago. Not only did the grammar ramp up fast, but so did the vocabulary. After the first few weeks there was a lot of very descriptive language about things like nature and landscapes (if I remember well), the kind of words that I'd not expect to be taught in a beginner or even intermediate resource. Assimil courses in general tend to barely cover the basics before moving onto more advanced stuff in order to justify their B2 level, but this one was particularly bad for it. Between that and the almost-exclusive focus on tourist/travel language (which I realise is important, but it's not the only thing) I was disappointed.

I'll be curious to read your thoughts though. I found it hard to find any good Greek materials in the gap between absolute beginner and advanced beginner, but if I ever go back to it I might look into more "traditional" options like Teach Yourself.

Contrary to other Assimil courses, the modern greek (as the ancient greek which is written by the same author) is written as a whole story: you're following people travelling in Greece by boat. So, early in the book, there are descriptions mixed with dialogues (which can be difficult, that's true), instead of the usual receipt of little (more or less funny) dialogues.
Usually people complain that the Assimil books are more and more easy with each new edition, but that's not the case here. The book seems rather challenging.
Good luck to Tastyonions, I'm following your progress with interest.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Wed Feb 22, 2023 1:00 pm

Assimil Lesson 14 today, and reviewed Lesson 7. Two weeks of Greek! I'm quite enjoying it so far and don't feel overwhelmed yet. I've been extracting the texts from the MP3 lesson files and using them to make vocab lists. I haven't added them to Anki just yet. Think I'll wait until I've reviewed each lesson a few times to add its corresponding vocabulary.

Time spent so far: about 10 hours.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:55 pm

Wow, Lesson 16 today and the speaking pace is already starting to feel blistering! Seeing the subjunctive for the first time in this lesson, too.

It's kind of funny how in these early lessons I recognize some words *immediately* from my classical Greek courses decades ago but without knowing what they mean, for example πού (where) and βλέπω (see) and θέλω (want). As if the memory of them were just barely there at the faintest possible level without having disappeared completely.

Time spent on Greek: 10 hours, 30 minutes.

So far I've stayed completely consistent with 45 - 60 minutes every day, usually closer to 60.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:41 pm

Dangit Greek is so hard but I still love it.

Lesson 17 today. I've changed up my reviews a bit, now doing 1 day back, 3 days back, 7 days back, and 14 days back. So today I also looked at Lessons 16, 14, 10, and 3. They're getting tougher and I don't want to let new vocabulary and concepts slip through the cracks.

Today's lesson title is Η παραγγελία (the order / message), from which you might or might not recognize the -αγγελ part that gave the word "angel" (messenger of God) to English.

This language has hooked me and I want to master it.

Time spent on Greek: 11 hours, 45 minutes.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Sun Feb 26, 2023 1:19 pm

Omg, an orange in Greek is basically "a Portugal": το πορτοκάλι /pɔr.tɔ.'ka.li/ (= orange) comes from Venetian "portogallo."

This is highly amusing to me.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:10 pm

I've been studying a bit more than an hour a day recently just because I love spending time with Greek.

Assimil Lesson 19 today, and reviewing lessons 18, 16, 12, and 5.

Important word came up in the lesson: δηλαδή (= namely, that is to say; in other words, i.e.)

Wiktionary had a heck of a practical example for it, if I were an organic chemist looking to immigrate to Greece:
Τα αλκάνια είναι κορεσμένοι αλειφατικοί (δηλαδή μη κυκλικοί) υδρογονάνθρακες.
Alkanes are saturated aliphatic (i.e. acyclic) hydrocarbons.

Time spent on Greek so far: about 15 hours.
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Re: A stroll through modern Greek

Postby tastyonions » Wed Mar 01, 2023 12:38 pm

Assimil Lesson 21 today, and reviewed Lessons 20, 18, 14, and 7.

Three weeks of Greek! The grammar information is starting to pile up. The aorist root and the conjugations that follow from it were introduced. I think the verb system looks pretty tough. But my one lesson, one hour per day pace seems to be sufficient for consistent progress so far.

Distinguishing κάνεις (you do / make) from κανείς (anybody / nobody) has already tripped me up more than once.

Time spent on Greek so far: about 17 hours
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