Friday, May 20, 2011

And More on The Greek


Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτήσῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου· ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου.
Isn't that beautiful? 

The New American Standard Bible translates that statement: "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother."  There are MANY other translations, all slightly different.
 
I can labor through this German translation: 


Sündiget aber dein Bruder an dir, so gehe hin und strafe ihn zwischen dir und ihm allein. Höret er dich, so hast du deinen Bruder gewonnen.
I've got the Latin: 
si autem peccaverit in te frater tuus vade et corripe eum inter te et ipsum solum si te audierit lucratus es fratrem tuum
 The sight of it in Hebrew gives me the good kind of chills: 
וכי יחטא לך אחיך לך והוכחת אותו בינך ובינו לבדו ואם ישמע אליך קנית לך אחיך׃
I imagine at the end of the summer, I'll be reading it in Spanish - or better, hearing it at the Spanish Mass!
Por tanto, si tu hermano peca contra ti, ve, amonéstale a solas entre tú y él. Si él te escucha, has ganado a tu hermano.
It makes my brain happy to be in use again.
Wouldn't it be great if someone would pay me to read languages?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Missing Post

I'd gone back to school for historical purposes.  I wanted to make HISTORY matter to kids. 

I wanted to study Greek.

There's a class at St Kate's entitled Biblical Greek. I wanted to take that class, but it's only offered every other year, so I settled for Latin. Next fall, I can study Biblical Greek at Macalester for the first semester and return to my own campus for the second semester.

Imagine being able to read a passage like this:

Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτήσῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου· ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου.
After two semesters, I can read it in Latin:
si autem peccaverit in te frater tuus vade et corripe eum inter te et ipsum solum si te audierit lucratus es fratrem tuum
I still remember enough German to decifer this one - at least since I also know what it says in English:
Wenn aber dein Bruder wider dich sündigt, so gehe hin, überführe ihn zwischen dir und ihm allein. Wenn er auf dich hört, so hast du deinen Bruder gewonnen.AnThe Spanish:
Y si tu hermano peca, ve y repréndelo a solas; si te escucha, has ganado a tu hermano.
And then there's the Spanish I wish I knew:
If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
To have a minor in Classics, I need to take one class outside Latin. I took Mythology. Concerns originally born in last year's bible study, Jeff Cavins' The Great Adventure, are now real questions. The answers to those questions lie in original translations, folks.

This language background helps my future application to graduate school; historians with higher level degrees must be multilingual. It also helps if I decide to pursue a Master's in Spanish K-12 Education (to determine whether I want to do that, I'm taking an Education class in the fall.) It will also help when Joe and I find our future retirement destination - a place I imagine peopled with no native English speakers and covered with very little concrete. I'm not sure it will matter that Joe has only English; he doesn't speak all that much - and his actions speak well indeed.

I have a light schedule for the summer. I'm taking Elementary Spanish I and II from May 31 until August 8, two hours every morning, Monday through Thursday.

Next fall, my four classes occur Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:15 until 2:20. I'm taking Teachers as Leaders, Intermediate Latin I, Intermediate Spanish I, and the Greek class.

And might I say this? That TAL class better be a doozy, or I'm heading back to the Middle Ages and will then add Hebrew and Aramic to my repertoire. :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Looks Like It's Greek!

I'm going for the Greek - I think.  It looks like Macalester has a class that fits my schedule in the fall.  The only problem seems to be the lab.  It's scheduled for a day I'm not normally in St Paul.  When I first registered at St Kate's, I wanted to take Greek, but it's only offered every other year, so I settled for Latin - and I'm really glad I did.  Thanks to a scheduling conflict, I cannot take it at St Kate's until the second semester.

On May 31, I start Elementary Spanish.  In eight hours of class a week between May 31 and August 8, I will complete the first two courses.  It's cheaper to take the summer classes, and I should be ready to start with Intermediate Spanish I in the Fall so I can take take Intermediate Spanish II in Seville, Spain, for the 3.5 weeks of the January term.  How awesome is it that I can finally - twenty years after the longing first struck - study abroad?!?

So why the languages?

It started when I realized I lost my first love when I started working for my family.  I loved my education and wasn't ready for it to end when it did, with a Bachelor's degree.  I'm not sorry for the years I spent raising my family and working at a place that freed me to fully participate in their activities, watch them grow, and know their friends.  But I felt the pull of the classroom when we were preparing Adam for college.  This time around, my initial plan was to apply to the University of Minnesota graduate school and become a doctor of Medieval History.  My ultimate goal was to write history textbooks with authority and flair so students could share my love of history.  All this was born of Adam's comment to someone at his graduation party:  "My mom made history come alive for me."

To successfully achieve that higher degree, proficiency in a classical language is required and preference given to applicants who are multi-lingual. 

I might change my mind about the ultimate degree.  It occurs to me that part of my success in helping history live for Adam was because of what we did and discussed, not what we read.  Might my time be better spent with students?  In the fall I'm taking the first course required for people seeking a Masters in Education, "Teachers as Leaders."  If I like it, I plan to complete my slowly progressing application to the Master's Program.  Upon graduating, I would be licensed to teach K-12 students Spanish - and I would imagine capable of teaching Spanish-speakers English.  Since our retirement goals have something to do with living in a place where the native language is not English and there's more sand than concrete, this plan has all kinds of benefits. 

I'll decide next semester which is my favored option.

In the meantime, I'm going to write a resume just so I can add the qualification "multi-lingual."  Doesn't it sound mightily impressive?