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July 18, 2010 | Greek

Cross Your T’s, But Don’t Dot Those I’s

In which I get confused writing the alphabet.

This is a Greek i: ι. I find it really, really hard to refrain from dotting it. Forty-eight days studying Greek and I am still sticking dots on top. Παράθυρο (Window), Pronounced pah-RAH-thee-ro, Is Fun to Say At the same time, I…

July 19, 2010 | Greek

Etymology, Foam Rollers, and Bad Grades

I contemplate Greek word origins, do battle with an evil stretching device, and get the worst grade ever.

I like the Greek word for “university.” It is πανεπιστήμιο, pronounced pan-eh-pee-STEE-mee-oh. Finally, this is an example of a word I can remember based on etymology. The pan piece meaning “all,” and the eh-pee-STEE-mee-oh piece calling out its relationship to “knowledge.”…

July 21, 2010 | Greek

My Reading Skills Advance

I enjoy reading what on June 1 was all Greek to me.

Today I finished lesson 24 of Pimsleur. I also did some reading in the book Essential Modern Greek Grammar by Douglas Adams, and was pleased to discover I could read and understand Greek phrases such as the following without difficulty: το ωραίο κορίτσι = the…

July 23, 2010 | Greek

A Picnic in the Park

I read Greek by Delacorte Theatre and Turtle Pond.

Today was a multimedia language-learning day. I read a language book, I did some Rosetta Stone, and I took a Pimsleur nap. A Pimsleur nap is when you start out doing a Pimsleur language lesson and fall asleep before you…

July 26, 2010 | Greek

A Rosetta Stone Investigation

I try to determine how the program works.

Today I decided to figure out how the Rosetta Stone writing lessons are being scored. I suppose I could have asked the Rosetta Stone people, but I like to check these things out for myself. Joyride Truck Outside Fairway Today:…

July 28, 2010 | Greek

Content Warning

This entry contains an explicit discussion of Greek verbs.

I am continuing to read along in Douglas Q. Adams’s Essential Modern Greek Grammar. This book is not for the grammatically faint of heart, and it is not a particularly useful way to learn to speak Greek,…

July 30, 2010 | Greek

Greek Pimsleur: Done!

My Greek unit is winding down; I am a little sad.

In Rosetta Stone, I keep encountering a picture of a woman’s lower half in a very short plaid miniskirt. She is bending over to adjust a red calf-high boot with high heel. On her other leg is a tall…

July 31, 2010 | Greek

Greek Concludes With…Another Field Trip!

I head back to Astoria in search of Greek.

This is the last day of Greek, in honor of which I went to Astoria, a neighborhood in northwestern Queens with significant Greek history and influences. According to Wikipedia (sorry, that’s the best I can do at this moment),…

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