Understanding Language: A Guide for Beginning Students of Greek and Latin

by Donald Fairbairn

Why do students today find Greek and Latin so difficult and frustrating to learn? Perhaps the primary barrier preventing us from learning another language successfully is that we often subconsciously believe that English is the standard for the way languages must express ideas, and therefore we unwittingly try to fit the new language into the structure of English.

This book seeks to break students out of "English mode" as soon as possible, at the very beginning of study. Rather than constantly relating Greek and Latin to English, the book starts with a big-picture discussion of what any language must do in order to facilitate communication. It then explains how Indo-European languages in general accomplish the tasks of communication, and how Greek and Latin in particular do so.

Understanding Language includes major sections on the noun and verb systems of the classical languages. In both cases, the book deals first with function (what nouns and verbs must do) and then explains how the forms of Greek and Latin achieve the needed functions. As a result, the book helps to make the hard tasks of memorizing forms and learning syntax easier and more enjoyable. Students gain a broad understanding of the way the classical languages work before they begin the details.

This book gives students some of the conceptual benefits of studying two closely related languages, even if they are studying only one of them. Students do not need to be studying both Latin and Greek (or even to know the Greek alphabet) in order to profit from this book. Teachers may choose to have students read the entire book at the beginning of their study or to read sections at various points in the first year.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Michael Joosten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding Language is two things; wisely, it does not strive to be more. First, it is a primer for the student of ancient Greek or Latin to learn how to think through learning a language and an overview of how those languages are structured. It does not actually teach either language, but it is intended to give the "forest view" where a traditionally Latin/Greek course might give you the "trees view."

That is the major note of the book; the minor note is related but distinct: it champions the value of learning the ancient languages, and it does not just champion the experts or the linguists. Fairbairn realises that most students of Latin or Greek are the requirement-fillers, the never-shall-be-fluents and it is for them that this book is written and their value that it defends.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't teach you Latin and Greek, but it teaches you why you should learn it.
For those of you, like me, who have or want to study both languages, this book is especially nice as it comes with tables to put the grammatical terms (tenses, aspect, mood ect.) in constrast to each other. For example, Latin ablative to Greek genitive case or the times ect.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Big Picture" of language structure. Read this after the first few chapters of a grammar textbook, and all the details will suddenly have a context and a "why" to hang onto.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to the nature of morphology and syntax; if you want to avoid monolinguistic provinciality (my opening line on Catholic Match, of course), tolle et lege.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having studied Greek and Hebrew in seminary, and now learning Latin, I found this book to be a great help in showing you what the Greek and Latin language are doing. I highly recommend this book.