Is an interlinear (a bible with Greek and English both side by side) a help or a hindrance for students of Greek? Perhaps there is not a firm answer to this question, but here are a few of my own thoughts and I would welcome any discussion on this question.
I notice that when I read the New Testament with only my UBS Greek New Testament in hand that my mind seems to make a shift in focus as I try to parse and translate while I am reading. It is helpful to read with someone who is very proficient as I have found reading with Dr. Staats to force me to be more exact with my parsing and translating. If I read alone, I can tend to be lazy and "approximate" my translation. The Word of God should not be treated with laziness.
If I read with an Interlinear in hand my mind does not seem to make as complete a shift in focus and almost seems to be encouraged to "approximate" because I put a certain amount of trust in the translator of the interlinear. Sometimes, however, the interlinear will point out, as I am reading, false assumptions I might make when parsing a particular word or even a "misread" I might make. In this case, the translator becomes similar to reading with someone else.
I am wondering if an interlinear might be a help in acquiring vocabulary. I don't really have enough experience with this to answer. I am considering reading for a while with an interlinear in order to formulate an opinion.
Perhaps after I reach the place that a complete mental shift becomes automatic and parsing becomes second nature, then an interlinear would be not unlike an ongoing discussion with the interlinear translator, as I think about why they chose a particular English word or phrase while I might choose another. Until I have come that far, however, I am wanting to be cautious about over use of the interlinear to the point that it hinders my linguistic growth.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Marty,
I agree with you. I have tried to refrain from using helps; yet, in the interest of time for a pastor it is difficult to get any where on a passage to meet the weekly deadline as a beginner greek student. For this purpose the helps speed up the exegetical process. I have not bought an interlinear yet, mainly because I am not sure whether or not the interlinears use UBS4, the updated greek NT.
Dan
Dan
Dan,
I have two interlinears, neither of which show the critical footnotes that UBS3 or UBS4 have. One uses the Received text and the other uses the Majority text, but both very widely in english word choice.
It certainly seems that every translation is, indeed, an interpretation, at least to a degree.
I hope, one day, to be able to do my own translation, even though i full well realize it will take me years to acquire that ability.
--- marty ---
Post a Comment